How to modify child support or maintenance in Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin divorce kit How child support is calculated Maintenance in Wisconsin Legal aid in Wisconsin After your divorce: changing an order

The short version

Wisconsin’s word for spousal support is “maintenance”. Both child support and maintenance orders are revised under one statute, Wis. Stat. 767.59. Either party can ask, by petition, by motion or by order to show cause. For most people the starting point is the court system’s FA-4170V, Notice of Motion and Motion to Change (03/25), which has boxes for child support, maintenance and unpaid-support payments. The most important timing rule: the court cannot change amounts that came due before the other side was given notice of your action, except to fix calculation errors. Child support needs a finding of a substantial change in circumstances, with a few listed shortcuts. For maintenance, the statute says a change in the cost of living may be enough. A judgment that waived maintenance cannot be revised.

The test for child support

The wording below is a plain-language summary of the Wisconsin Statutes and of chapter DCF 150 of the Administrative Code as shown on the Legislature’s website on 4 November 2026, with short quotations.

The general test, 767.59(1f)(a): a revision of the amount of child support “may be made only upon a finding of a substantial change in circumstances”. A court does not need that finding just to change to a fixed sum the way the amount is expressed (767.59(1f)(d)).
Circumstances that create a presumption, 767.59(1f)(b): each of these is a “rebuttable presumption of a substantial change in circumstances”: either parent starting to receive AFDC or taking part in Wisconsin Works since the last order; the “expiration of 33 months after the date of the entry” of the last child support order, unless support is set as a percentage of income; the payer failing to give timely financial disclosure; or, where the court did not use the percentage standard and did not give the required information, a gap between the ordered amount and what the standard would have produced.
Circumstances that may count, 767.59(1f)(c): a change in the payer’s income from what the court last found, a change in the needs of the child, a change in the payer’s earning capacity, or “Any other factor that the court determines is relevant”.
The percentage standard, 767.59(2): if the court revises child support, “it shall do so by using the percentage standard established by the department”. On a party’s request the court may depart from it if it finds the standard “unfair to the child or to any of the parties”, after weighing the factors in 767.511(1m), and it must then state its reasons (767.511(1n)).
What the standard is, DCF 150.035: unless the shared-placement formula applies, support is 17% of the parent’s monthly income available for support for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four and 34% for five or more. The shared-placement formula may be used when each parent has court-ordered placement of “25 percent or 92 days per year” and each is ordered to cover the child’s basic costs in proportion to their time. We did not read the rest of chapter DCF 150, which defines income and covers low-income, high-income and serial-family payers.
A rule change alone is not enough, DCF 150.01(3): changing a provision of the chapter “shall not in and of itself be considered a substantial change in circumstances”.
Annual adjustments, 767.553: if an order is set as a fixed sum on the percentage standard and provides for it, the amount can be adjusted once a year as the payer’s income changes. “No adjustment may be made under this section unless the order provides” for it. Section 767.553(5)(a) says you can still file a revision under 767.59 at any time.
Agreed changes, 767.59(2s): the court may not approve a stipulation changing child support unless the amount is determined in the manner the listed statutes require, including 767.511.

The test for maintenance

What can be revised, 767.59(1c): the court may “Revise and alter a support or maintenance order” as to the amount and payment of maintenance or child support. But a court “may not revise or modify a judgment or order that waives maintenance payments” for either party, or a final division of property (767.59(1c)(b)).
Cost of living, 767.59(1k): “a substantial change in the cost of living for either party” or as measured by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics “may be sufficient” to support a revision of the amount. A change in the payer’s cost of living is not enough by itself if payments are set as a percentage of income.
Remarriage, 767.59(3): after a final judgment requiring maintenance, if the payee has remarried the court shall, on the payer’s application or on notice from the payee, “vacate the order requiring the maintenance payments”. Every maintenance order must require the payee to give notice “within 10 business days of the payee’s remarriage” (767.58(1r)(c)).
Death, 767.56(2c): unless it has already ended, maintenance “terminates upon the death of the payee or the payer, whichever occurs first”.
What the court looked at when it first set maintenance, 767.56(1c): the length of the marriage, the parties’ ages and health, the property division, earning capacity, whether the recipient can become self-supporting at a comparable standard of living, tax consequences, agreements between the parties, and other factors the court finds relevant. The sections we read do not say how these are applied in a later revision.
Child support comes first: if a payer owes both, DCF 150.035(6) says the court “shall determine the payer’s child support obligation” before the maintenance obligation.

Forms

These are on the Wisconsin court system’s circuit court forms site. FA-4170V states “This form shall not be modified” but may be supplemented with additional pages. The court system’s summary says pro se forms are not mandatory but must be accepted by the circuit courts.

FA-4170V, Notice of Motion and Motion to Change (03/25). One form covers legal custody, physical placement, child support, maintenance and arrears payments. It has you list the dates of the orders to change and tick the substantial changes that apply, such as changed income, a changed work shift, changed health insurance, or that the maintenance recipient has remarried or died. For child support you ask for an amount under the state standards and say whether you will ask the court to deviate. For maintenance you ask for an amount based on current income or a specific new amount. The form says “I should support this request with evidence”. It asks whether the Child Support Agency is a party to your case.
FA-4138V, Income and Expense Statement (12/22). The court system lists it as the income and asset statement for post-judgment proceedings. It says “Failure by either party to complete and file this form as required” lets the court accept the other party’s statement as the basis for its decisions. It asks you to attach income proof such as a current-year earnings statement and your most recent W-2.
FA-604A, Stipulation to Change (03/26). If both parents agree, the court system says this form may be used to change a judgment on custody, placement, support, maintenance and arrears “without the need for a hearing”.
FA-4175V, Decision and Order on Motion or Order to Show Cause to Change (03/26). The form the court uses to record its decision after a hearing.
Order to Show Cause (FA-4171VA/VB): the court system’s summary says you could use it instead of the motion. It must be signed by a court official and personally served. The motion form may be signed by you and served by other means. We did not read FA-4171VA/VB itself.

Notice, service and hearing

Who gets a copy: FA-4170V says a copy of the notice and motion “must be served upon all other parties, including the Child Support Agency”. It points to the Service Packet (FA-5000V) for instructions. We did not read FA-5000V.
Timing of service: service by mail must be completed “at least eight business days before the date of the hearing”, and personal service “at least five business days before the date of the hearing”.
The hearing: the court completes the hearing date, time and location (in person or remote) and the court official on the notice.
How far back a change reaches: 767.59(1m) says the court cannot revise amounts due, or arrears accrued, “prior to the date that notice of the action is given to the respondent”, “except to correct previous errors in calculations”. A revision takes effect from the date the revising order is effective, and the old amounts stop accruing from then (767.59(2w)).
Credit for some past payments, 767.59(1r): in a child support revision the court may credit the payer against support due before service for certain payments, for example payments made directly to the payee by check or money order with proof that they were meant as support, or a written agreement that the payee would accept them instead.
When the state is involved: where the state is a real party in interest, the department “shall review the support obligation periodically” and, if appropriate, petition for revision (767.59(4)). Agencies can also file in some public-assistance cases (767.59(1c)(a)).

Before you file

Court staff cannot give legal advice. FA-4170V says you may contact the office of the family court commissioner for written information on modifying and enforcing orders. See legal aid in Wisconsin for free or low-cost help, or the Wisconsin divorce kit for the wider process.
Because a change cannot reach back before notice, start as soon as your circumstances change. A report to the child support agency is not a filing: every order must tell you to report a change of employer or a substantial income change, and 767.58(1r)(b) says that notice “will not result in a change of the order” unless a revision is sought.
Unpaid child support: 767.511(6) provides for simple interest of 1 percent per month on amounts in arrears, subject to a pilot-program provision we did not read in full.
This page does not state a filing fee. No official source we read states an amount, so ask the clerk of court.
Check the revision date printed on each form before you file. The motion form is dated 03/25 and the stipulation 03/26.
For how amounts are set, see how child support is calculated in Wisconsin, maintenance in Wisconsin, and after your divorce: changing an order.

What we could not confirm

Filing and service fees. We read no official statement of an amount.
The general standard for revising maintenance. Section 767.59(1f) sets the substantial-change test for child and family support only. The text we read for maintenance names the cost-of-living change, remarriage and death, and bars revising a waiver. We read no court opinions, so we do not say how judges apply these or what else counts.
Time limits on limited-term maintenance. We read nothing in the statute text about filing before a limited maintenance period ends.
The rest of the child support standard. We read DCF 150.01 and part of 150.02, plus 150.035. We did not read DCF 150.03 (income and imputed income), 150.04 (special circumstances) or the appendix tables.
Related forms and statutes. We did not read FA-4171VA/VB, FA-5000V, FA-4139V (named in FA-4170V), the statutes it cites (767.105, 767.451) or 767.34 on stipulations.
Local practice. We did not read any county’s procedures, including family court commissioner rules or mediation requirements.
Later changes. The statute pages we read are the 2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes “Published 11-4-26”. Section 767.59 was last amended by 2025 Wis. Act 82. Check for updates before you rely on this page.

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