How to modify child support or alimony in North Carolina

Sources last checked: 3 November 2026. Information only, not legal advice. The Cusp is not a law firm.

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

The short version

In North Carolina, both child support and alimony are changed by a “motion in the cause”, which means a motion filed in the case that produced the order. The test for each is a showing of “changed circumstances”. Child support is covered by G.S. 50-13.7 and alimony by G.S. 50-16.9. Past-due child support is treated differently from future child support: each payment is vested when it is due, so the timing of your motion matters (see below). We could not read the North Carolina Judicial Branch’s own forms and guideline pages, so this page names no court form. See “What we could not confirm”.

What the motion can ask for

Child support: section 50-13.7(a) says an order for support of a minor child may be modified or vacated “upon motion in the cause” and “a showing of changed circumstances by either party or anyone interested”. It is subject to the limits in G.S. 50-13.10.
Alimony: section 50-16.9(a) says an order for alimony or postseparation support, “whether contested or entered by consent”, may be modified or vacated at any time on a motion in the cause and a showing of changed circumstances by either party or anyone interested. It does not apply to orders entered by consent before 1 October 1967.
Ending alimony: under section 50-16.9(b), alimony or postseparation support to a dependent spouse “shall terminate” if that spouse remarries or engages in cohabitation, and on the death of either spouse. This is separate from asking the court to change the amount.

What the statutes say

The wording below is a plain-language summary of the North Carolina General Statutes as posted by the General Assembly on 3 November 2026, with short quotations. We read sections 50-13.4, 50-13.6, 50-13.7, 50-13.10, 50-16.1A, 50-16.4 and 50-16.9 in full.

Child support, section 50-13.7: the changed-circumstances test applies to a North Carolina order, and also to a new North Carolina order replacing an order from another state when a North Carolina court has gained jurisdiction (subsection (b)).
Guidelines, section 50-13.4(c): the court “shall determine the amount of child support payments by applying the presumptive guidelines”. If it sets a different amount it must “make findings of fact as to the criteria that justify varying from the guidelines”. Under subsection (c1) the Conference of Chief District Judges prescribes “uniform statewide presumptive guidelines” and reviews them “at least once every four years”.
No going back for past-due child support, section 50-13.10(a): each past-due payment is “vested when it accrues”. A payment can be changed only if “a written motion is filed, and due notice is given to all parties” either “Before the payment is due” or, if you were prevented from filing earlier by disability, incapacity, indigency, another party’s misrepresentation or another compelling reason, promptly after that stops. In plain terms, a motion filed late does not undo payments that already came due.
When no arrears build up, section 50-13.10(d): a child support payment is not past due, and no arrearage accrues, for example after the child’s death, after the death of the supporting party, while the child lives with the supporting party under a valid court order or an agreement transferring primary custody, or while the supporting party is incarcerated, not on work release and has no resources to pay. Read subsection (d) for the full list.
Alimony, retroactivity: section 50-16.9 says an order may be modified “at any time” on a motion. We found no sentence in it on how far back a change reaches, and we did not read the case law, so we do not say.
What counts as alimony, section 50-16.1A(1): an order for support of a spouse or former spouse, paid “periodically or in a lump sum”, for a set or indefinite term. Section 50-16.9 covers any order for alimony or postseparation support.
Cohabitation, section 50-16.9(b): the statute defines it as two adults “dwelling together continuously and habitually” and says it is evidenced by the voluntary mutual assumption of marital rights, duties and obligations.
Attorney fees, child support, section 50-13.6: the section covers a motion in the cause to modify support. The court may order “reasonable attorney’s fees to an interested party acting in good faith” who has insufficient means. Before ordering fees in a support action it must make a specific finding that the party ordered to pay support refused to provide adequate support. Read the section for the exception for a frivolous action.
Attorney fees, alimony, section 50-16.4: where a dependent spouse would be entitled to alimony or postseparation support, the court may “enter an order for reasonable counsel fees” on that spouse’s application.

Notice, service and hearing

Where to file: the statutes say “motion in the cause”, so the motion goes in the existing case. Which county clerk and which court division handle yours is a question for the clerk or a lawyer.
Notice: for child support, section 50-13.10(a) requires that “due notice is given to all parties”. We did not read the Rules of Civil Procedure on how that notice is served.
Hearing and order: for child support the court applies the presumptive guidelines to the new facts and must give findings if it departs from them. We did not read local rules on scheduling.

Before you file

Court staff cannot give legal advice. See legal aid in North Carolina for free or low-cost help, or the North Carolina divorce kit for the wider process.
Timing matters for child support: because of section 50-13.10(a), a motion should be filed before the payment you want changed comes due, unless an exception applies.
This page does not state a filing fee or service fee. No official source we were able to read states one.
Child support amounts follow the state guidelines. See how child support is calculated in North Carolina and alimony in North Carolina. For other changes after a divorce, see After your divorce.

What we could not confirm

The court’s own forms and guideline pages. The North Carolina Judicial Branch website (nccourts.gov) blocked our automated requests, including for its robots.txt file, so we did not read it and did not work around the block. As a result this page names no court form or form number, and we did not read the Child Support Guidelines themselves. We therefore cannot say whether the guidelines treat a particular size or age of difference as a basis to modify, and the statutes we read do not.
A court form for alimony. We found none through a permitted source.
How far back an alimony change reaches and any notice rule specific to alimony.
How notice is served. We did not read the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure or local rules.
Filing and service fees. No official source we read states an amount.
Case law. We read no court opinions, so we do not say how judges apply “changed circumstances”.
State child support agency review. We did not read the child support services program’s page, so we do not describe an agency review route.

Spot something out of date? See our corrections or email hello@thecusp.app.