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Publishing Names of Delinquent Obligors

Quick Facts

Published details can include name, address, amount owed, birth date, photo, and number of children.
Written notice must be sent before publication.
Recipient of support must approve of publication.
Error in publication can be rectified by retraction and public apology.

Making Names Public

The commissioner of human services publishes a list of the names and other identifying information of persons who:

are child support obligors,
are at least $10,000 in arrears,
are not in compliance with a written payment agreement regarding both current support and arrearages approved by the court, a child support magistrate, or the public authority,
cannot currently be located by the public authority for the purposes of enforcing a support order, and
have not made a support payment except tax intercept payments, in the preceding 12 months.

Identifying information may include the obligor's name, last known address, amount owed, date of birth, photograph, the number of children for whom support is owed, and any additional information about the obligor that would assist in identifying or locating the obligor. The commissioner and attorney general may use posters, media presentations, electronic technology, and other means that the commissioner and attorney general determine are appropriate for dissemination of the information, including publication on the Internet. The commissioner and attorney general may make any or all of the identifying information regarding these persons public.

Information regarding an obligor who meets the criteria will only be made public after that person's selection by the commissioner and attorney general.

Before making public the name of the obligor, the Department of Human Services must send a notice to the obligor's last known address that states the department's intention to make public information on the obligor. The notice must also provide an opportunity to have the obligor's name removed from the list by paying the arrearage or by entering into an agreement to pay the arrearage, or by providing information to the public authority that there is good cause not to make the information public. The notice must include the final date when the payment or agreement can be accepted.

The Department of Human Services must obtain the written consent of the obligee to make the name of the obligor public.

Names Published in Error

If the commissioner makes a name public in error, the commissioner must offer to publish a printed retraction and a public apology acknowledging that the name was made public in error. If the person whose name was made public in error elects the public retraction and apology, then the retraction and apology must appear in the same medium and the same format as the original notice with the name listed in error. In addition to the right of a public retraction and apology, a person whose name was made public in error has a civil action for damages caused by the error.