What if I could not afford to pay child support in Oklahoma?

Once the movant makes a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the obligor to prove the failure to pay was not willful, for example because of a genuine inability to pay rather than a choice not to pay. Proving that defeats the contempt citation.

Will an Oklahoma court order the other parent to pay my attorney's fees for a contempt citation?

The contempt statutes do not address attorney's fees, and whether fees are available on an ordinary contempt citation is not settled by them; the Department of Human Services sample application asks only for the costs of the matter. The separate, non-contempt Motion for Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights under 43 O.S. Section 111.3 does require that the prevailing party be granted reasonable attorney fees.

Oklahoma Motion for Contempt

Q: What is a motion for contempt called in Oklahoma?

An Application for Contempt Citation, Oklahoma's form of indirect civil contempt under 21 O.S. Sections 565 through 567 and 566.1. Filing it leads the court to issue a Citation for Contempt ordering the other parent, called the obligor, to appear. There is no mandatory statewide form; contempt pleadings are built from county-level or practitioner templates.

Q: How many days of notice does an Oklahoma contempt hearing require?

No Oklahoma statute sets a fixed number of days. The law requires only that the accused parent be notified in writing of the accusation and given a reasonable time to prepare a defense, so the assigned judge sets the actual hearing date.

Q: Can the other parent go to jail for contempt in Oklahoma?

Jail is not automatic. The court first decides whether contempt occurred. The general penalty is a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in jail; for a child support violation, the court may instead order jail on weekends or other times that let the obligor keep working, plus community service if the obligor is found willfully unemployed. Anyone jailed under Rule 8.3 gets no credit for good time.

Q: Is there a faster way to enforce parenting time in Oklahoma than filing for contempt?

Yes, for a non-custodial parent whose visitation the custodial parent denied or interfered with. Oklahoma provides a separate Motion for Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights under 43 O.S. Section 111.3, on a mandatory statewide form, with a hearing required within 21 days of filing and a decision required within 45 days, plus mandatory attorney fee shifting to the winner, none of which the general contempt statute provides.

Oklahoma also offers non-custodial parents a separate, faster motion when the custodial parent denies visitation, which the state's contempt statute does not provide on its own.

Find out where you stand in Oklahoma

What court order is not being followed?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

Introduction

Oklahoma enforces a family court order through an Application for Contempt Citation, Oklahoma's form of indirect civil contempt under 21 O.S. Sections 565 through 567 and 21 O.S. Section 566.1; filing it leads the court to issue a Citation for Contempt ordering the other parent, called the obligor, to appear. Oklahoma has no mandatory statewide Application for Contempt Citation form. The Administrative Office of the Courts' statewide domestic and family law forms list does not include one; contempt pleadings are built from county-level or practitioner templates, and the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Child Support Bench Book supplies a sample used by its own attorneys. Check your county's family docket before filing to see whether a local template exists. The obligor must be served personally, by certified mail, or by an Acknowledgment for Receipt with the contempt pleadings, unless the obligor's attorney agrees to accept service; notice by regular mail alone is not proof of service and cannot support a bench warrant for a failure to appear. No statute sets a fixed number of days of notice before the hearing; the law requires only that the accused parent be notified in writing of the accusation and given a reasonable time to prepare a defense, so the assigned judge sets the actual hearing date. If the court finds indirect contempt, the general penalty is a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in jail; for a child support violation specifically, the court may instead order jail on weekends or other times that let the obligor keep working, plus community service if the obligor is found willfully unemployed. To purge a support contempt, District Court Rule 8.3 requires the obligor to resume the ordered payments and pay down the arrearage, but caps the total required payments at 40% of the obligor's gross monthly income, and bars any credit for good time for anyone jailed under it. The contempt statutes do not address attorney's fees; the Department of Human Services sample application asks the court to order the obligor to pay the costs of the matter. An obligor who proves the missed payments were not willful, because of a genuine inability to pay rather than a choice not to pay, defeats the motion. Oklahoma Child Support Services, a division of the Department of Human Services, works to establish, monitor, and enforce child support. When a custodial parent denies or interferes with a non-custodial parent's visitation, Oklahoma also provides a separate, non-contempt Motion for Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights under 43 O.S. Section 111.3, on a mandatory statewide form, with a hearing required within 21 days, a decision required within 45 days, and mandatory attorney's fee shifting to the winner, none of which the general contempt statute provides. Filing this motion does not mean the other parent will go to jail: the court decides whether contempt occurred and what sanction, if any, to impose. Do not withhold child support because parenting time was denied, and do not deny parenting time because support is unpaid; either one can itself be treated as contempt. This page does not cover modifying support or parenting time; use DocDraft's child support modification and parenting plan pages for that. If there is domestic violence or a safety risk, use DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead of this motion. Attorney review is available before you file.

Key Things to Know

1
Oklahoma calls this an Application for Contempt Citation, an indirect civil contempt proceeding under 21 O.S. Sections 565 through 567 and 566.1; filing it leads to a Citation for Contempt ordering the other parent to appear. There is no mandatory statewide form; pleadings are built from county-level or practitioner templates, so check with your county's family docket.
2
The obligor must be served personally, by certified mail, or by an Acknowledgment for Receipt with the contempt pleadings, unless the obligor's attorney agrees to accept service. Notice by regular mail alone is not proof of service and cannot support a bench warrant for a failure to appear.
3
No Oklahoma statute sets a fixed number of days of notice before a contempt hearing; the law requires only that the accused parent get written notice of the accusation and a reasonable time to prepare a defense, so the assigned judge sets the actual hearing date.
4
If the court finds indirect contempt, the general penalty is a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in jail. For a child support violation, the court may instead order jail on weekends or other times that let the obligor keep working, plus community service if the obligor is found willfully unemployed, and anyone jailed under Rule 8.3 gets no credit for good time.
5
To purge a support contempt, District Court Rule 8.3 requires the obligor to resume the ordered payments and pay down the arrearage, but caps the total required payments at 40% of the obligor's gross monthly income. An obligor who proves the missed payments were not willful, because of a genuine inability to pay rather than a choice not to pay, defeats the motion.
6
Do not withhold child support because parenting time was denied, and do not deny parenting time because support is unpaid; either one can itself be treated as contempt.
7
Oklahoma Child Support Services works to enforce child support, and when a custodial parent denies a non-custodial parent's visitation, the separate Motion for Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights under 43 O.S. Section 111.3 uses a mandatory statewide form with a hearing within 21 days and mandatory fee shifting, faster than filing for contempt. This page does not cover modifying support or parenting time (see DocDraft's child support modification and parenting plan pages), and if there is domestic violence or a safety risk, use DocDraft's getting a restraining order guide instead.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Motion for Contempt in Oklahoma, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Motion for Contempt guide walks through them.

Open the Motion for Contempt guide

Customize your Motion for Contempt Template with DocDraft

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF [COUNTY] COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA

[PETITIONER NAME], Petitioner,

vs. Case No. [CASE NUMBER]

[RESPONDENT NAME], Respondent.

APPLICATION FOR CONTEMPT CITATION

COMES NOW [PETITIONER NAME], Applicant, and applies to this Court for a Citation for Contempt directing [RESPONDENT NAME], the obligor, to appear and show cause why obligor should not be held in indirect contempt of court, and states:

On [DATE OF ORDER], this Court entered an order in this case requiring [RESPONDENT NAME] to [DESCRIPTION OF THE ORDER PROVISION AT ISSUE].
[RESPONDENT NAME] had knowledge of this order, or was present in court when it was pronounced, and had the ability to comply with it.
[RESPONDENT NAME] has failed to comply with the order as follows: a. [DATE OF VIOLATION]: [DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC FAILURE TO COMPLY, INCLUDING THE AMOUNT OF ANY UNPAID SUPPORT] b. [DATE OF VIOLATION]: [DESCRIPTION OF THE SPECIFIC FAILURE TO COMPLY]
As of the date of this application, [RESPONDENT NAME] owes unpaid support of [DOLLAR AMOUNT] for the period from [START DATE] through [END DATE].
[RESPONDENT NAME]'s noncompliance was willful and was not the result of an inability to pay or comply.
The amount necessary to purge the contempt is [PURGE AMOUNT], to be paid as set by this Court under Rule 8.3 of the Rules for District Courts of Oklahoma.

WHEREFORE, Applicant asks this Court to: a. issue a Citation for Contempt directing [RESPONDENT NAME] to appear on a date this Court sets and show cause why [RESPONDENT NAME] should not be punished for indirect contempt of court; b. determine the total unpaid balance described above and set a purge amount and payment plan consistent with Rule 8.3; c. punish [RESPONDENT NAME] for indirect contempt if [RESPONDENT NAME] cannot show a valid excuse for the noncompliance described above; d. order [RESPONDENT NAME] to pay the costs associated with this matter; e. grant any other relief this Court deems just.

VERIFICATION

I state under penalty of perjury under the laws of Oklahoma that the foregoing is true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief, according to the information provided.

[SIGNATURE] [PETITIONER NAME] [ADDRESS] [CITY, OKLAHOMA ZIP] [PHONE] [EMAIL]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [DATE OF SERVICE], a copy of this Application for Contempt Citation was served on [RESPONDENT NAME] by [PERSONAL SERVICE, CERTIFIED MAIL, OR ACKNOWLEDGMENT FOR RECEIPT].

[SIGNATURE] [NAME]

Oklahoma Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Application for Contempt Citation, No Mandatory Statewide Form
Oklahoma enforces family orders through an Application for Contempt Citation, indirect civil contempt under 21 O.S. Sections 565 through 567 and 566.1, followed by a court-issued Citation for Contempt. No mandatory statewide application or citation form exists; pleadings are built from county-level or practitioner templates.
Service by Personal Delivery, Certified Mail, or Acknowledgment
The obligor must be served personally, by certified mail, or by an Acknowledgment for Receipt with the contempt pleadings, unless the obligor's attorney agrees to accept service. Notice by regular mail alone is not proof of service and cannot support a bench warrant for a failure to appear.
No Statutory Notice-Day Minimum Before the Hearing
No Oklahoma statute fixes the number of days of notice before an indirect contempt hearing; the accused parent need only receive written notice of the accusation and a reasonable time to prepare a defense, and the assigned judge sets the hearing date.
Purge Formula Capped at 40% of Gross Monthly Income
District Court Rule 8.3 requires the obligor to resume ordered payments and pay down the arrearage in a lump sum if able, or through additional monthly payments equal to one-half of the current support obligation, with the total required payments capped at 40% of the obligor's gross monthly income.
Incarceration Caps and Flat-Time Rule
General indirect contempt is punishable by a fine of up to $500 and up to 6 months in jail. For a support violation, the court may instead order jail on weekends or other times that allow the obligor to work, plus community service if the obligor is found willfully unemployed; anyone jailed under Rule 8.3 receives no credit for good time and must serve flat time.
Ability-to-Pay and Willfulness Defense
The movant must first establish a prima facie case that an order existed and was not complied with; the burden then shifts to the obligor to prove the failure to pay was not willful, including through an inability to pay, and once shown the contempt citation fails.
Prima Facie Elements and Purge Amount
In a child support case, the application must allege that the order was made, filed, and served on the obligor, or that the obligor had actual knowledge of it, was present when it was pronounced, or it was granted by default after due process notice, plus proof of noncompliance and the amount required to purge the contempt.
Verification Under Penalty of Perjury
The application is verified, stating under penalty of perjury that its contents are true and correct to the best of the applicant's knowledge and belief; Tulsa County's Family Division rule separately requires post-decree applications, including contempt citations, to be verified.
Separate Visitation Enforcement Alternative
When a custodial parent denies or interferes with a non-custodial parent's visitation, 43 O.S. Section 111.3 provides a separate, non-contempt Motion for Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights on a mandatory statewide form, with a hearing required within 21 days, a decision within 45 days, and mandatory attorney fee shifting to the winner.

Find out where you stand in Oklahoma

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Motion for Contempt Template with DocDraft

Oklahoma Requirements for Motion for Contempt

Application for Contempt Citation, No Mandatory Statewide Form

Service by Personal Delivery, Certified Mail, or Acknowledgment

No Statutory Notice-Day Minimum Before the Hearing

Purge Formula Capped at 40% of Gross Monthly Income

Incarceration Caps and Flat-Time Rule

Ability-to-Pay and Willfulness Defense

Prima Facie Elements and Purge Amount

Verification Under Penalty of Perjury

Separate Visitation Enforcement Alternative

Frequently Asked Questions