Quick answer: In Arizona, each child support installment vests when it falls due and is enforceable as a final judgment. Interest on arrears is 10% a year, simple, on the principal only, starting at the end of the month after the due month. A judgment for support is enforceable until paid in full.
This Arizona child support arrears calculator adds up the unpaid principal and the simple interest under A.R.S. 25-510(E) and shows which enforcement conditions a balance meets. Arizona does not let a judgment for support expire by renewal rules, but an obligor can raise defenses such as unreasonable delay in collecting more than ten years after the youngest child’s emancipation, or the obligee’s voluntary relinquishment of physical custody.
Arizona child support arrears and interest at a glance
| Rule | What Arizona says |
|---|---|
| Each installment | Vests when due and is enforceable as a final judgment by operation of law (A.R.S. 25-503(I)) |
| Interest rate | 10% a year, simple, on the principal only (A.R.S. 25-510(E)) |
| When interest starts | At the end of the month following the month the payment was due, for arrears not yet reduced to a written judgment |
| Expiration | A judgment for support is exempt from renewal and enforceable until paid in full (25-503(M)) |
| Delay defense | If collection starts more than ten years after the youngest child’s emancipation, the obligor can assert unreasonable delay (25-503(L)) |
| License suspension | Needs a willful failure to pay, notice and at least six months in arrears (A.R.S. 25-518) |
| Payment priority | Current support first, then past-due support reduced to judgment and its interest (25-510(A)) |
How do child support arrears work in Arizona?
- Rate and method. See the Arizona child support interest rate.
- Collection. See what happens if you do not pay child support in Arizona.
- Time limits and forgiveness. See whether Arizona child support arrears expire or can be forgiven.
What does this arrears calculator check?
You enter the monthly support and the number of installments unpaid. The calculator figures simple interest at 10% a year on each unpaid installment from the end of the month after its due month, to the end of the current month, and shows whether the balance meets the six-months-in-arrears condition for license suspension and the federal $2,500 passport threshold. It does not model partial payments, credits or the agency’s own calculation. To change the amount going forward, see the Arizona child support modification calculator, and for when the obligation stops, the Arizona child support end date calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is the interest rate on child support arrears in Arizona?
10% a year, simple, accruing only on the principal and not on interest (A.R.S. 25-510(E)).
When does interest start on unpaid child support in Arizona?
For arrears not reduced to a final written money judgment, at the end of the month following the month in which the payment was due.
Do Arizona child support arrears expire?
A judgment for support is exempt from renewal and enforceable until paid in full, but an obligor can raise a defense of unreasonable delay if collection starts more than ten years after the youngest child's emancipation.
Can an Arizona parent be relieved of arrears if the child lived with them?
Voluntary relinquishment of physical custody to the obligor is an affirmative defense in whole or in part, if it exceeded court-ordered parenting time and the obligor supplied actual support.
Can I lose my license for unpaid child support in Arizona?
A court can send a certificate of noncompliance for a driver or recreational license after finding willful failure to pay, notice, and at least six months in arrears.
Official sources
- A.R.S. 25-503: vested installments, judgment on arrearages, defenses
- A.R.S. 25-510: payments, arrearages and interest
- A.R.S. 25-518: arrearage and license suspension
- A.R.S. 25-320: support orders and assignment
- Arizona Child Support Guidelines, Section XVI: child support arrears
- 42 U.S.C. 652(k): denial of passports