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How to Modify Child Support in Virginia

Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Virginia · Last updated September 21, 2026

In Virginia, a child support modification is a court or agency changing the dollar amount of an existing child support order after a material change in circumstances since the last order (Va. Code 20-108). Virginia sets support with a statewide guideline that is presumed correct and is tied to both parents' incomes (Va. Code 20-108.2), so a real change in income, a job loss, or a shift in custody time can make the current amount too high or too low. You can seek a change in two ways. You can file a Motion to Amend or Review Order (Form DC-630) with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that entered your order, or, if the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) manages your case, you can ask DCSE for a Review and Adjustment. DCSE treats the change as material when the guideline amount would differ from the current order by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921). A change can reach back only to the date the other parent received notice of your petition, not to when your circumstances changed, so support that already came due cannot be reduced (Va. Code 20-108). You can also ask for a review about every three years. Keep paying your current order until it is changed. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Find out where you stand in Virginia

Where are you with changing your child support order?

DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.

How do I modify child support in Virginia?

File a Motion to Amend or Review Order (Form DC-630) with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that entered your order, or ask the Division of Child Support Enforcement to review it if DCSE manages your case. You must show a material change in circumstances since the last order (Va. Code 20-108).

How much must change to modify child support in Virginia?

For a court petition, Virginia requires a material change in circumstances, with no fixed percentage (Va. Code 20-108). Through a DCSE Review and Adjustment, the change is treated as material when the guideline amount would differ from the current order by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921).

How far back can a child support change go in Virginia?

A modification can reach back only to the date the other parent received notice of your petition, not to when your circumstances changed (Va. Code 20-108). Support that already came due cannot be reduced, so filing and giving notice promptly protects you. Keep paying the current order until a judge changes it.

Which court handles child support modifications in Virginia?

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that entered your order handles modifications, and a Circuit Court handles them when support was set as part of a divorce. If DCSE manages your case, you can also ask the agency for a Review and Adjustment without a full court hearing.

Virginia child support modification at a glance

In Virginia, a child support modification is a court or agency changing an existing support order after a material change in circumstances since the order was entered (Va. Code 20-108). Support follows a statewide guideline that is presumed correct and is based on both parents' incomes (Va. Code 20-108.2), so a change in income or parenting time can justify a new amount. You file a Motion to Amend or Review Order (Form DC-630) with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court, or ask the Division of Child Support Enforcement for a Review and Adjustment. DCSE treats the change as material when the guideline amount would differ from the current order by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921). A change reaches back only to the date the other parent received notice of your petition (Va. Code 20-108).

Lowering a Virginia order after a pay cut

Suppose your Virginia order was set two years ago and your hours were just cut, a material change in circumstances under Va. Code 20-108. You complete a Motion to Amend or Review Order (Form DC-630) with proof of your lower income and file it with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that entered your order. You make sure the other parent gets notice right away, because a change can reach back only to the date notice of the petition was given (Va. Code 20-108), and you keep paying the current amount until the judge rules. At the hearing the court recalculates support under the guideline (Va. Code 20-108.2) and enters a lower order effective from the notice date. Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Relevant Laws

Va. Code 20-108 (revision and alteration of support; no retroactive modification)

Authorizes a court to revise and alter a decree for child support and provides that no support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified from the date that notice of a pending petition has been given to the responding party.

Va. Code 20-108.2 (statewide child support guideline)

Establishes a rebuttable presumption that the amount produced by Virginia's statewide child support guideline, based on both parents' incomes, is the correct amount of support in any judicial or administrative proceeding.

Va. Code 63.2-1921 (DCSE administrative review and adjustment)

Provides that for an administrative review a material change in circumstances is deemed to have occurred if the difference between the existing award and the guideline amount is at least 10 percent of the existing award but not less than 25 dollars per month.

Virginia DSS: Learn More About Child Support Orders (DCSE Review and Adjustment)

The Division of Child Support Enforcement explains how to request a Review and Adjustment of a support order, when it can adjust an administrative order, and how a court must enter changes to a judicial order.

Regional Variances

Virginia child support modification rules at a glance

Qualifying threshold

A court petition requires a material change in circumstances since the last order, with no fixed percentage (Va. Code 20-108). A DCSE Review and Adjustment treats the change as material when the guideline amount would differ from the current order by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921).

Where to file

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court that entered your order, or the Circuit Court if support was set as part of a divorce. If the Division of Child Support Enforcement manages your case, you can instead ask the agency for a Review and Adjustment.

Modification form

Form DC-630, the Motion to Amend or Review Order, filed with the district court, with proof of current income. For the agency path, you submit the DCSE Request for Review and Adjustment. Both are free through the state.

Retroactivity

A modification can reach back only to the date notice of the petition was given to the responding party, not to when circumstances changed (Va. Code 20-108). Support that already came due cannot be reduced.

Periodic review

If the Division of Child Support Enforcement handles your case, you can generally request a review about every three years without showing a change, and sooner when a material change occurs.

Suggested Compliance Checklist

Gather proof of your material change in circumstances

Before you file days after starting

Collect current pay stubs, tax returns, and proof of the change (job loss, income change, or a new parenting schedule), and estimate the new guideline amount (Va. Code 20-108.2). Attorney review of your filing is available through DocDraft.

Complete the Motion to Amend or Review Order (DC-630)

As soon as your circumstances change days after starting

Fill out Form DC-630 asking to change child support and describe the material change in circumstances (Va. Code 20-108). Use the free Virginia Judicial System form and attach proof of your current income.

File with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court

Promptly (the change dates to the notice date) days after starting

File your DC-630 with the clerk of the court that entered your order, or the Circuit Court if support was set in your divorce, and pay the fee or ask for a waiver. Because a change dates only to the notice date, file promptly (Va. Code 20-108).

Give the other parent notice of the petition

Right after filing days after starting

Make sure the other parent is served with notice of your petition, then confirm service in the case file. A change can reach back only to the date notice of the petition was given to the responding party (Va. Code 20-108).

Consider a DCSE Review and Adjustment

Anytime your case is with the agency days after starting

If the Division of Child Support Enforcement manages your case, request a Review and Adjustment. DCSE treats the change as material when the guideline amount would differ by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921).

Attend the hearing and get the new order

On your hearing date days after starting

Go to the hearing with your income proof, let the court recalculate support under the guideline (Va. Code 20-108.2), and get the new order effective back to the notice date. Keep paying the current order until then.

Frequently Asked Questions

An involuntary income drop can be a material change in circumstances, but you must file a Motion to Amend or Review Order to change the amount; support keeps accruing at the old rate until the court acts (Va. Code 20-108). A judge may weigh whether you are earning what you reasonably could. Do not simply stop paying.

No. Either parent can file a Motion to Amend or Review Order on their own, and the other parent receives notice and can respond. If both parents agree on a new amount, they can present a written agreement for a judge to review against the guideline (Va. Code 20-108.2) and approve.

After you file Form DC-630, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court sets a hearing, often several weeks to a few months out depending on the locality. A DCSE Review and Adjustment can take time as well. Because a change reaches back only to the notice date, giving notice promptly protects you (Va. Code 20-108).

If the Division of Child Support Enforcement manages your case, you can request a Review and Adjustment. DCSE treats the change as material when the guideline amount would differ from the current order by at least 10 percent, but not less than 25 dollars per month (Va. Code 63.2-1921), and can adjust or take it to court.

You can ask whenever a material change in circumstances occurs (Va. Code 20-108). If the Division of Child Support Enforcement handles your case, you can generally request a review about every three years even without a change, under federal rules. There is no limit on filing when circumstances genuinely change.

A modification changes support only from the date the other parent received notice of your petition (Va. Code 20-108). Support that already came due, called arrears, cannot be reduced or erased by a modification. Keep paying your current order to avoid building arrears while your request is pending.

Filing a Motion to Amend or Review Order in district court carries a filing fee, but you can ask the court to waive it if you cannot afford it. A Review and Adjustment through the Division of Child Support Enforcement does not charge you a fee. Fee amounts vary by locality.

You file Form DC-630, the Motion to Amend or Review Order, with the district court, along with proof of your current income such as pay stubs and tax returns. For a DCSE Review and Adjustment, you submit the Request for Review and Adjustment through the agency. The forms are free.

Other Virginia guides

Asset Protection Planning in Virginia (2026)

Dealing With Debt Collectors in Virginia (2026)

Expunging a Criminal Record in Virginia (2026)

Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Virginia

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in Virginia (2026)

Firing an Employee in Virginia (2026)

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