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Ministry of Justice

What kind of action can the FMEP take to enforce payments?

Many payor will never fall behind in their payments and enforcement action against them will never be necessary. If a payor does fall into arrears, however, and enforcement is necessary, federal and provincial laws give the FMEP the authority to use a number of measures, depending on how much money is owing and what the FMEP knows about the payor's current situation. The FMEP's enforcement options include:

  • Requiring anyone who owes the payor money to pay it directly to the FMEP. This is called "attaching" income, and may be applied to virtually any income, including wages, pensions, income tax refunds or GST credits, workers' compensation benefits or rental income. The FMEP may also attach bank accounts or other assets.
  • Registering a lien against any land or personal property a payor may own (including a car, boat, trailer or manufactured home).
  • Obtaining a court order to seize the payor's personal property and arranging for the sale of that property if the payor does not pay the arrears.
  • Bringing the case to court, for a judge to decide on any additional enforcement action.
The FMEP's enforcement options also include:
  • If the payor owes more than $2,000.00 in maintenance, reporting the payor to a credit bureau. This may affect the payor's ability to qualify for a credit card or take out a loan.
  • If the payor owes more than $3,000.00 in maintenance:
    • instructing ICBC to refuse to issue or renew the payor's driver's licence
    • requesting the federal government to suspend, refuse to issue or renew the payor's passport and/or federal aviation or marine licence.
  • If the payor owns all or a major part of a corporation, making the payor's corporation liable for the payor's maintenance payments.

In addition to these enforcement actions, if the payor misses or is late on two payments within the same calendar year, the FMEP will automatically charge the payor a Default Fee. The Default Fee is equal to one month's maintenance, up to a maximum of $400.00. The fee goes to the BC government, not to the recipient, to help the government cover the costs of operating this program.

The FMEP also charges payors daily interest on the current balance of unpaid maintenance and adds the interest to its records at the end of each month. All interest goes to recipients.

For more information, see our fact sheets for payors: