A child support order is a legally binding document that requires the legal parent of a child make child support payments to the other legal parent towards the cost of raising and caring for a child.
There are two different types of child support orders. Both types of child support orders are legally binding – the difference between the two comes down to who hears the child support case.
A child support order that is ordered by a judge in court is called a judicial child support order, while a child support ordered that is ordered by a the Department of Family Services is called an administrative child support order.
When looking for legal help, it is important to know what kind of child support order you have. If you have a copy of the order, here's how you can tell the difference:
Note: Your child support order may look different than the one shown below. The information on this page only applies to legally valid Illinois child support orders.
If your child support order has a Court Case No., or a docket number, you have a judicial child support order.
Example: "2021D999999"
If your child support order does NOT have a docket number, it must be an administrative child support order.
These orders come with an administrative case number.
Example: "221H999999"
Note: Administrative cases can be referred to the courts.
If your child support order has BOTH a docket number and an administrative case number, it is still a judicial child support order.
