{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-240.2","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 56, § 56-240.2","heading":"Initiation of enforcement proceedings by Division","body":"A. After receiving a referral or application for services, the\n\nDivision may initiate enforcement proceedings.\n\n1. The Division may notify the obligor of the intention to\n\ninitiate enforcement proceedings by a notice. If an income\n\nassignment is not in place for collection of support monies, the\n\nDivision shall immediately execute or issue a withholding order to\n\nany payor of income to the obligor. The notice of enforcement\n\nproceedings pursuant to this subsection shall be served upon the\n\nobligor in the same manner prescribed for the service of summons in\n\na civil action. However, if a notice has been issued pursuant to\n\nSection 237A of this title, the notice of enforcement proceedings\n\npursuant to this subsection may be served by regular mail with a\n\ncertificate of mailing. The notice shall inform the obligor of the\n\nfollowing:\n\na. the amount of support monies owed, if any,\n\nb. an assignment for collection of support monies due and\n\nowing has commenced if a potential payor of income was\n\nknown,\n\nc. other enforcement actions that the Division may take\n\nto collect support monies owed,\n\nd. the obligor may contest the allegations in the notice\n\nonly with regard to mistakes of identity or the\n\nexistence or the amount of support monies owed,\n\ne. the assignment shall remain as long as the order upon\n\nwhich it is based is in effect. Payment of any\n\nsupport monies will not prevent an income assignment\n\nfrom taking effect, and\n\nf. the obligor shall be required to keep the Division\n\ninformed of the name and address of the current\n\nemployer of the obligor and access to health insurance\n\nand other insurance policy information of the obligor.\n\n2. a. An obligor may request a hearing pursuant to this\n\nsection by delivering written notice to the District\n\nOffice on a form provided which states the date and\n\nlocation of the hearing if requested on or before the\n\nfifteenth day from the date of service of the notice.\n\nOn receipt of the hearing request, the Division shall\n\npromptly enter the appearance of the obligor on the\n\nadministrative court hearing docket. The\n\nadministrative court shall hear and determine the\n\nmatter and, unless the obligor successfully shows\n\nthere is a mistake of identity or a mistake in the\n\nexistence of current or delinquent child support, the\n\nadministrative court shall enter a judgment, determine\n\nthe amount of judgment payments, if any, and order the\n\nassignment of nonexempt earnings of the obligor pay\n\nthe judgment and future monthly support payments.\n\nb. The administrative court may order an obligor to pay\n\nall costs involved in enforcement proceedings under\n\nthis subsection and shall order interest as provided\n\nin Section 114 of Title 43 of the Oklahoma Statutes to\n\nbe collected in the same manner as the payments upon\n\nwhich the interest accrued.\n\nc. The order shall be a final judgment for purposes of\n\nappeal.\n\nd. The Division shall send a notice of the income\n\nassignment to the payor to effectuate the assignment\n\npursuant to subsection D of this section.\n\nB. If within fifteen (15) days of date of service of the\n\nnotice, the obligor fails to request a hearing, pursuant to\n\nsubsection A of this section, or after having requested a hearing\n\nfails to appear at the hearing, the administrative court shall enter\n\nan order granting judgment for arrearage, if any, establishing a\n\njudgment payment plan and approving the income assignment. The\n\nadministrative order shall thereafter be subject to collection\n\naction and shall be filed, at the option of the Division, in the\n\noffice of the court clerk in the county of residence of the\n\ncustodian of the child, in the county of residence of the obligor,\n\nin the county of the underlying support order, or any other county\n\nin which the obligor has real or personal property. The\n\nadministrative order shall be enforced by the district court in the\nof the Division, in the\n\noffice of the court clerk in the county of residence of the\n\ncustodian of the child, in the county of residence of the obligor,\n\nin the county of the underlying support order, or any other county\n\nin which the obligor has real or personal property. The\n\nadministrative order shall be enforced by the district court in the\n\nsame manner as an order of the district court. A copy of the order\n\nshall be served upon the obligor by the District Office in\n\naccordance with subsection B of Section 2005 of Title 12 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes.\n\nC. The Division shall send a notice of the income assignment to\n\nthe payor pursuant to subsection D of this section to effectuate the\n\nassignment.\n\nD. 1. The notice of the income assignment required pursuant to\n\nsubsections A and B of this section shall be sent by the Division to\n\nthe payor on a form prescribed by the Secretary of the United States\n\nDepartment of Health and Human Services. The notice shall be sent\n\nby certified mail, return receipt requested, or served in accordance\n\nwith law. The payor shall be required to comply with the provisions\n\nof this subsection and the provisions stated in the notice.\n\n2. The assignment shall take effect on the next payment of\n\nincome to the obligor after the payor receives notice thereof and\n\nthe amount withheld shall be sent to the Division within seven (7)\n\ndays of the date upon which the obligor is paid. The payor shall\n\nattach to each payment a statement reporting the date on which the\n\nsupport obligation of the obligor was withheld.\n\n3. The payor shall withhold each pay period the amounts\n\nspecified in the notice from the obligor’s income and earnings. The\n\namount withheld by the payor from the obligor's earnings shall not\n\nexceed the limits on the percentage of an obligor's earnings which\n\nmay be assigned for support pursuant to Section 1171.2 of Title 12\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes.\n\n4. The income assignment is binding upon the payor until\n\nreleased or until further order of the Division or the district or\n\nadministrative court.\n\n5. The payor is liable for any amount up to the accumulated\n\namount that should have been withheld if the payor fails to withhold\n\nin accordance with the provisions of the assignment notice.\n\n6. Two or more income assignments may be levied concurrently.\n\nAny current support due shall be paid before the payment of any\n\narrearages or support debt judgment.\n\n7. If the amount of support due under the assignments exceeds\n\nthe maximum amount authorized to be withheld from earnings by\n\nSection 1171.2 of Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes, the payor shall\n\npay the amount due up to the statutory limit and shall send written\n\nnotice to the Division or the person or agency designated to receive\n\npayments that the amount due exceeds the amount subject to\n\nwithholding. If the payor fails to pay or notify as required\n\nherein, the payor may be liable for an amount up to the accumulated\n\namount that is due and owing upon receipt of the notice.\n\n8. The payor shall notify the Division within ten (10) days of\n\nthe date when the obligor is no longer employed by, being paid by,\n\nor providing services to the payor, and shall provide the Division\n\nwith the obligor's last-known address and the name of the obligor's\n\nnew employer or payor of income, if known.\n\n9. If the payor has no current or future income due to the\n\nobligor in his or her possession or control, or if the obligor is no\n\nlonger employed by, being paid by, or providing services to the\n\npayor prior to the receipt of the notice required pursuant to\n\nsubsection C of this section, the payor shall send written notice to\n\nthe Division within ten (10) days of receipt of said notice.\n\nFailure to notify the Division within the required time limit may\n\nsubject the payor to liability for an amount up to the accumulated\nis no\n\nlonger employed by, being paid by, or providing services to the\n\npayor prior to the receipt of the notice required pursuant to\n\nsubsection C of this section, the payor shall send written notice to\n\nthe Division within ten (10) days of receipt of said notice.\n\nFailure to notify the Division within the required time limit may\n\nsubject the payor to liability for an amount up to the accumulated\n\namount that is due and owing upon receipt of the notice.\n\n10. The payor is liable for any amount up to the accumulated\n\namount that should have been withheld and paid, and may also be\n\nfined not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each failure\n\nto make the required deductions if the payor:\n\na. fails to withhold or pay the support in accordance\n\nwith the provisions of the assignment notice, or\n\nb. fails to notify the person or agency entitled to\n\nsupport and the Division as required.\n\n11. The Division or the obligor may bring an action against the\n\npayor to enforce the provisions of the notice and this subsection in\n\nthe underlying district court case or by separate proceeding in\n\ndistrict court.\n\n12. The payor may combine withheld amounts from income of two\n\nor more obligors in a single payment and separately identify that\n\nportion of the single payment which is attributable to each\n\nindividual obligor.\n\n13. An income assignment issued pursuant to the provisions of\n\nthis section shall have priority over any prior or subsequent\n\ngarnishments of the same income.\n\n14. The payor may deduct from any income of the obligor a sum\n\nnot exceeding Five Dollars ($5.00) per pay period but not to exceed\n\nTen Dollars ($10.00) per month as reimbursement for costs incurred\n\nby the payor in complying with the income assignment.\n\n15. The income assignment shall remain effective regardless of\n\nany change of a payor.\n\n16. The income assignment issued pursuant to this section shall\n\nremain in effect as long as any support monies are owed. Payment of\n\nany support monies shall not prevent the income assignment from\n\ntaking effect.\n\n17. The payor shall verify the obligor's address, employment,\n\nearnings, income, benefits, and dependent health insurance\n\ninformation upon the request of the Division.\n\n18. The payor may not discipline, suspend, discharge, or refuse\n\nto promote an obligor because of an income assignment executed\n\npursuant to this section. Any payor who violates this section shall\n\nbe liable to such obligor for all income, wages, and employment\n\nbenefits lost by the obligor from the period of unlawful discipline,\n\nsuspension, discharge, or refusal to promote to the reinstatement or\n\npromotion.\n\nE. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority of the\n\nDepartment to use its administrative powers conferred by law or\n\nrules to collect delinquent support without the necessity of a court\n\norder.\n\nF. Any person obligated to pay support, who has left or is\n\nbeyond the jurisdiction of the court, may be subjected to or\n\nprosecuted under any other proceedings available pursuant to the\n\nlaws of this state for the enforcement of the duty of support and\n\nmaintenance.\n\nG. The income assignment proceedings specified in this section\n\nshall be available to other states for the enforcement of child\n\nsupport and maintenance or to enforce out-of-state orders. Venue\n\nfor such proceedings is, at the option of the obligee:\n\n1. In the county in this state in which the support order was\n\nentered;\n\n2. In the county in this state in which the obligee resides; or\n\n3. In the county in this state in which the obligor resides or\n\nreceives income.\n\nH. Any payment made pursuant to the provisions of this section\n\nby the payor shall be made payable to the Department or its\n\ndesignee, and shall be in such form of payment as provided by the\n\norder or the notice.\n\nI. The obligated party may execute a voluntary income\n\nassignment and acknowledgment at any time and submit it to the\n\nDistrict Office.\nin which the obligor resides or\n\nreceives income.\n\nH. Any payment made pursuant to the provisions of this section\n\nby the payor shall be made payable to the Department or its\n\ndesignee, and shall be in such form of payment as provided by the\n\norder or the notice.\n\nI. The obligated party may execute a voluntary income\n\nassignment and acknowledgment at any time and submit it to the\n\nDistrict Office.\n\nJ. The Division shall distribute the monies due a person\n\nentitled to support who is not receiving Temporary Assistance for\n\nNeedy Families within the time limit required by federal regulation.","path":["OK Code","Title 56"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os56.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"cf36e848e7e9aec11c860659ac6bd9433e89835668faa74c4b4fbbfaf2d3d0dd","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-240.19","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-56-56-240.20"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}