California Child Support Services and DMV

Release Thousands of Suspended Licenses

As SB 1055 Takes Effect

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Signed in 2022, Senate Bill 1055 provided that Californians whose income is below a certain level could not have their driver’s license suspended as an enforcement action for unpaid child support – amending a long-standing law that rendered low income parents unable to get to the jobs that would allow them to pay their child support obligation. In preparation for the law’s effective date of January 1, 2025, California Child Support Services and the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) released over 149,000 suspended licenses, so that everyone qualified under the new law with a license suspended under the old law can legally drive again.

BACKGROUND:

Family Code §17520 requires that child support agencies maintain a list of parents who owe overdue support for the purpose of license denial, withholding, or suspension. California Child Support Services certifies and consolidates these local lists and provides the statewide list to state entities that regulate and issue licenses, including, but not limited to, the DMV.

SB 1055 added a statute that prohibits child support agencies from suspending a driver’s license as an enforcement tool unless the parent ordered to pay support has an annual household income above 70 percent of the Area Median Income for the county in which they live.  Area Median Income data is published annually by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

California Child Support Director Kristen Erickson-Donadee said, “Senate Bill 1055 is just the most recent in a suite of new laws that are making the child support program more helpful and equitable towards the parents we serve. Now low-income parents with child support debt who must drive to work to keep their jobs and livelihood need not fear losing their license, while those who can pay and won’t still face enforcement actions. We appreciate the DMV working with us to make sure licenses suspended before the new law took effect could be released, so qualifying parents could start 2025 with their driving privilege restored.”

LEARN MORE:

For more information regarding this change, visit childsupport.ca.gov/drivers-license.