DOR enforcement actions: suspending licenses or taking bank accounts

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Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
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The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has a Child Support Enforcement Division (DOR/CSE).  The DOR/CSE helps parents get child support orders, helps parents change child support orders, and makes sure that parents pay their child support orders.

This article has information about two common ways that DOR enforces child support orders:

  • taking away licenses, including drivers licenses, and
  • taking the money from your bank account (“seizure” or “levy”).

Learn about other ways that DOR enforces child support and what you can do if you disagree.

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Taking away licenses

If you do not pay your child support, the Department of Revenue Child Support Enforcement Division (DOR/CSE) can have your licenses taken away. This includes your:

  • Driver’s license,
  • Business license,
  • Professional license, and
  • Trade license.

“Taking away” a license includes

  • Suspending,
  • Revoking,
  • Not issuing, and
  • Not renewing the license.
     
What must DOR/CSE do before they take a license away?

Before DOR/CSE can have your license taken away, they must send you an Annual Notice of Child Support Delinquency.

This Notice will tell you how much is owed and the actions DOR/CSE may take if not paid in 30 days.

The Notice tells you to do one of the following:

  • Pay all the past-due child support you owe within 30 days.
  • Request a hearing within 30 days.
How do I ask for a hearing?

You can ask for a hearing to show DOR/CSE why you do not owe past-due child support by returning the hearing request form that comes with the Annual Notice of Child Support Delinquency.

What happens at the hearing?

At the hearing, you must show that

  • You do not owe any past-due child support,
  • You are not the person who owes the past-due child support, or
  • You currently obey a payment plan approved by DOR/CSE.

If you have a hearing and DOR/CSE decides that you still owe the past-due child support, they will send you a Final Determination of Delinquency.

What happens if I get a Final Determination of Delinquency?

The Final Determination of Delinquency says that DOR/CSE told the Registry of Motor Vehicles or other licensing authority to take away your license. 

Once the RMV or other licensing authority gets notice from the DOR, it must suspend your license. There are no hardship exceptions.

The only way to get the suspension ended is to get a court judicial review (below) or try to get a settlement with DOR CSE. If you pay what is owed or make a payment plan and keep to the plan, DOR will notify the RMV or other licensing authority and your license will be reinstated. 

What can I do if I disagree with the final decision to take away my license?

If you do not agree with DOR/CSE’s decision to have your license taken away, you can ask a court to look at DOR/CSE’s decision. This is called “judicial review.”

To get a judicial review, you must file a Complaint for Judicial Review within 45 days of the date on DOR/CSE’s written decision. This is a request for a court review and must be served on DOR/CSE. Judicial review is a complicated process. Talk to a lawyer to find out about judicial review.

Bank account seizures

If you do not pay your child support, the DOR/CSE can seize your bank account to pay for the child support you owe. Seizing your bank account to pay a debt is called “levying.”

What if DOR seizes my bank account?

Before the DOR/CSE can levy your bank account, it must send you an Annual Notice of Child Support Delinquency.  If you send in a written request for an Administrative Review, the DOR/CSE can only start to levy your bank account after they send you the results of the review. Learn how to ask for Administrative Review. 

If you do not pay the money, or you do not ask DOR/CSE to review its decision, the DOR/CSE can levy your accounts.

Can the DOR/CSE freeze all of the money in my bank accounts?

The DOR/CSE cannot freeze money in your bank account if it comes from:

  • Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC),
  • Transitional Aid to Needy Families (TANF),
  • Emergency Assistance for Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC),
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or
  • State Veterans' benefits.

And, the DOR/CSE cannot freeze money that does not belong to you.

Example

If you are a court-appointed guardian for someone and have money in your account that belongs to that person, the DOR/CSE cannot take those funds.

If the DOR/CSE freezes this kind of money, you can send in a bank levy response form. Use this form to tell DOR/CSE to “unfreeze” money they should not have frozen.

How long is the bank levy in effect?

The bank levy is in effect for 60 days or until the back child support is paid, whichever comes first.

How does DOR/CSE start a levy of my bank account?

The DOR/CSE sends a Notice of Levy to the bank. The Notice tells the bank to “freeze” money in your account for 21 days. After 21 days, the bank must send the child support you owe to DOR/CSE.

How does DOR/CSE let me know that they levied my bank account?

After they levy your bank account, DOR/CSE sends you a Bank Levy Response Form. At the top of the Form it says, “Your bank account has been levied by the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Revenue (DOR/CSE) to collect past-due child support.”

Can I stop DOR/CSE from seizing my bank account?

You can stop DOR/CSE from seizing your bank account if:

  • The amount of past-due support in the Notice of Levy is more than you owe.
  • Some or all of the money in your account comes from benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Transitional Assistance to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Transitional Aid to Needy Families (TANF), or Emergency Aid for Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC).
  • The money does not belong to you. For example, if you are keeping money for someone else in your account because you are their legal guardian.
  • The levy causes you a severe hardship.
     
What is a hardship exception?

If your life is incredibly difficult because the DOR/CSE freezes your money, you can check the box on the bank levy response form that says, “The levy of my account causes me a severe hardship for the reasons stated below.”

Some reasons that the bank levy might cause a severe hardship for you are that the levy:

  • Keeps you homeless, or makes homeless,
  • Keeps you from buying food,
  • Makes your home’s water or electricity get shut off,
  • Keeps you from going to work or looking for work,
  • Makes you lose your job,
  • Keeps you from getting medical help for yourself or your children,
  • Keeps you from getting education services for your child with special needs,
  • Keeps you from buying basic clothing,
  • Keeps you from paying your employees,
  • Makes you lose your business or go into bankruptcy, or
  • Keeps you in an abusive relationship.
     
How can I stop DOR/CSE from seizing my bank account?

Fill out the Bank Levy Response Form and send it to DOR within 15 days from the date on the Notice of Levy. On the Bank Levy Response Form, check off your reasons for stopping the levy.

Important

You need to include documentation for any reason you have checked.

When DOR/CSE gets your Bank Levy Response Form they review the decision to levy your accounts.

After DOR/CSE reviews the decision to levy your account, they send you a letter. They may decide the levy was wrong. If it was wrong, DOR/CSE will undo the levy.

Unlike other issues, DOR/CSE will not discuss the bank levy over the phone. You must return the Bank Levy Response Form.

What can I do if DOR/CSE decides it was right to levy my bank account and I disagree?

DOR/CSE may decide they were right to levy your account. If you think that DOR/CSE’s decision to levy your bank account was illegal, you can ask a court to review what DOR/CSE did.

Asking a court to decide if the bank levy is legal is asking for “judicial review.”

Judicial review is a complicated process. Talk to a lawyer to find out about judicial review of DOR/CSE’s decision to seize your bank account

To get a judicial review, you must file a Complaint for Judicial Review within 45 days of the date of the DOR/CSE’s written decision.

DOR/CSE’s decision on hardship claims is final. You cannot get the court to review hardship decisions.
But, there is another option. It is a “Complaint for Equitable Relief.” It is a very difficult and complex court process. Talk to a lawyer to find out about equitable relief.

If DOR/CSE has levied your bank account, the Volunteer Lawyers Project has a free online interview you can use to ask DOR/CSE to stop.

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