eSingleParent:Child Support Laws:Statue of Limitations

Each state develops its own statute of limitations for order and paternity establishment as well as for the collection of unpaid back support.

State	Order	Paternity	Arrearages
Alabama	19	19	(a)
Alaska	None	None	None
Arizona	18	18	3 years after youngest emancipates
Arkansas	N/A	None	N/A
California	Emancipation	None	None
Colorado		19 (b)	(c)
Connecticut	None	18	None
Delaware	None	None	None
District of Columbia	21	21	12 years from day of accrual
Florida	None	22	None
Georgia	None	None	None
Guam	None	None	None
Hawaii		21	33
Idaho	18	18	23
Illinois	18	2 years after majority	None
Indiana	21	20	28
Iowa	Majority + 1 year	Majority + 1 year
Kansas	23	None	23
Kentucky	18	18	33
Louisiana	18	18	10 years
Maine	20 years after last action	18	20 years after last action
Maryland	18	18	12 years
Massachusetts	None	None	None
Michigan	18 or 19 if in high school	18	10 years
Minnesota	None	None	None
Mississippi	21	18	7 years after emancipation
Missouri	5 years after order	18 (d)	10 years
Montana	18	18	10 years
Nebraska	18	18	None
Nevada	None	21	4 years
New Hampshire	None	18	20 years
New Jersey	None	23	None
New Mexico	3 years after emancipation	3 years after emancipation	Back to birth
New York	21	21	20
North Carolina	18	18	10 years
North Dakota	None	3 years after majority	None
Ohio	None	23	None
Oklahoma	19 for child; 18 for custodial parent	Same as order	None
Oregon	25 years	None	25 years from date of order
Pennsylvania	18	18	None
Puerto Rico	(e)
Rhode Island	Not reported
South Carolina	18	18	None
South Dakota	18	18	6 years if not current
Tennessee	None	3 years after majority	None
Texas	18 or high school graduation	(f)	None
Utah	4 years from date of youngest child’s emancipation	None	4 years from date of youngest child’s emancipation
Vermont	8 years from date of judgement	21	6 years after the youngest child turns 18
Virgin Islands	None	18	None
Virginia	18	18	None
Washington	10 years after youngest is 18	10 years after youngest is 18	10 years after youngest is 18
West Virginia	18 or 20 if still in high school	18 or 21 if filed by the child	10 years
Wisconsin	20 years	19	20 years
Wyoming	None	3 years after emancipation	None

In Alabama, there is a ten year statute of limitations on a child support judgement that can be renewed for another ten years.

In Colorado, the statue of limitations for child support orders and arrearages “follows the law for judgment.”

In Missouri, the child may bring an action within three years after (s)he turns 18.

Puerto Rico- “Action for recognition of children can only be established during the life of the presumptive parents and 1 year beyond their death except in following cases: 1. If father or mother died during minority of child, in which case child may bring his action before first 4 years of his having attained majority shall have elapsed; 2. If after death of father, or mother there shall appear a written statement or document of which no notice was previously had, wherein child is expressly recognized, in this case action shall be established within next 6 months after document has been discovered. Child support order-21 years of age or whenever a minor is self-supporting through marriage or requiring the non-custodian to provide for post-secondary education. Arrearage-none while minor has not attained majority, 5 years after minor attain majority. If the obligee is disabled, when disability eases.”

In Texas, there is no statute of limitations for paternity if there is no presumed father; if there is presumed father, the statute of limitation is 4 years after child’s date of birth.

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STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

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Child Support Collection

State by State Child Support Laws