SupportDecode

Nonnumeric preparation aid

Child Support Modification Checklist

Organize the documents behind an order review and find the official route for your state. This page covers Texas, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey and Ohio. It does not calculate a new order or decide whether a legal standard is met.

Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log

Preparation checklist, not an eligibility test

The boxes are optional planning marks. There is no score, submission or “qualified” result. SupportDecode does not receive the selections. The checklist works without JavaScript and can be printed using your browser’s Print command.

Records and route preparation

What an amount comparison cannot tell you

A current guideline estimate and an existing order can differ for several reasons. The order may contain an agreed deviation, separate medical support, a different parenting structure or a discretionary amount. A calculator that cannot reproduce those facts cannot turn the gap into a reliable modification decision.

Our existing state calculators can explain supported guideline math. They do not change an order. The current amount remains enforceable unless changed through the authorized process. A review may increase support as well as decrease it.

Read the modification and review explainer

Texas: court and agency routes

Court process
Family Code § 156.401 provides a material-and-substantial-change route and a three-year route with a 20% or $100 guideline difference. An agreed non-guideline order has a separate restriction: the numeric shortcut does not replace the required material and substantial change.
Agency review
The OAG review request is for an active/open child-support case. Its official process explains review and the possible increase as well as decrease. An informal parental agreement does not change the court-ordered amount.

What this page cannot decide: SupportDecode does not decide the percentage basis, comparable components, changed circumstances or eligibility for this order.

Current Family Code compilation and undated OAG guidance checked October 2, 2026.

Official Texas review information

Florida: court and agency routes

Court process
Section 61.30 distinguishes the court guideline-difference rule, at least 15% or $50, whichever is greater, from the Department-reviewed rule, at least 10% but not less than $25. These are different routes, not one nationwide threshold.
Agency review
DOR’s current public guidance describes review for a Program case when the order will not end within six months and either three years have passed since a change/review or a large life change can be shown. Its review can lead to an increase or decrease.

What this page cannot decide: The percentage basis and the relationship between statutory and administrative screening remain unresolved for our numerical model. This checklist does not apply a threshold to your amounts.

Current official statute and undated DOR review guidance checked October 2, 2026; no new effective date is inferred from the review date.

Official Florida review information

Maryland: court and agency routes

Court process
Family Law § 12-104 requires a motion and a material change of circumstance. It bars modification for a period before the filing date. The statute does not give this checklist a percentage pass/fail rule.
Agency review
DHS describes a review request every three years, or at any time when a material change can be shown. Review timing is not a decision that the existing amount will change.

What this page cannot decide: We do not turn the three-year review-request language into a numeric eligibility result or a retroactive refund estimate.

Current statutory text and the official 2025 DHS Questions and Answers booklet checked October 2, 2026.

Official Maryland review information

New Jersey: court and agency routes

Court process
A court application and the Child Support Program’s periodic review are not the same process. The 20% figure described in N.J.A.C. 10:110-14.2 belongs to the agency’s triennial review, not a universal court-motion test.
Agency review
The rules set out 36-month timing plus case-selection requirements and exclusions. The agency seeks adjustment after a warranted review when the new amount differs by 20% or more, or when a qualifying health-coverage provision is missing.

What this page cannot decide: A missing address, another state’s order or another exclusion can change the route. This page does not resolve the percentage denominator, rounding or comparable order components.

Official rule compilation through the June 16, 2025 Register rechecked October 2, 2026.

Official New Jersey review information

Ohio: court and agency routes

Court process
Section 3119.79 uses a current worksheet recalculation more than 10% above or below the existing support amount. Exactly 10% does not meet that numeric comparison. Medical-coverage and unanticipated-change routes are addressed separately.
Agency review
O.A.C. 5101:12-60-05.1 provides a 36-month agency-review request path and listed, evidence-dependent earlier-review events. Agency screening is not the court’s more-than-10% worksheet result.

What this page cannot decide: Our private comparison code is not a public modification calculator. A current official worksheet and comparable order components are needed; repository-engine arithmetic alone is not official verification.

Court statute effective March 28, 2019; agency rule effective April 1, 2025. Both rechecked October 2, 2026.

Official Ohio review information

Keep personal case documents off this page

No upload, case number, child’s name, income or order date is requested here. Official portals have their own privacy practices. The links identify the responsible agency or rule; they do not submit a review request for you.

Modification checklist FAQs

Does this checklist tell me whether I qualify for a child support modification?

No. It helps organize records and distinguish agency review from court modification. Checking every box does not satisfy a legal threshold, authorize a filing or change an order.

Can a modification review increase child support?

Yes. Texas OAG and Florida DOR explain that a review can increase or decrease the amount. A request is not a guarantee that support will be reduced.

Can I compare my total payroll deduction with a new guideline estimate?

Not safely without separating the components. A payroll deduction may combine current child support, medical support, arrears repayment and other charges. The official review must compare the appropriate components for the selected route.

Are my checklist choices saved or sent anywhere?

SupportDecode does not send or store the selections. These ordinary checkboxes have no submission or scoring function. Your browser may retain form state during a visit; a printed or downloaded copy is under your control.

Official sources

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