When you think of suspended licenses, you may automatically think about how too many speeding tickets or a DWI conviction will lead to a driver license suspension. A DWI conviction can also lead to the denial, cancellation or revocation of a professional license, especially if it involves healthcare.
What you may not know is that driver licenses and other licenses can be suspended for an entirely different reason – the failure to pay child support. All 50 states have statutes that cancel, suspend, restrict, or revoke various licenses for the failure to pay child support and New York is no exception. Even a hunting or fishing license can be suspended or revoked if a non-custodial parent owes too much back-child support.
What Does New York Law Say?
In New York, if a non-custodial parent owes child support arrears equal to or greater than four months, the following types of licenses can be suspended or revoked (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law § 13-244 and N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 6A-111b):
- New York driver licenses
- Business licenses
- Professional licenses
- Occupational licenses
- Recreational licenses
Receiving Notice of an Adverse Action
Once a parent’s arrears have reached four months of past-due child support and the trigger criteria has been met, due process procedures will take effect before the parent’s applicable licenses will be suspended. For example, the parent will be sent notice in the mail about the delinquency, and the obligor will be given the opportunity to get current on the arrears, or come up with a payment plan with their local child support agency.
A lot of states are easing up on their driver license restrictions, specifically so they can allow parents to continue working so they can pay their child support obligations in the future.
To find out what New York is currently doing to collect child support arrears and enforce child support orders, contact Jason M. Barbara & Associates, P.C.
Related: Can a Father Win Custody in NY
