Child Maintenance Options

The Child Maintenance Options service provides information and support to help parents make a child maintenance arrangement that meets their needs.

The service, developed with input from stakeholders, is also available to guardians, relatives, friends and child maintenance professionals and can be used anonymously in England, Wales and Scotland.

The service provides information on the three options for making an arrangement:

• making a private arrangement
• applying to the Child Support Agency
• going through the courts

Child Maintenance Options is an impartial service and is available through:

• a freephone † national telephone helpline, 0800 988 0988
• website www.cmoptions.org
• a face-to-face service for those in most need of more personalised help and support.

Child Maintenance Options also provides information and support on other issues parents might face in making maintenance arrangements, such as housing, legal and money concerns. The service can signpost people to organisations that provide specialist help and advice.

† We offer a callback service as you may be charged by your provider if you use a mobile phone.