How to modify child support or spousal support in Louisiana

Sources last checked: 4 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice. The Cusp is not a law firm.

Louisiana divorce kit How child support is calculated Spousal support in Louisiana Legal aid in Louisiana After your divorce

The short version

In Louisiana, a change to child support or spousal support is asked for in the court that issued the judgment, by a motion the state calls a “rule”. For child support, R.S. 9:311(A)(1) says an award “shall not be modified” unless the person asking “shows a material change in circumstances of one of the parties” since the previous award, and the change must be “substantial and continuing since the last award for support”. A child support change is effective, except for good cause, from the date you ask for it: R.S. 9:315.21(C) makes a modifying judgment retroactive to the “date of judicial demand” and no earlier. For spousal support, Civil Code article 114 says an award “may be modified if the circumstances of either party materially change”. The state Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) publishes a one-page Rule to Modify Child Support. We did not find a state form for changing spousal support.

What a rule can ask for

Child support, material change: Civil Code article 142 says a child support award may be modified “if the circumstances of the child or of either parent materially change” and shall be terminated on proof that it has become unnecessary. DCFS lists examples on its modification page: one parent’s income rising or falling, a change in the children’s medical insurance, or the children now living with a different parent.
The 25% presumption: where DCFS is providing support enforcement services, R.S. 9:311(C)(1) creates a rebuttable presumption of a material change when a strict application of the guidelines “would result in at least a twenty-five percent change” in the existing award. Paragraph (C)(2) adds that a court may modify without a 25% difference, and may deny a modification even when the 25% difference is present.
Past-due support is not enough: a judgment for past due support “shall not of itself constitute a material change” for reducing an award (R.S. 9:311(B)). DCFS’s brochure says a change in the law is not a material change in circumstances either.
Medical support: R.S. 9:311(D)(1) says no material change need be shown to add a court-ordered award for medical support to a child support award.
Incarceration: under R.S. 9:311.1 a child support order is suspended when the obligor is incarcerated for one hundred eighty consecutive days or more. The order resumes on the “first day of the second full month after the obligor’s release from incarceration” unless it has been otherwise modified. Subsection F says either party may still seek a suspension or modification under the other provisions of law.
Spousal support, material change: article 114 covers both interim spousal support and final periodic support. It says an award “shall be terminated if it has become unnecessary” and that the obligor spouse’s later remarriage “shall not constitute a change of circumstance”.
Spousal support ends without a rule in some cases: article 115 says the obligation is extinguished on the remarriage of the obligee, the death of either party, or a judicial determination that the obligee has “cohabited with another person of either sex” in the manner of married persons. Cohabitation needs a judicial determination, so a court order is part of the picture.

What else you file

Child support rule: DCFS’s modification page tells people who file directly to use the “SES 668 Rule to Modify Child Support”. The PDF it links to is hosted by the Louisiana State Bar Association and is marked “SES 886 – 11/08” on its first page, so the number and date printed on the form differ from the number DCFS gives it. Its instructions say it is for a modification filed in the parish and court that rendered the prior child support judgment. The form lists reasons to check, including involuntary unemployment, reduced or increased income, an order changing custody or visitation, changes in childcare or medical insurance, and a child turning 18 and not being in high school.
Copies and fees waiver: the form tells you to take the original and at least 3 copies to the Clerk of Court, and to ask for an in forma pauperis form if you cannot afford the filing fee.
Through DCFS instead: DCFS says that before it can request a modification it performs a review, and that you may “file directly with clerk of the court that issued your order” instead. DCFS says it needs your income proof, child care costs and other child expenses within 30 days of your request.
Family Law Affidavit: Appendix 23.0B to the Rules for Louisiana District Courts is a Family Law Affidavit. Its child support section asks whether this is a modification and the date of the last judgment, and its spousal support section asks you to state the facts supporting a request to modify or terminate court-ordered spousal support. Its instructions say you must complete all sections that apply “by order of the court”, and its Income and Expense Sheet is marked required in every case involving child support or spousal support. We did not read Rule 23.0 itself, so we cannot say which courts require the affidavit with a modification rule.
Spousal support: the pages we read name no state form for a rule to modify spousal support. Ask the clerk of the court that issued your judgment which papers it uses.

What the statutes say

The wording below is a plain-language summary of the Louisiana Civil Code and Revised Statutes as shown on the Legislature’s site on 4 November 2026, with short quotations. We read the articles and sections named here in full, and no others.

Child support, R.S. 9:311(A)(2): DCFS must prepare and distribute information, forms and rules for modifying or suspending support orders, and clerks of court in all parishes must make this information available to the public on request.
Retroactivity, R.S. 9:315.21(C) and (E): except for good cause shown, a judgment modifying or revoking a final child support judgment is retroactive to the date of judicial demand, but never earlier. If the court finds good cause, it may fix a later start date.
Credit for payments, R.S. 9:315.21(D): child support of any kind provided from the date of judicial demand to the date the support judgment is signed, except payments under an interim allowance, is credited to the judgment debtor against the judgment.
Frivolous motions, R.S. 9:311(E) and (F): if the court does not find good cause to modify, or the motion is dismissed before a hearing, it may order the mover to pay the other party’s court costs and reasonable attorney fees if it decides the motion “was frivolous”. That does not apply when the mover is a public entity providing support enforcement services.
DCFS reviews, R.S. 9:311(C)(3): where DCFS is providing support enforcement services, it requests a judicial review if the best interest of the child requires it, and the court may modify the award every three years if it differs from the guideline amount. No material change need be shown for that kind of review.
Spousal support by agreement, article 116: final spousal support may be “modified, waived, or extinguished by judgment of a court” or by an authentic act or an act under private signature duly acknowledged by the obligee.
Interim spousal support, article 113: an interim award terminates one hundred eighty days from the rendition of a judgment of divorce, except that it may extend beyond that for good cause shown.
Who may get final periodic support, article 111: the court may award it to a party who is in need of support and who is free from fault before the filing of the proceeding to end the marriage.

Timing, service and hearing

File early: because a modification generally runs from the date of judicial demand, not from the date your circumstances changed, the date you file matters. DCFS’s brochure says child support due before the filing of a rule to modify “cannot be changed”, and it urges filing as soon as you know of a change in circumstances.
Service: the Rule to Modify Child Support form includes an order to show cause and a service block. When DCFS is involved, service goes through the child support office as well as to the other parent. Otherwise service goes to the other parent only. The form says to get the docket number from the earlier judgment.
Hearing: DCFS’s brochure says the parent asking for the modification “must present evidence that supports his or her request”. It lists documents a court may ask for: recent pay stubs, federal and state tax returns, childcare expenses, health insurance costs, an income and expenses affidavit, and a copy of any order changing custody or visitation.
Agreements: the brochure says a child support office may draw up an agreement for the parents to sign, but the court has to approve it and changes do not start until the court signs the order.

Before you file

DCFS’s brochure says it is a general overview that does not replace an attorney. See legal aid in Louisiana for free or low-cost help, or the Louisiana divorce kit for the wider process. The rule form itself says you may want to consult an attorney, because costs and sanctions can be imposed on a filer without a basis for the request.
Gather proof of the change first. Louisiana courts compare your situation with the one that existed when the last award was made, so keep the earlier judgment and the income records from the time it was signed.
This page does not state any court cost, because the sources we read give no dollar figure. DCFS says each court has different procedures and fees, so ask the Clerk of Court in the parish.
Amounts follow the state guidelines. See how child support is calculated in Louisiana and spousal support in Louisiana. For other changes after a divorce, see After your divorce.

What we could not confirm

A form to modify spousal support. We found a state rule form for child support only. We did not search each parish clerk’s forms.
The date a spousal support change takes effect. R.S. 9:315.21 covers child support. We read no provision on the start date of a modified spousal support award, so we do not say.
The form’s number. DCFS calls it SES 668, the PDF is marked SES 886 with the date 11/08, and DCFS’s brochure calls it CSE 886. We could not tell from the sources which is current, or whether a newer version exists.
Court rules. We read the Family Law Affidavit appendix but not Rule 23.0 or any parish’s local rules, so we cannot say when the affidavit or a mandatory exchange of information applies to a modification, or how hearing officers are used in your parish.
How the new amount is calculated. We did not read R.S. 9:315 and the following sections on the guidelines and on deviations, or R.S. 9:315.22 on when child support ends.
The meaning of “materially change”. The articles do not define it, and we read no court opinions, so we do not say how judges apply it for spousal support.
Time limits on spousal support. Article 117 sets a three-year peremptive period on the right to claim spousal support after divorce. We did not read how it applies to changing an existing award.
Orders registered or modified elsewhere. The form says it is for a judgment that has not been registered elsewhere. We did not read the Children’s Code articles on which state or court keeps jurisdiction.
Court costs. No dollar figure appears in the sources we read.
Court website. We did not read the Louisiana Supreme Court’s site pages, only the PDF of the district court rules appendix.

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