Payment Information

If you have any questions about your Child Support or would like to send information to your caseworker, please complete the Caseworker Message Form.

Making Child Support Payments

Cash payments can be made using our Payment Application Form (PDF) and our secure lock box located outside of the Van Buren County Administration building. Please include all case information with the payment such as the case number, name of payer, name of payee and amount of payment per case. This lock box is checked daily.

For details about all of your payment options, please read Making Child Support Payments (PDF) or Para Hacer Pagos de Manutención de Niños. When making child support payments, you may need to provide:

  • AllPaid pay location code 1027
  • MoneyGram receive code 14689
  • MiSDU/ExpertPay FIPS code 26159
  • County Code 80
  • Payor's date of birth
  • PayNearMe - get a code at MiSDU
  • Payee's name
  • Payor's name
  • Friend of the Court case number
  • Payor's social security number

Payment Methods

The Friend of the Court only accepts cash payments, credit card payments, or cashier's checks in person at the Friend of the Court office. Do not mail cash to the Friend of the Court office or to the MiSDU under any circumstance. The Friend of the Court does NOT accept check or money order payments. Do not send any support payments by check or money order to the Friend of the Court office.

Check or money order payments should be submitted with a payment coupon (PDF) and mailed to:
MiSDU
P.O. Box 30351
Lansing, MI 48909-7851

Payers are provided coupons by the MiSDU. If you have an order to pay support and you do not have an effective wage withholding order in place, you will receive coupons to be used when you pay you support. These coupons are printed and mailed by the MiSDU. If your coupon amount differs from your court ordered amount, pay the amount that you are ordered to pay. Use these coupons to ensure that your payment is properly identified by the MiSDU.

Fees

Fees are $3.50 per month. Fees are added to your account twice per year. A $21 fee ($3.50 multiplied by 6) will be added to your account on January 1 and on July 1.

Charges

Michigan law requires all weekly support amounts to be converted to monthly amounts. The formula established by the State Courts Administrative Office is as follows: weekly amount x 4.35 = monthly amount. For more information, please read Facts About the Michigan Child Support Formula (PDF).


Understanding Child Support Payments

Payment Processing

Your child support checks, refunds, abatements, etc. are not processed at the Friend of the Court office. The responsibility for processing payments and distributing payments is handled in Lansing, Michigan, by the Michigan State Disbursement Unit (MiSDU). If you receive mail from MiSDU, please do not throw it away - it could be your child support payment, or an important notice from the State of Michigan or from the Friend of the Court office.

Payment Distribution

The MiSDU is required to follow federal regulations for allocating child support. This means that a payment made by a payer is applied proportionately to all of the payer's Michigan child support cases. It also means that recipients of support may not always receive the court ordered amount of their child support and may not always receive the same amount in their check.

For more details on the distribution of support, please read:

For more information on Receiving Child Support Payments, please visit our Child Support page.