Respond to government child support request

• Response to Governmental Notice of Motion or Order to Show Cause (form FL-685)
• Income and Expense Declaration (form FL-150)
  • You only need to fill out an Income and Expense Declaration if the LCSA asked for child support. 

⚠️ If the forms you received from the LCSA ask the court to establish parentage, make sure you check the box in item 1 on your Response that says whether you do or do not admit (agree) you are the parent of the child or children listed. 

Make 3 copies of the Response and any other forms you filled out, along with any attachments.

To file your forms with the court:

• Give the original and the 3 copies to the court clerk  

💵 There is no fee to file a Response in an LCSA case. 

The clerk will: 

• Stamp the forms 

• Keep the original form and return the copies to you 

After you file your papers, you must have a copy delivered to the LCSA and the child's other parent.

You can't serve papers yourself. Ask another adult – a server – to mail or hand deliver the papers.   

Your server must be: 

• 18 or over, and 

• Not part of your case 

📅 Your server delivers papers by a deadline

Your server must deliver the papers at least 9 court days before your hearing.

📌 If your server is mailing the papers, they should mail them at least 5 calendar days before the deadline to ensure that the person receives the papers on-time.

• If serving someone out of state, they should mail them at least 10 calendar days before the deadline; for out of the country, at least 20 days.

How to calculate the deadline

Take out a calendar and find your court date. 

1. Count backwards from your court date on the calendar 9 court days (Monday to Friday, not including any court holidays or other day the court may be closed). 

2. When you get to the 9th day, stop, this is your deadline to serve. 

The server fills out a Proof of Service for the LCSA and one for the other parent

After the server hand delivers or mails the papers, they need to fill out and sign a Proof of Service for serving the LCSA and one for the other parent.

• If your server mailed the papers, you can use Proof of Service by Mail (form FL-335)
• If your server hand-delivered, you can use Proof of Personal Service (form FL-330)

It helps if you fill in the top part of the form with the case and court information.    

Your server can then fill in the information about how, when, and where they mailed or delivered the papers. Your server must sign and date the forms. 

Copy and file the Proofs of Service

Make a copy of each of the signed Proofs of Service and file the originals with the court before your hearing. 

Keep the copy for your records.

Before your court date

If this is the first time you've been in a courtroom, review some basic tips about how to plan for your day in court or how to plan for a remote (by phone or computer) appearance.

🌐 If you don't speak English well, ask for an interpreter right away.  

♿ If you have a disability, ask for an accommodation.

On your court date

Go to your hearing at the date and time on your Notice. Child support hearings with the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) are different than other types of family law hearings. For example

• A lawyer from the LCSA will be there
• A Child Support Commissioner will decide your case not a judge

A Child Support Commissioner is a lawyer with experience in child support laws. They are trained to make decisions in child support cases. 

⚠️ If you do not want the Commissioner to decide your case, you or the other parent can object before the hearing. 

• If one of you objects, the Commissioner will still make a decision. But, if you disagree with the decision, you can file a Notice of Objection (form FL-666) ↗️. A judge will then review the decision at another hearing.