Gurtej Sandhu. Understanding BCFMA/FMEP Enforcement Process: What can a Payor do? Published Aug 14, 2026.
When a person is obligated under an agreement or a court order to pay child support or spousal support (Payor), they must comply with the agreement or the court order unless there are compelling reasons or circumstances. If for any reason, the support payments are not being made by the Payor, then they will start accumulating support arrears.
On the other hand, the person to whom the support is owing (Recipient) usually enrolls the agreement or court order with the British Columbia Family Maintenance Enforcement Agency (BCFMA). The BCFMA was formerly known as FMEP or Family Management Enforcement Program. The BCFMA is responsible for enforcing support orders and agreements under the Family Maintenance Enforcement Act.
While the BCFMA’s primary goal is to ensure that recipients receive the support they are entitled to, payors often find themselves facing enforcement measures when payments fall behind.
Understanding how the enforcement process works and knowing what steps to take if you are facing difficulties in meeting your support obligations can help prevent a difficult situation from becoming even more serious.
How does the BCFMA enforce support obligations?
Once the court order or agreement providing for child or spousal support is enrolled with the BCMFA, the payor is required to send all support payments to the agency rather than directly to the recipient. The agency records payments that are owing to the recipient and that are made by the payor. The BCFMA also imposes interest on any unpaid support payments as well as default fees.
The agency also has authority to collect any unpaid support by taking a number of actions such as:
- Garnishing monies from wages, bank accounts, rental income, ICBC claims, pensions and workers’ compensation benefits, long or short-term disability payments or other income;
- Intercepting federal or provincial payments, including income tax refunds, GST credits, CPP or OAS payments and Employment Insurance benefits;
- Registering liens against real (land/house) or personal property (motor vehicle, boat, trailer, manufactured home etc.);
- Suspending or denying renewal of a driver’s licence, vehicle insurance, passport or certain other licences; and
- Taking court action requiring the payor to attend court to explain why support payments are not being made, with further court action if payments are still not being made, which may lead to jail time.
These measures can significantly affect a person’s finances and daily life, making it important to address arrears as early as possible.
What can a Payor do?
If the payor is unable to make support payments, ignoring the problem is rarely the best option.
Further, the BCFMA cannot change agreements or court orders about child or spousal support on their own, including the amount of ongoing support the payor must pay or the support arrears that they have accumulated. Until a court changes the support order or the payor enters into a new enforceable agreement with the recipient, the payor’s support obligations will remain in place and the BCFMA will continue to enforce them.
Instead, payors should consider the following steps:
- If the payor is behind in the support payments, they can communicate and work with the BCFMA on a voluntary payment arrangement paying the ongoing support and something towards the arrears.
- The payor can also look at continuing to make partial payments if possible as this would help reduce the growth of arrears.
- The payor can also apply to the court to vary or reduce their ongoing support obligation as well as the arrears based on a change in their financial or other circumstances.
- The payor should also consider obtaining legal advice to assess their options including variation of their support obligations and determine the best course of action.
The BCFMA has extensive enforcement powers, but many of the issues that the payors generally face in meeting their support obligations can be dealt with more effectively if the payors start taking steps sooner rather than later.
If you have fallen behind on support payments or anticipate difficulty meeting your obligations, obtaining legal advice early on may help you choose and work on the best course of action.
If you find yourself in a similar situation and have questions about support enforcement or need assistance with varying a support order, one of our lawyers at Portside Law would be happy to assist.
Disclaimer – By contacting Portside Law Corporation through email, phone or direct message does not establish an attorney-client relationship. An attorney-client relationship is formed once both parties agree in writing to such a relationship. The information found in this document is of general nature and is not intended to be legal advice. Please contact our office to speak further about any particular legal question you may have.