Unpaid child support in France: the remedies, in the order to use them
Unpaid support is never a dead end: French law provides a chain of remedies, from a letter to a criminal complaint.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy
When child support is not paid in France, the parent who should receive it has several remedies, provided they hold an enforceable title: a judgment, a court-approved parenting agreement or a divorce by mutual consent agreement. Support owed can be recovered for 5 years at most. The usual first step is a written reminder or mediation. Then three routes run side by side: ARIPA, the CAF agency, which recovers on your behalf and can advance the ASF to a single parent; a commissaire de justice, who can arrange direct payment or seize a bank account or wages; and, as a last resort, recovery by the Public Treasury through the public prosecutor. After more than 2 months without full payment, a criminal complaint for family abandonment is possible. The calculator below adds up the debt and what each route can recover, whatever the parents’ nationality.
The support owed, month by month
Amount owed
€900
| Family abandonment complaint possible | yes (more than 2 months) |
| Covered by direct payment | €900 |
| Outside direct payment, to recover otherwise | €0 |
The remedies, from simplest to strongest
| Step | What you need | What it achieves |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder letter, family mediation | nothing special | voluntary payment, at no cost |
| ARIPA (CAF or MSA) | an enforceable title | friendly then enforced recovery over 5 years, ASF advance for a single parent |
| Direct payment | an enforceable title, a commissaire de justice | support taken from the employer or bank, plus 6 months of arrears |
| Wage, bank account or property seizure | an enforceable title, a commissaire de justice | arrears recovered from the paying parent’s assets |
| Public Treasury | proof another procedure failed | recovery by the administration, on application to the prosecutor |
| Complaint for family abandonment | more than 2 months without full payment | criminal prosecution: 2 years, €15,000 |
Why ARIPA is often the best first move
ARIPA combines three advantages. It acts for the receiving parent, with no upfront cost, and uses the enforcement procedures itself. It can go back 5 years before intermediation began, while direct payment is limited to 6 months. And for a parent living alone with a child under 20, it pays the family support allowance, €200.78 per child, on request from the first unpaid month, while it recovers the support. The full picture is in the CAF and ARIPA guide.
Direct payment, when you know the employer
When the paying parent is employed or has a known bank account, direct payment is the fastest route: one day late is enough to start it, and the costs fall on the paying parent. The commissaire de justice notifies the employer or bank, which must then pay support straight to the receiving parent, plus the last 6 months of arrears spread over 12 months. The procedure is set out on direct payment.
What the receiving parent gets during the procedure
Recovery takes time, and the child’s bills do not wait. That is the role of the family support allowance: for a parent living alone, it is paid as an advance when the other parent has not contributed for at least a month, and the CAF then pursues them. If the paying parent pays only part of the support and what they pay stays below €200.78 per child, the top-up ASF fills the gap. Both are explained and calculated on family support allowance.
The view from the parent who can no longer pay
Job loss, illness or a failed business can genuinely make payment impossible. Stopping payments is the worst response, because the debt keeps growing and a complaint for family abandonment becomes possible. The right move is to apply to the family judge without delay for a reduction, a suspension or, exceptionally, an exemption for insolvency, as the page on an unemployed parent explains. Paying what you can in the meantime, and keeping proof of it, shows good faith.
Keep a record of everything
Whatever the route, evidence makes the difference: the original enforceable title, a month-by-month statement of sums owed (indexation included) and received, bank statements and reminder letters. The statement is also what ARIPA, the commissaire de justice and, if the paying parent lives abroad, the bureau RCA will ask for (see parent abroad). The tool on arrears prepares it.