Child Support Worksheets and Order

This free program asks questions and uses your answers to complete your forms. When you finish the interview, you can save, edit, email, download or print your completed forms. You will get instructions to help with your next steps. 

Watch our How-To Video to see how it works.

1. Instructions
2. Washington State Child Support Schedule Worksheets (WSCSS Worksheets)
3. Child Support Order (FL All Family 130)

You will also get these forms, if needed:

4. Attachment for Residential Split Adjustment (WSCSS Attachment for RSA)
5. Financial Declaration (FL All Family 131)
6. Sealed Financial Source Documents (Cover Sheet) (FL All Family 011)
7. Sealed Personal Health Care Records (Cover Sheet) (FL All Family 012)
8. Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery (FL All Family 112)

The Division of Child Support (DCS) can set and collect child support for children in Washington state (or when the responsible parent is in Washington state). DCS can only order support if a judge has not already ordered it in court.

You can also get child support through the courts.  A judge will order child support as part of a family law case, including:  

• Divorce
• Legal Separation
• Parentage (deciding who a child’s legal parents are)
• Petition for a Parenting Plan and/or Child Support (for unmarried parents after a court has decided parentage)
• Change of custody (Petition to Change Parenting Plan)
• Change child support (modify or adjust)

Someone who is not a legal parent can get child support if they have a Minor Guardianship or other court order giving them custody. This Washington Forms Online interview does not work for Minor Guardianship cases.

Judges look at the income of both parents and use a standard formula to calculate the amount. The calculation is done on “Worksheets” using a “Schedule”. DCS does it the same way. For more detail, read How is Child Support Set?

You must file proposed Worksheets to tell the judge (and the other parent) how much you think the child support amount should be. This interview will fill out the Worksheets and calculate child support based on your answers. It also fills out a proposed Child Support Order for the judge to sign.  

Both parents should file a Financial Declaration. A Financial Declaration is a statement about your income, assets, and expenses. It may also include information about the other parent’s income. You can use this child support interview to fill out your Financial Declaration.

You can make your best guess. This interview will help you estimate the other parent's income from what you know about their past work history. If you have no information, you can use the median income for a person of the other parent's age and gender.

You can use this form (DSHS 18-701) to ask DCS for any information they have about the other parent's earnings. DCS will only have information from employers in Washington State.

At the beginning of your case. File them at the same time as your Petition (or Response), or soon after. If the information changes, you can file another set later. You can also file them before a hearing or trial. 

The judge will approve a set of Worksheets when making a Child Support Order. The judge may sign Worksheets you prepared. Or the judge may ask you to prepare a new set of Worksheets with the specific income, expense, and child support amounts the judge announced at hearing or trial. This interview can help you do that.  

Financial records can help prove to the judge that what you are saying in your Financial Declaration is true. Local court rules may also require you to file certain kinds of financial records about your income, such as taxes, paystubs, or W-2s. You generally do not have to show proof of your expenses unless the judge or the other party questions them. 

If health issues have limited your ability to work, you may want to file health records to prove it.

Both financial and health records have sensitive personal information. This interview will give you Sealed Cover Sheets to use when filing your records. You may also black out (redact) information that you do not want anyone to see, like your social security number, or your address if it is confidential.

Using a Sealed Cover Sheet keeps your records away from the general public. You still must give a copy of anything you file with the court to the person/s on the other side of your case.

We strongly recommend you talk with a lawyer before filing child support papers. Even if you cannot afford to pay one to handle your case for you, a lawyer may answer questions and advise you about important legal rights.

If your children have ever been on public assistance (welfare), the state may get involved in your case. A Deputing Prosecuting Attorney may appear to represent the state's interests. The state lawyer may give you legal information, but cannot advise you what to do. The state lawyer represents the State of Washington, not you.

You need income information about yourself and the other parent. If either of you have filed a Financial Declaration, use that. Or look to any recent paystubs or tax papers. If paychecks vary, you can add up the past six months or a year and calculate the average monthly amount. If you do not know the other parent’s income, you can guess. 

If you have regular monthly expenses for the children’s health insurance premiums, day care, education, or long-distance travel expenses, have those numbers handy.

If you want to fill out your Financial Declaration, we will ask how much you spend each month on housing, utilities, food, health care, transportation, children’s expenses, and other household and personal expenses. We will also ask about monthly debt payments. Have bills or statements handy for reference.

This interview works best on a desktop computer, laptop, or large tablet. If you only have a mobile device, go to a library or other location with a desktop computer and printer. You must print your forms to file in court.

Your documents will download as PDF files. You can open them in Adobe or any other PDF viewer. You can email your forms directly from LawHelp Interactive to yourself or someone who can print them for you.

It could take up to 45 minutes to get through the interview. If you do not have enough time to finish, save your answers by creating a free account with LawHelp Interactive. You can create an account before you start or after you finish the interview.