Termination

Termination of support is the process of ending current child support or medical support obligations required by a court or administrative order. The guidelines allowing OCSS to terminate support are set forth by the Ohio Revised Code. The most common reason to terminate occurs when the child reaches the age of majority, which is eighteen (18) years old, and is no longer attending an accredited full-time high school (withdrawn or graduated). Even if still enrolled in high school, support will be terminated when a child reaches the age of 19 unless a court order has other requirements.

Reason to Terminate Support	Documentation Required
Child reaches the age of majority and is no longer in high school	Birth certificate and high school diploma, graduation program, or verification letter from the high school
Child stops attending high school after reaching age of majority	Birth certificate and high school diploma, graduation program, or verification letter from the high school
Child reaches age 19 and a termination condition specified in a court order for support has been met	Copy of the relevant court order
Child’s death	Death certificate
Child gets married	Marriage certificate
Child gets legally emancipated	Copy of the emancipation order signed by a judge
Child enlists in the armed services	Enlistment papers
Child is deported	Copy of the order of deportation or anything else that verifies the deportation
Change of legal custody of the child	Change of custody court order entry signed by a judge
Child is adopted	Copy of the adoption court order signed by a judge
Obligor’s death	Death certificate
Grandparent paying/receiving child support reports reason for termination	Varies depending on specific reason
The parties to the child support order marry and reside together with the child	Marriage certificate

Termination Process

The process to terminate support may be initiated at the request of either party to the order or proactively by OCSS. Either party may also file a motion to terminate support on their own in the court that issued their original order. Please note that effective February 11, 2019, in order for OCSS to conduct a termination investigation, a current, signed Application for Services must be on file for the case.

When OCSS receives documentation of a reason to terminate support, the case is reviewed to determine whether:

• any support needs to continue (e.g. for minor children still on the order)
• all monies due have been paid in full
• any income withholding order issued should be continued, revised, or terminated.

Each party will be sent “Findings and Recommendations” with the results of the review. Each party will have fourteen (14) days to object to the results and request an administrative hearing at the agency. When an administrative hearing is requested, additional time is needed to complete the process and monies may continue to be deducted from an obligor’s pay and sent to the agency. An administrative hearing will ONLY address the arrears on the case. Issues such as visitation or custody will not be discussed.

If no hearing is requested, or once a hearing is held, then OCSS will either:

• Issue an administrative order to terminate an administrative child support order (one that was issued by OCSS) -or-
• Send the findings to the court with jurisdiction to request a court order to terminate be issued.

Please be advised that although the child support obligation of the child may be terminated, the original support amount will still be charged as payment on arrears owed and must continue to be paid until the arrears are paid in full.

Impounding Overpaid Funds

The law allows for OCSS to request an “Order to Impound” (hold) any monies being paid, if it appears that the case balance (including our administrative processing fees) is paid in full. Any monies impounded (on hold) can ONLY be released with a court or administrative order. The law does not require the payment of interest on monies OCSS may hold through this entire process.

If your order needs to be reviewed for a reduction/termination, please contact the OCSS Call Center at 216-443-5100.


Special Note: The guidelines apply to Ohio orders only. If another state is involved, additional rules and regulations may apply.