How to modify child support or alimony in Maryland

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

Maryland divorce kit How child support is calculated Alimony in Maryland Legal aid in Maryland After your divorce

The short version

In Maryland, a court can change a child support award under Family Law section 12-104 and alimony under section 11-107. The key timing rule for child support is that the court “may not retroactively modify” an award earlier than the date you file your motion, so a change cannot reach back before filing. The Maryland Judiciary has a form for child support, the Motion to Modify Child Support (form CC-DR-006, Rev. 10/2025). We did not find a court form for changing alimony on the Judiciary’s family forms list, so ask the clerk of the court that has your case.

What the motion can ask for

Child support: under section 12-104(a), the court may modify an award after a motion is filed “upon a showing of a material change of circumstance”. The statute does not define the phrase. The form lists examples: the child’s expenses or either parent’s income rising or falling substantially, or the child no longer being entitled to support (for example by reaching a stated age, marrying, being emancipated or dying).
Incarceration: section 12-104(c) says that if a party is incarcerated, the court may find a material change of circumstance, only if the party’s ability to pay is “sufficiently reduced due to incarceration”. It is not automatic.
Alimony: section 11-107(b) says that on the petition of either party the court may modify the amount of alimony “as circumstances and justice require”. Section 11-107(a) lets the court extend the period of alimony if circumstances arise that would otherwise lead to a “harsh and inequitable result” and the recipient petitions for the extension during the period.
Where an agreement controls: section 8-103(c) lets the court modify alimony or spousal support terms in an agreement signed on or after 13 April 1976 unless there is an express waiver of alimony or a provision stating they are “not subject to any court modification”.

What else you file

Maryland publishes a statewide form for child support, with these items named in the Judiciary’s own materials.

Motion to Modify Child Support (CC-DR-006): the form says to use it to ask the court to increase or decrease an order, but only if “more than thirty (30) days have passed since entry of the order” you want changed. It asks for the date and case number of the existing order, the amount, the changes in circumstances and what you ask the court to do, and it is signed under penalty of perjury. The instructions say to have a copy of the existing order.
Financial statement: the form says to attach one. It names the Financial Statement (Child Support Guidelines) (CC-DR-030) if the parents’ combined gross monthly income is $30,000 or less, and the Financial Statement (General) (CC-DR-031) if it is more than $30,000.
Request for Hearing or Proceeding (CC-DR-059): the older instructions for form CC-DR-006 say the motion alone will not get you a hearing and that “You MUST file a Request for a Hearing or Proceeding” after service. The family forms list describes CC-DR-059 as the form to ask the court to schedule a hearing in a family case.
Summons: the form says the clerk will issue a summons that must be served with your motion and attachments.
Alimony: the family forms list names no form for modifying alimony. The Judiciary’s general instructions say a request to modify is filed in the existing case: “A request to modify reopens the initial case”.

What the statutes say

The wording below is a plain-language summary of the Maryland Code, Family Law Article, as shown on the General Assembly’s website on 4 November 2026, with short quotations. We read sections 8-103, 11-107, 11-108, 12-103, 12-104 and 12-202 in full.

No retroactive change, section 12-104(b): the court may not retroactively modify a child support award “prior to the date of the filing of the motion for modification”.
Guidelines, section 12-202(a): in a proceeding to establish or modify child support the court uses the child support guidelines. There is a “rebuttable presumption” that the guideline amount “is the correct amount of child support to be awarded”. It can be rebutted by evidence that applying the guidelines “would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case”, and the court must then make a “written finding or specific finding on the record” giving its reasons.
Changes to the guidelines, section 12-202(d): the adoption or revision of the guidelines “is not a material change of circumstance for the purpose of a modification”.
Parents who may owe nothing, section 12-202(c): the statute lists situations in which a court may decline to set an order, such as a parent who is unemployed with no financial resources and is expected to stay incarcerated for the rest of the support period. Meeting or ceasing to meet those criteria is a material change of circumstance for a modification.
Alimony, section 11-107: the court may modify the amount “as circumstances and justice require” on either party’s petition, and may extend the period under the conditions described above. Both are “Subject to” section 8-103.
When alimony ends, section 11-108: unless the parties agree otherwise, alimony terminates on the death of either party or the recipient’s marriage, or if the court finds termination necessary to avoid a harsh and inequitable result.
Costs and counsel fees, section 12-103: in a case to modify support the court may award either party costs and counsel fees that are “just and proper under all the circumstances”, after considering each party’s finances and needs and whether there was “substantial justification” for the proceeding.

Notice, service and hearing

Service: the CC-DR-006 form says the summons, your motion and any attachments must be served on the other party. If the Child Support Administration is responsible for collecting payments in your case, you must also mail the local child support office copies by first-class mail.
Methods of service: the Judiciary’s general instructions describe service by the Sheriff, by a private process server, or by certified mail with restricted delivery, and say the clerk can forward the papers to the Sheriff for a fee.
If you receive public assistance: the older instructions say that if you receive public assistance and want an increase, you must contact the child support enforcement office in your county.
Hearing: the older instructions say the court sets a hearing date and notifies you by mail, and suggest bringing proof of income for both sides and records of child-related costs.

Before you file

Court staff cannot give legal advice. See legal aid in Maryland for free or low-cost help, or the Maryland divorce kit for the wider process.
Timing matters: because a child support change cannot reach back before the date you file, file as soon as your circumstances change.
The Judiciary’s general instructions say there are filing fees for most family cases, that you can ask the court to waive them, and that there is a fee if the Sheriff serves your papers. This page does not state any dollar amount because the sources we read do not.
The form is dated 10/2025, but the separate instructions for it are dated 07/2018 and mention a $10,000 combined-income cut-off for the financial statements, where the current form says $30,000. Follow the form, and check that you have current versions before you file.
Child support amounts follow the state guidelines. See how child support is calculated in Maryland and alimony in Maryland. For other changes after a divorce, see After your divorce.

What we could not confirm

A form to modify alimony. We found none on the Judiciary’s family forms list.
The meaning of a material change of circumstance. Section 12-104 does not define it. We read no court opinions, so we do not say how judges apply it.
Whether alimony can be changed for the period before you file. Section 12-104(b) limits retroactive changes to child support. Section 11-107 as we read it says nothing either way, so we do not say.
Arrears. We read no Maryland section on reducing or forgiving unpaid support other than the retroactivity rule in section 12-104(b).
Other alimony sections. We did not read the sections on how alimony is first awarded, or on rehabilitative and indefinite alimony.
Filing fees, sheriff fees and any deadline to serve. No dollar figure appears in the sources we read. The Judiciary’s fee schedule page was not read.
Child support agency reviews. We did not read any Maryland Department of Human Services page, so this page does not describe that route.
Local practice. We did not read any individual circuit court’s rules.

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