Child Support Enforcement and FMEP in BC

When Support Is Ordered but Not Paid

A child support order or filed agreement is only worth what actually arrives each month. British Columbia deals with non-payment through a government enforcement program, long known as the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program, or FMEP. Its legal backbone is the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act, RSBC 1996, c. 127, and the BC government describes the service as delivered by the BC Family Maintenance Agency (BCFMA), a free service for families who are eligible to receive or pay support. This page explains how FMEP enforcement in BC works, how enrolment happens, and what each side should know.

SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a boutique family law and mediation firm in South Surrey. Family law is the only kind of law we practise, and we serve clients in English and Punjabi. We help recipients get support into enforceable shape, and we help payors respond when enforcement does not match their real situation. For background on how support amounts are set, see our child support services and our complete child support guide.

Enrolment Basics

Enforcement starts with filing. Under the Act, a maintenance order made by a BC court, an order made under the Divorce Act elsewhere in Canada where both parties live in British Columbia, or a family law arbitration award may be filed with the Director of Maintenance Enforcement by either the person owed support or the person paying it (s. 3). Written separation agreements matter here too: under the Family Law Act, a written agreement respecting child or spousal support that is filed in court is enforceable under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act as if it were a court order.

Once an order is filed, the director must enforce it where the director considers it necessary and practicable, and can collect arrears even if they built up before filing (s. 4). While the order is filed, enforcement generally belongs to the director alone unless the director authorizes otherwise (s. 5). According to the BC government, the agency collects the amounts owing, including arrears and special or extraordinary expenses, records and forwards payments, and takes further steps where needed.

What Enforcement Can Actually Do

The Act gives the director and the courts a deep toolbox. The measures below are all set out in the Act itself:

• Attachment of money owed to the payor. The director can serve a notice of attachment on someone who owes money to a payor in default, such as an employer or a bank, requiring amounts to be deducted and remitted (s. 15). A court can also make an attachment order against wages, salary or other remuneration at a default hearing (s. 24).
• Default fees. A payor who defaults after notice can become liable to the government for an annual default fee, on top of the support itself (s. 14.4).
• Driver's licence and vehicle licence action. If arrears reach $3,000 or more, the director may notify ICBC, which must then cancel the payor's driver's licence and refuse to issue or renew it, and may be directed to refuse vehicle licences and number plates, after at least 30 days' notice to the payor (s. 29.1). The notice can be withdrawn where there is a material error or a satisfactory payment arrangement (s. 29.2).
• Registration against land. A notice of a maintenance order can be registered in a land title office in the same manner as a charge, which stands in the way of dealing with the property (s. 26).
• Default hearings. A payor in default can be summoned before the court to explain (s. 19), arrested on a warrant for failing to appear (s. 20), and ordered to report financial information, pay on a schedule, post security, or, in serious cases, serve up to 30 days of imprisonment, which does not erase the debt (s. 21).

Not every tool is used on every file, and the figures above come from the Act as it reads today; the current text always governs.

What Recipients Should Know

Enrolment is a choice, not a requirement, and some parents never need it. It becomes valuable when payments are late, partial or missing, because it takes collection off your plate and out of the relationship. Keep your own payment records, keep your contact information current with the agency, and remember that the program enforces the order as written. If the amount itself is wrong, that is fixed through a variation or an updated agreement, not through enforcement. If back support is the real issue, see our guide to retroactive child support.

What Payors Should Know

Ignoring the program is the one strategy that never works. Enforcement measures escalate, and arrears do not age out on their own. If your income has genuinely dropped, the answer is to seek a change to the order or agreement promptly and to communicate with the agency about a payment arrangement in the meantime; the Act itself contemplates arrangements that can lead to licence action being withdrawn (s. 29.2). If a statement of arrears looks wrong, address it early with records in hand. If income documents have not been exchanged in years, start there; our post on the importance of disclosure explains why current numbers are the foundation for any fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Have to Enrol with FMEP to Receive Child Support?

No. Enrolment is voluntary, and either the recipient or the payor can file the order or filed agreement with the program. Many parents enrol only after payments become unreliable. Arrears that built up before enrolment can still be collected once the order is filed (s. 4).

Can FMEP Change the Amount of Child Support?

No. The program enforces existing orders and filed agreements; it does not decide what the amount should be. Changing the number requires a new agreement or a court variation. Until that happens, the existing order remains enforceable as written, which is why payors should never simply reduce payments on their own.

What Can Enforcement Do If My Ex Will Not Pay?

Measures under the Act include attaching wages and other money owed to the payor, default fees, licence action once arrears reach $3,000, registering a notice against land, and default hearings with orders that can include imprisonment up to 30 days. Which tools are used depends on the file.

What Should I Do If Enforcement Action Has Started Against Me?

Act quickly and get advice. Options can include a payment arrangement, correcting errors in the arrears statement, and applying to change the underlying order if your circumstances have changed. What you should not do is wait, because most measures continue until the default is addressed.

Talk to a Family Lawyer in Surrey About Support Enforcement

Whether you are owed months of support or facing enforcement you cannot sustain, the first 30 minutes with us are free, in English or Punjabi, by phone, video, or in person at Suite 201, 3108 Croydon Drive in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.

This page is legal information, not legal advice. For advice about your own situation, speak with a lawyer.