Last updated: August 2026
by Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy at Mediate UK. Reviewed by Belinda Atkins, Managing Director, Family Legal Ltd. Written in accordance with our editorial standards. Information is current as of 31 August 2026.
Our family mediator explains when child maintenance ends, and the step most paying parents miss.
Key Takeaways
- What age does child maintenance stop? At 16 if your child leaves education, and at 20 at the very latest. Twenty is an absolute cut off whatever they are studying.
- When a course finishes, payments end on the last day of February, May, August or November, whichever comes first. Not on the last day of term, and not on a birthday.
- Payments never stop automatically. You have to tell the Child Maintenance Service, and arrears keep building until you do.
- University does not count. CMS maintenance covers non advanced education only, so it ends when A levels or the equivalent end.
- Maintenance can end early if your child marries, becomes genuinely self supporting, or moves in with you full time.
When do I stop paying child maintenance
You stop paying child maintenance when your child turns 16 and leaves education, or when they leave approved education or training later, or when they turn 20, whichever happens first. Where a course finishes, the payment actually ends on the last day of February, May, August or November. Payments do not stop by themselves: you must tell the Child Maintenance Service, or arrears will continue to build against you.
When do I stop paying child maintenance is one of the most searched questions in UK family law, and the reason is simple. You have paid for years, your child is nearly grown, and nobody has ever told you where the finish line is.
The age itself is the easy part. The part that catches people out is that the obligation does not end on a birthday or on the last day of school, and it does not end just because it should have. It ends on one of four fixed dates in the year, and only once you have told the Child Maintenance Service. Get that wrong and you can carry on owing money for a child who left college two years ago.
This guide covers the ages, the exact stop dates, the situations that end payments early, and how to close a case down properly. If instead you are trying to work out the amount rather than the end date, our guide to how child maintenance is calculated takes you through the formula.
The CMS calculator gives you a figure, but not the answer on school fees, clubs, uniform or who pays for the extras. Our accredited family mediators help you agree the whole picture, and put it in writing so it is not revisited every month.
What Age Does Child Maintenance Stop?
There are two ages that matter, and one of them is absolute.
- 16: the earliest point maintenance can end. It stops here only if your child leaves education and does not start approved training.
- 20: the absolute cut off. Whatever your child is studying, and however long the course runs, CMS maintenance ends when they turn 20.
Between those two ages, it depends entirely on whether your child stays in approved education or training. A useful rule of thumb: if the receiving parent is still getting Child Benefit, child maintenance is still owed. The two almost always end together, so Child Benefit is the quickest way to sense check where you stand.
What Age Do You Stop Paying Child Maintenance If They Stay in Education?
If your child stays on, you keep paying until they finish the course or turn 20. In practice, for most families that means the summer after A levels, when the child is 18. Approved education has to be full time, meaning more than an average of 12 hours a week of supervised study, and it has to be non advanced. That includes:
- A levels, Scottish Highers, National 5s and the International Baccalaureate
- T levels
- NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3
- Home education, if it began before your child turned 16, or after 16 where they have special needs
- Traineeships in England
One catch worth knowing: your child has to have been accepted onto the course before they turn 19. A course started after that does not extend maintenance, even if they are still under 20.
When Does Child Maintenance Stop? The Four Dates Nobody Mentions
This is the detail most guides leave out, and it is the one that causes the arguments. When a child completes a course, maintenance does not end on results day, on the last day of term, or on their birthday. It ends on the last day of February, May, August or November, whichever comes first.
So a child finishing A levels in June carries on being covered until 31 August. A paying parent who stops in June because the exams are over is three months short, and those three months become arrears.
The one exception: where your child turns 20 while still studying, payments stop after their birthday rather than waiting for the next quarter date. Twenty always wins.
When Do You Stop Paying Child Maintenance? Quick Reference Table
Your situation decides the date. Find the row that matches yours.
| Your child’s situation | When maintenance stops | What you must do |
| Leaves school at 16, no further education or training | The next quarter date after they leave | Tell the CMS straight away |
| Stays on for A levels or college after 16 | 31 August after they finish, usually at 18 | Tell the CMS when the course ends |
| Goes to university at 18 | When the non advanced course ends, not when the degree starts | Tell the CMS. Any university support is a separate, voluntary arrangement |
| Still in approved education at 20 | Their 20th birthday, whatever they are studying | Tell the CMS. Twenty is the absolute cut off |
| Marries or enters a civil partnership | Straight away, whatever their age | Send the CMS the certificate |
| Becomes financially independent in full time work | When they are genuinely self supporting | Tell the CMS, with evidence of the employment |
| Moves in with you full time | When the move is permanent | Tell the CMS. The other parent may now owe you |
| Has a Saturday job while still studying | It does not stop. Payments carry on | Nothing to do |
How Long Do You Pay Child Maintenance For?
From the date the case starts until one of the endings above. In practice, for a child who stays on for A levels, that is until the August after they turn 18, so around two years past the earliest possible end date. For a child who leaves at 16, it is the next quarter date.
There is one thing that outlives all of it. Arrears do not end when maintenance ends. If you owe money when the case closes, the CMS can still pursue it, and its collection powers do not expire on your child’s 20th birthday.
Do I Have to Pay Child Support After Age 18 in the UK?
Often yes, at least for a few months. Turning 18 changes nothing on its own. What matters is whether your child is still in approved education, and the answer splits three ways:
- Still doing A levels or an equivalent course: you keep paying, normally until 31 August after the course finishes.
- Left education: your CMS liability has ended. Tell the CMS if you have not already.
- Off to university: CMS maintenance ends when the non advanced course ends. A degree does not extend it.
People often use “child support” and “child maintenance” to mean the same thing, and in everyday conversation they do. “Child support” is really the older term, from the days of the Child Support Agency, which was replaced by the Child Maintenance Service back in 2012.
Do You Pay Child Maintenance If a Child Goes to University?
Not through the CMS. A university degree is advanced education, and the CMS scheme only covers non advanced education up to A level standard. So the statutory obligation ends when the school or college course ends, whether or not a place at university is waiting.
That is a statutory boundary rather than a judgment call, and it catches out plenty of families who assumed the payments would simply roll on. Many parents do keep supporting their children through university, but they do it by choice or by agreement, not because the CMS requires it. The usual routes are:
- Informal voluntary payments, often straight into the student’s own account
- Splitting specific costs such as rent, tuition or travel home
- A written agreement reached in mediation, so both parents know what is expected
- A term in a court order or separation agreement, where one already exists
The families who handle this best tend to be the ones who talk about it before the UCAS offers land, not after. A conversation in the spring of Year 13 is a very different conversation from one in the second week of freshers.
“We see a lot of parents confused about whether a part time job changes anything. The question is never how much your child earns, it is whether they are genuinely supporting themselves. A Saturday job alongside college almost never counts, and stopping payments over one is how good co-parenting relationships come apart.”
Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy, Mediate UK
Under What Circumstances Can You Stop Paying Child Maintenance Early?
Three situations end maintenance before the education rules would:
Your Child Marries or Enters a Civil Partnership
Maintenance ends immediately, at any age. Send the CMS a copy of the certificate.
Your Child Becomes Financially Independent
If your child leaves education and moves into full time work, maintenance ends. Part time work alongside study does not count, however well paid. The test is whether they are genuinely supporting themselves.
Your Child Moves In With You Full Time
This one is more common than people expect, particularly in the late teens, and it is the one most often handled badly. If your child moves in with you permanently:
- Tell the CMS immediately. Do not wait to see whether the move sticks. Arrears build in the meantime.
- The payments may reverse. If your child is now based with you, the other parent may owe you maintenance instead.
- It has to be permanent. A summer with you, or a few weeks after a row at home, does not change anything.
- More overnights is not the same as moving in. Extra nights reduce the payment through the shared care bands. Only a genuine change of home ends it.
Case study: when a child moves back
We worked with a father whose 17 year old daughter moved in with him after a falling out at her mother’s house. He assumed the maintenance simply ended, so he stopped paying. Because he never told the CMS, the liability stayed live and arrears accrued on paper for months. What both parents actually agreed about was never in dispute. The paperwork was. It took a mediation session and a good deal of unnecessary stress to unpick. Tell the CMS on day one, even where you and your ex agree completely.
Where the two of you disagree about whether a move is permanent, family mediation is usually quicker and cheaper than letting it turn into a formal CMS dispute.
How Do You Stop Child Maintenance Payments Properly?
Four steps, in order. The whole thing takes an afternoon and saves months of trouble.
| 1 | Check where your child actually standsTheir age, whether they are still in approved education, and whether anything has changed at home. Check whether Child Benefit is still in payment, because it is the fastest sense check there is. |
| 2 | Get the evidence togetherSchool or college confirmation that the course has ended, an employment contract, a marriage or civil partnership certificate, or proof of a change of address, depending on which ending applies. |
| 3 | Tell the Child Maintenance ServiceReport it through your online CMS account, by phone or by post. The current contact routes are on the GOV.UK page for the Child Maintenance Service. Do this as soon as circumstances change rather than waiting for a birthday. |
| 4 | Tell your child’s other parentA short message before the money stops prevents the assumption that you have simply decided to stop paying. This is the step that protects the co-parenting relationship. |
“We worked with a father who stopped paying on his daughter’s 16th birthday without telling anyone. She was still at college, so he actually owed another two years. By the time it surfaced, the arrears were the least of it. His daughter had drawn her own conclusions about why the money stopped, and that took far longer to repair than the payment plan did.”
Jess Knauf, Director of Client Strategy, Mediate UK
What Happens If You Stop Paying Without Telling the CMS?
The liability stays live. That is the whole problem: the CMS has no way of knowing your circumstances changed, so as far as its system is concerned you have simply stopped paying.
- Arrears build up from the day you stop until the day you report the change, and you will owe all of it.
- Enforcement can follow, including deductions straight from your wages or your bank account, and in serious cases a liability order, bailiffs, or an application to remove your driving licence or passport.
- The relationship takes the damage, and that is usually the part people regret. A stopped payment with no explanation reads as a decision, not an administrative event.
For scale: DWP figures published on 30 June 2026 show £791.2 million of unpaid child maintenance has built up since the service began in 2012. A good share of that started as a paying parent who believed, honestly enough, that their liability had ended.
How Long Does My Ex Have to Pay Child Maintenance?
Exactly the same rules, in reverse. If you are the receiving parent, your ex pays until your child turns 16 and leaves education, finishes approved education, turns 20, marries, becomes financially independent, or moves in with them.
Two things receiving parents ask about most. Your own income makes no difference: the calculation is based on the paying parent’s income, so they still owe maintenance even if you earn more. And if payments stop and you do not think they should have, contact the CMS rather than waiting, because the sooner it is reported the sooner it can be recovered.
What Reduces Child Maintenance Payments?
Short of ending altogether, four things legitimately bring the figure down.
- Shared care: 52 to 103 nights a year cuts the payment by one seventh, 104 to 155 nights by two sevenths, 156 to 174 nights by three sevenths, and 175 nights or more by half plus a further £7 a week for each child in that band.
- Other children living with you: gross weekly income is reduced by 11% for one other child, 14% for two and 16% for three or more, before the rate is applied.
- Pension contributions: workplace pension contributions come off gross income for the calculation.
- A genuine drop in income: 25% is the threshold. An increase of 25% or more has to be reported, and a fall of 25% or more can be. Below that, nothing changes until the annual review.
A common myth: reaching 175 nights a year does not make you the receiving parent, and it does not take the payment to zero. It halves it, with a further £7 a week off for each child. Even a full 50:50 arrangement usually leaves something payable.
Your own outgoings do not come into it. Rent, mortgage and bills have no effect on the calculation, which works from gross income and assumes you will budget the rest. The full mechanics of the formula, including the rate bands and worked examples, sit in the companion guide linked at the foot of this page.
What Is Not Included in Child Maintenance?
Maintenance covers everyday living costs. It does not automatically cover:
- School trips, clubs and extracurricular activities
- Birthday and Christmas presents
- Holidays
- Driving lessons
- University costs
- A contribution to a wedding, or a deposit for a first home
These are agreed between parents, or not agreed, which is where a lot of the friction lives. Two related questions come up constantly.
Do I Have to Buy Clothes If I Pay Child Support?
No, not as a separate obligation. Clothing is one of the basic costs maintenance is meant to cover, and the receiving parent decides how the money is spent. In practice most parents keep a set of clothes at each home because it makes life easier, particularly for the child, but nothing requires it. School uniform and kit are expensive enough to be worth agreeing between you rather than assuming.
Are School Dinners Included in Child Maintenance?
Yes, in the sense that food is part of what maintenance covers. School dinners are not an extra charge on top. The receiving parent decides whether the money goes on school meals or packed lunches. If your child qualifies for free school meals, it makes no difference to the calculation.
If you are unhappy about how maintenance is being spent, reducing the payments yourself is the one response guaranteed to make things worse. Raise it directly, or in mediation.
How Can Mediation Help When You Cannot Agree?
Most disputes about ending maintenance are not really about the law. They are about one parent believing the other has stopped paying early, or stopped without saying anything. Mediation is well suited to that, because it deals with the whole picture rather than one line of it.
In a session you can settle the end date, agree what happens about university if that is coming, decide who covers the extras, and write it down so it is not reopened every few months. Legal aid for family mediation is means tested, so if you meet the financial criteria your MIAM and your sessions are free. You can check with our legal aid eligibility checker in about two minutes.
Summary
Child maintenance stops at 16 if your child leaves education, when approved education or training ends, or at 20 at the very latest. Where a course finishes, the payment ends on the last day of February, May, August or November, so a child finishing A levels in June is covered until 31 August.
University is advanced education and falls outside the CMS scheme, so a degree does not extend the obligation. Maintenance can also end early if your child marries, becomes genuinely self supporting, or moves in with you permanently.
Whichever ending applies, nothing happens by itself. Tell the CMS, tell the other parent, and keep the evidence. Arrears accrue until the change is recorded, and they outlast the maintenance itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do I stop paying child maintenance in the UK?
When your child turns 16 and leaves education, when they finish approved education or training, or when they turn 20, whichever comes first. Where a course finishes, the payment ends on the last day of February, May, August or November. Payments never stop automatically, so you must tell the Child Maintenance Service.
What age does child maintenance stop?
Sixteen at the earliest and 20 at the latest. It stops at 16 only if your child leaves education and does not start approved training. If they stay on, it runs until the course ends or they turn 20. Twenty is an absolute cut off, whatever they are studying.
How long do you pay child maintenance for?
From the start of the case until your child leaves approved education or turns 20. For a child who stays on for A levels that usually means until the 31 August after they turn 18. Arrears outlast the maintenance itself, so anything unpaid can still be pursued after the case closes.
Do I have to pay child support after age 18 in the UK?
Yes, if your child is still in full time approved education such as A levels or a college course, normally until the 31 August after they finish. If they have already left education, your liability has ended. Going to university does not extend it, because a degree is advanced education and falls outside the CMS scheme.
Do you pay child maintenance if a child goes to university?
Not through the Child Maintenance Service. CMS maintenance covers non advanced education only, so it ends when the school or college course ends, whether or not a university place is waiting. Many parents carry on supporting their children through university, but by agreement rather than obligation, unless a court order or separation agreement says otherwise.
Under what circumstances can you stop paying child maintenance?
When your child turns 16 and leaves education, finishes approved education, turns 20, marries or enters a civil partnership, becomes genuinely financially independent through full time work, or moves in with you permanently. Every one of those requires you to notify the CMS.
What happens if I stop paying child maintenance without telling the CMS?
The liability stays live and arrears build from the day you stop until the day you report the change. The CMS can then deduct from your wages or bank account, and in serious cases apply for a liability order, use bailiffs, or ask a court to remove your driving licence or passport. Report the change first, then stop paying.
What happens if my child moves back in with me full time?
Tell the CMS immediately, even if you and the other parent agree about the move. The payments can reverse, so the other parent may end up owing you. The move has to be permanent rather than a temporary stay, and simply increasing overnight contact reduces the payment through the shared care bands rather than ending it.
Does a part time job affect child maintenance?
No. A Saturday job or part time work alongside college does not change anything. The test is whether your child is genuinely supporting themselves, and part time earnings alongside full time study do not meet it.
What reduces child maintenance payments?
Shared care reduces it by one seventh for 52 to 103 nights a year, two sevenths for 104 to 155, three sevenths for 156 to 174, and by half plus a further £7 a week for each child at 175 nights or more. Other children living with you reduce gross weekly income by 11%, 14% or 16%. Workplace pension contributions come off gross income, and an income change of 25% or more triggers a recalculation.
Does 175 nights a year mean I stop paying altogether?
No, and this is a common misunderstanding. At 175 nights or more the payment is halved and reduced by a further £7 a week for each child in that band, but half of the assessment is still payable. Reaching 175 nights does not turn you into the receiving parent.
Does child maintenance take your outgoings into account?
No. The calculation works from gross income, so rent, mortgage and bills do not reduce what you owe. Workplace pension contributions, other children living with you, and overnight stays with your children are the things that do affect it.
What is not included in child maintenance?
Maintenance covers everyday living costs such as housing, food and clothing. It does not automatically cover school trips, clubs, holidays, driving lessons, university costs, presents, or a contribution to a wedding or a house deposit. Those are agreed separately between parents.
How long does my ex have to pay child maintenance?
The same rules apply whichever parent is paying: until your child turns 16 and leaves education, finishes approved education, turns 20, marries, becomes financially independent, or moves in with them. Your own income makes no difference, because the calculation is based on the paying parent’s income alone.
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