Florida Income Deduction Orders: Fla. Stat. § 61.1301 & § 61.13015 (2026)

By Nadia Pazos, Family Law Attorney, Pazos Law Group · Updated August 2026

Fla. Stat. § 61.1301 is the statute behind wage garnishment for child support in Florida — and it is not really garnishment, because it is automatic. This page covers the income deduction order itself and the separate license-suspension remedy in § 61.13015, which the Legislature placed at the end of the collection sequence rather than the start.

What Is an Income Deduction Order Under § 61.1301?

Fla. Stat. § 61.1301 is titled simply “Income deduction orders.” It is the statute behind what most people call wage garnishment for child support — except that in Florida it is not an extraordinary collection remedy at all. It is the default.

The first sentence of § 61.1301(1)(a) says so: “Upon the entry of an order establishing, enforcing, or modifying an obligation for alimony, for child support, or for alimony and child support, other than a temporary order, the court shall enter a separate order for income deduction if one has not been entered.” “Shall” is mandatory, and the deduction order is a separate order from the support order itself.

Timing is set by § 61.1301(1)(c): “The income deduction order is effective immediately unless the court upon good cause shown finds that the income deduction order shall be effective upon a delinquency in an amount specified by the court but not to exceed 1 month’s payment.” So the ordinary case is immediate deduction; delayed effectiveness is the exception and requires a good-cause finding.

How Much Can Be Deducted from a Paycheck?

Three provisions control the arithmetic. First, the current support amount from the underlying order. Second, arrears: under § 61.1301(1)(b)2., the order must “state the amount of arrearage owed, if any, and direct a payor to withhold an additional 20 percent or more of the periodic amount specified in the order … until full payment is made of any arrearage, attorney’s fees and costs owed, provided no deduction shall be applied to attorney’s fees and costs until the full amount of any arrearage is paid.” Third, a delinquency arising later: § 61.1301(1)(b)3. directs the payor to “deduct an additional 20 percent of the current support obligation or other amount agreed to by the parties until the delinquency and any attorney’s fees and costs are paid in full.”

There is a federal ceiling on all of it. § 61.1301(1)(b)4. directs a payor “not to deduct in excess of the amounts allowed under s. 303(b) of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. s. 1673(b), as amended.” That federal cap, not Florida law, is what limits the percentage of disposable earnings that can be withheld.

Where more than one family is owed support, § 61.1301(4)(c) governs: “If the total monthly support obligation to all families is greater than the amount of income available for deduction, the amount of the deduction must be prorated, giving priority to current support, so that each family is allocated a percentage of the amount deducted.”

What Must an Employer Do When It Receives the Notice?

The employer — the statute calls it the “payor” — receives a notice to payor or income deduction notice whose required contents are itemized in § 61.1301(2)(e). The four operative duties:

• Start on time. § 61.1301(2)(e)3. instructs the payor “to implement income deduction no later than the first payment date which occurs more than 14 days after the date the income deduction notice was served on the payor,” conforming the amount to the obligor’s pay cycle.
• Forward within 2 days. § 61.1301(2)(e)4. requires the payor to forward the deducted amount “within 2 days after each date the obligor is entitled to payment from the payor,” with a statement whether it fully or partially satisfies the periodic amount and the specific date of each deduction.
• Get it right. § 61.1301(2)(e)5.: “if a payor fails to deduct the proper amount from the obligor’s income, the payor is liable for the amount the payor should have deducted, plus costs, interest, and reasonable attorney’s fees.”
• Do not retaliate. § 61.1301(2)(j)1.: “A person may not discharge, refuse to employ, or take disciplinary action against an employee because of the enforcement of an income deduction order. An employer who violates this subsection is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $250 for the first violation or $500 for any subsequent violation.”

Two smaller numbers employees ask about: under § 61.1301(2)(e)6. the payor “may collect up to $5 against the obligor’s income to reimburse the payor for administrative costs for the first income deduction and up to $2 for each deduction thereafter.” And under § 61.1301(2)(e)11. the requirement for income deduction “has priority over all other legal processes under state law pertaining to the same income,” and paying as directed “is a complete defense by the payor against any claims of the obligor or his or her creditors as to the sum paid.” Service on a payor is made under § 61.1301(2)(b)2. “by prepaid certified mail, return receipt requested, or in the manner prescribed in chapter 48.”

How Do I Contest an Income Deduction in Florida? (§ 61.1301(2)(c))

The window is short and the ground is narrow. § 61.1301(2)(c)1.: “The obligor, within 15 days after service of a notice of delinquency, may apply for a hearing to contest the enforcement of the income deduction on the ground of mistake of fact regarding the amount owed … the amount of the arrearage, or the identity of the obligor, the payor, or the obligee.”

The court then moves quickly. § 61.1301(2)(c)2.: “the court … shall hear the matter within 20 days after the application is filed. The court shall enter an order resolving the matter within 10 days after the hearing.” If the income deduction order was rendered administratively by the Title IV-D agency under § 409.2563, § 61.1301(1)(f)1.f. routes the challenge differently: “the obligor shall file a petition for an administrative hearing with the Title IV-D agency … within 15 days after the date the notice of delinquency was served.”

Note what is not a defense: disagreement with the amount of support itself. Changing the underlying obligation is a modification question under § 61.14, calculated under § 61.30.

What Do I Have to Tell the Court If I Change Jobs?

§ 61.1301(1)(e)6. imposes a seven-day duty: the obligor “is required to notify the obligee and, when the obligee is receiving IV-D services, the IV-D agency within 7 days of changes in the obligor’s address, payors, and the addresses of his or her payors.” The statute also contemplates successor payors: § 61.1301(2)(g) covers a successor payor in this state, and § 61.1301(2)(k) imposes a duty on the payor when the obligor’s income ceases.

Deduction is also expressly available to collect old debt, not just current support. § 61.1301(3)(a): “It is the intent of the Legislature that this section may be used to collect arrearages in child support or in alimony payments.”

When Can a License Be Suspended for Unpaid Support? (§ 61.13015)

Income deduction is the first tool. Fla. Stat. § 61.13015, titled “Petition for suspension or denial of professional licenses and certificates,” is a later one — and the statute says so in terms.

§ 61.13015(1): an obligee “may petition the court which entered the support order or the court which is enforcing the support order for an order to suspend or deny the license or certificate issued pursuant to chapters 409, 455, 456, 559, and 1012 of any obligor with a delinquent support obligation. However, no petition may be filed until the obligee has exhausted all other available remedies.” The stated purpose is “to promote the public policy of s. 409.2551.”

What are the two 30-day notices?

§ 61.13015(2) requires a first notice specifying “that the obligor has 30 days from the date on which service of the notice is complete to pay the delinquency or to reach an agreement with the obligee to pay the delinquency,” and warning that otherwise the license may be denied or suspended by court order.

§ 61.13015(3) then requires a second notice giving another 30 days. Only after both notices go unanswered may the obligee petition the court. Under § 61.13015(5), notice is served “by mailing it by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the obligor at his or her last address of record with the local depository,” or by publication under chapter 49 if there is no address of record; when served by mail, “service is complete upon the receipt of the notice by the obligor.”

What defenses does § 61.13015(3) recognize?

The court “may find that it would be inappropriate to deny or suspend a license or certificate if” either “denial or suspension would result in irreparable harm to the obligor or employees of the obligor or would not accomplish the objective of collecting the delinquency” (paragraph (a)) or “the obligor demonstrates that he or she has made a good faith effort to reach an agreement with the obligee” (paragraph (b)).

There is also an absolute limit in the same subsection: “The court may not deny or suspend a license or certificate if the court determines that an alternative remedy is available to the obligee which is likely to accomplish the objective of collecting the delinquency.” Because § 61.14 and § 61.1301 supply several such alternatives, this is the provision most often argued.

How is a suspended license reinstated?

§ 61.13015(4): if the obligor “subsequently pays the delinquency or reaches an agreement with the obligee to settle the delinquency and makes the first payment required by the agreement, the license or certificate shall be issued or reinstated upon written proof to the court that the obligor has complied with the court order.” Proof “shall consist of a certified copy of the payment record issued by the depository,” and the court orders reinstatement “without additional charge to the obligor.”

How Do These Two Statutes Fit Together?

They are sequential steps in the same collection track, which is why they belong on one page. A support order under § 61.30 or § 61.08 comes with an automatic income deduction order under § 61.1301(1)(a). If deduction fails or the obligor is not on a payroll, § 61.14(6) converts unpaid installments into judgments by operation of law and § 61.14(5) supplies contempt and work-search remedies. Only after those are exhausted does § 61.13015 put a professional license on the table. Payments themselves flow through the local depository created under § 61.181.

One administrative detail closes the loop: § 61.1301(5) allows the Department of Revenue to post notices electronically for participating payors, and provides that “if a participating payor does not respond to electronic notice by accessing the data posted by the department within 48 hours, the department shall mail the income deduction or medical support notice to the payor.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Official Sources & Related Reading

• Fla. Stat. § 61.1301, Income deduction orders — official text (Online Sunshine)
• Fla. Stat. § 61.13015, Petition for suspension or denial of professional licenses and certificates — official text
• U.S. Department of Labor — Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. § 1673) wage garnishment limits
• Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program
• Fla. Stat. § 61.14 — Modifying & Enforcing Support
• Fla. Stat. § 61.30 — Child Support Guidelines
• Fla. Stat. § 61.08 — Florida Alimony
• Chapter 742 — Paternity & Support Orders
• Contempt & Enforcement — Practice Area

The information on this page is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading or sharing this content does not create an attorney-client relationship with Pazos Law Group. Florida law and the application of statutes change over time; please consult a licensed Florida attorney about your specific situation.