If you have never received Families First or public assistance in any state and do not owe the state money for previous child support received in error, then when child support is paid, you will receive the payments.
If you have received Families First, in the past, but don't any longer; you will receive child support payments for current support and back payments (arrearage) owed to you. Once all arrearages owed to you are paid, the state will keep any payments over the monthly obligation for money owed to the state and federal government for the time that you received state assistance.
If you are currently receiving Families First, you have assigned all of your child support rights to the state. You must give all child support payments that you receive to the state. If the court clerk’s office receives any payments, they will send them to the state. The state will then send to you the current support paid up to your unmet need amount as determined by your Families First eligibility worker.
If you think that you or your children would be harmed if we try to collect child support from the absent parent, you should tell your Families First case manager.
The amount of the child support payment depends on the:
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amount of family income |
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number of family members |
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amount of the Families First payment |
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amount of child support that the non-custodial parent actually pays |
Most child support payments come to the State’s Central Child Support Receipting Unit (CCSRU) where staff record the payments and then send them out to the custodial parent as set out in the support order.
Upon application for child support services, all payments made by the non-custodial parent must be sent through the CCSRU to then be disbursed to the custodial parent.
The address to send payments to is:
| Central Child Support Receipting Unit P. O. Box 305200 Nashville, TN 37229 |
All payments made to the CCSRU (by non-custodial parents or employers) must include:
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Name of the non-custodial parent or employee |
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Docket Number |
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Social Security Number |
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Child Support Case Number (TCSES) |
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Amount of the Payment |
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Name and Address of the Custodial Parent (optional) |
Non-custodial parents should include the payment coupons mailed by the Department of Human Services (DHS) with their payments or make sure other appropriate identifying information is included on their checks or money orders. If you don’t include the correct information, your account may not be credited.
Custodial parents should make sure DHS has their current address so that CCSRU staff can mail payments to the correct address. Be sure to include your street number, street name, or PO box, city, state and zip). If your address changes, let us know by calling the customer call center at 1-800-838-6911 (toll free number) or (615) 253-4394 (Nashville area). Otherwise, you may not receive your check.
Central Collections receives thousands of child support payments each day. These payments come from parents, employers, other state child support agencies, and federal and state agencies such as IRS, Unemployment and Social Security.
Here is how a payment is processed:
| 1. | Central collections staff record and track payments on the same day that they are received. | ||||||||||
| 2. | Staff matches the payments to the appropriate child support case. This process is simple and quick if the proper information is sent along with the payment. This information includes;
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| 3. | When the payment gets matched to a case, a check to you will be printed that night and mailed out of the Nashville Post Office the next morning. The post office needs about 3-5 business days to deliver mail. |
Some checks may be delayed because:
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Information sent with payments is missing or incorrect |
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The custodial parent owes the state money |
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There is not an open case on the computer system |
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Information from the support order has not been entered in the computer system |
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We do not have a current mailing address for you |
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The check is for less than $1 |
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Collection is from an IRS tax refund intercept that was filed jointly with the current spouse of the non-custodial parent |
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You can now have child support payments that you currently receive by check deposited directly to an existing bank account that you have. This can be a checking account or a savings account. |
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To do this please complete a "Direct Deposit Enrollment Form" and submit it to the address provided on that form. |
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If you want your payments sent to your checking account, you must include a voided check that includes your preprinted name and address along with the "Direct Deposit Enrollment Form." A temporary check that does not have your preprinted information on it cannot be accepted. |
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If you want your payment sent to your savings account, you must attach to the "Direct Deposit Enrollment Form"a statement from your bank that includes your name, your savings account number, and the bank routing number. |
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The name on your bank account must be the same name as that which you have on your child support case on our State Child Support Computer System. |
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If you have questions about the Direct Deposit Program or about completion and submission of the "Direct Deposit Enrollment Form," please call 615-313-5348. |
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If you wish to fax your enrollment form to us you may fax it to 615-532-2713. |
You can check to see what support payments are due and find out if any payments have been sent to you by:
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Looking at the child support payment summary for your case on line by going to: https://www.tennesseeanytime.org/tcses/ You will need your Tennessee Child Support Enforcement System (TCSES) 9 digit identification number and your social security number. |
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Calling 1-800-838-6911 (toll free number) or (615) 253-4394 (Nashville area) to get payment information, update or change an address. A special feature to this call center is the automated voice response system available after normal business hours. This system works similar to those used by banks. |
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Under federal law, payments taken from the non-custodial parent’s income tax refund are used first to pay back state assistance payments (state arrears), such as Families First benefits. Any payments made to you for Families First or public assistance that have not been paid back to the state or federal government must be paid back first from the income tax offset that the state received from the Treasury Offset Program (IRS intercepts). The state will then send any remaining amounts to you. Enforcement by the Treasury Offset Program cannot be used to collect arrearages owed to the family after the last child emancipates. |
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Central Collections normally pays out tax refunds within 30 days of receiving them. However, when the refund is from a joint income tax return filed by the non-custodial parent and the non-custodial parent’s (NCP) current spouse, we must hold the refund for up to 6 months or until the state notifies us that the IRS has paid the NCP’s current spouse’s share of the refund. |
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Federal income tax refunds are not paid out while a case is in the administrative review (appeal) process. |
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You have to pay back any income tax refunds that you receive in error. This includes amounts that must be returned to the IRS due to the filing of a revised tax return within 6 years. |
