When child support is not paid ― the order of collection methods from a recommendation for performance to seizure, and the routes added by the reform

Unpaid child support is the most common problem in post-divorce consultations. The methods available depend on what you have in hand (a notarial deed, a conciliation record, or only a verbal promise). This article sets out the collection methods in order from weakest to strongest: recommendations and orders for performance, compulsory enforcement (seizure of wages and savings), the property disclosure procedure, the procedure for obtaining information from third parties, and the statutory child support and statutory lien added by the reform that took effect in April 2026.

About this translation ― This page is an English translation of an article originally written in Japanese by KuraLab's operator, a licensed real-estate transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) and administrative scrivener (行政書士) in Japan. The Japanese original is the authoritative text; where the two differ, the Japanese version prevails. The article explains Japanese law and procedure in general terms as of the date shown. It is not legal, tax or immigration advice for your situation ― please confirm with a licensed professional in Japan. Japanese terms are kept in parentheses so you can search for them. Read the Japanese original

Child support had stopped nine months ago, the woman said. 50,000 yen a month, two children. At the divorce they had made an agreement. But it was not a notarial deed; it was a private document the two of them had signed. Her ex-husband had changed jobs, and she did not know where he worked. "I can have it seized, can't I?" With the documents she had, she could not. This article is the story of the seven months from that private document to the seizure of his wages.

In the article on child support and the calculation table, I wrote about how the amount is decided. This article is about what happens when child support that has been decided stops being paid. In consultations, the first thing I check is not the amount but "what you have." A notarial deed (公正証書, with a clause accepting compulsory enforcement), a conciliation record, adjudication or judgment, a private divorce agreement, or a verbal promise. The methods available change completely depending on the documents in hand.

The weakest position is a verbal promise or a private agreement. In this case, you cannot go straight to seizure. First, you must apply to the family court for conciliation on a child support claim, and create a "title of debt" (債務名義, an official document that serves as the basis for compulsory enforcement) through a conciliation record or adjudication. If the other party does not come to conciliation, it moves to adjudication and the court decides the amount. This takes several months. Most moments of regret, "if only we'd made a notarial deed at the divorce," come at this stage.

If you have a conciliation record, adjudication or judgment, you can first use the family court's "recommendation for performance" (履行勧告). This is a procedure in which the court recommends that the other party "pay"; applying is free and can be done by phone. It has no compulsory force, but a certain number of people start paying after being contacted by the court. Next is the "order for performance" (履行命令), and failing to comply without good reason makes the person liable to a non-penal fine (up to 100,000 yen). Neither can be used by someone who has only a notarial deed (they cover child support decided through court procedures).

Compulsory enforcement (強制執行) can be used with either a notarial deed (with the enforcement clause) or a conciliation record. Its targets are mainly the other party's wages and savings. For child support, wages can be seized up to half of take-home pay (seizure for ordinary debts is limited to a quarter, so child support is given preferential treatment). Once you apply, you can also seize from wages on a continuing basis for future amounts (child support whose payment date has not yet arrived). With savings, only the balance at the time of seizure is covered, so wage seizure gives more stable collection.

The problem is when you do not know the other party's workplace or accounts. This changed greatly with the April 2020 amendment of the Civil Execution Act. Through the "procedure for obtaining information from third parties" (第三者からの情報取得手続), you can now obtain, via the court, information on the workplace from the municipality or the Japan Pension Service, on savings accounts from financial institutions, and on real estate from the registry. The "property disclosure procedure" (財産開示手続, in which the other party is summoned to court and made to declare their assets) had its penalties for not appearing or for making false statements strengthened to criminal penalties (imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 500,000 yen), making it harder to ignore.

And with the Civil Code amendment that took effect in April 2026, two routes were added. One is "statutory child support" (法定養育費), a system under which, even if no arrangement for child support was made at the divorce, a fixed amount set by law can be claimed (the situation of "no arrangement, so no claim" is gone). The other is that child support claims were given a "statutory lien" (先取特権). This opens a route to applying for seizure of the other party's assets for child support even without a notarial deed or conciliation record, which is a big change for people who had only a verbal promise. However, practice since it took effect (the documents needed for an application, how to prove the amount) is still being settled by the courts, so check with the family court or a lawyer before applying.

In order. First, there was no title of debt. With a private agreement, compulsory enforcement was not possible, and a recommendation for performance could not be used either (since the child support had not been decided through court procedures). She applied to the family court for conciliation on a child support claim, attaching the private agreement as "evidence of the agreement." The ex-husband did not appear at the first hearing, nor at the second, so the conciliation failed and it went to adjudication. The adjudication, based on the calculation table, set 50,000 yen a month (the same as the agreement), and the adjudication became the title of debt. Four and a half months from application to the adjudication becoming final.

The documents in hand and the collection methods available. A verbal promise or private agreement: recommendation or order for performance, not available; compulsory enforcement, not possible; first step, create a title of debt through conciliation (and since the reform, also check the statutory lien route). A notarial deed (with the enforcement clause): recommendation or order, not available; compulsory enforcement, possible; first step, apply for seizure of wages and savings. A conciliation record, adjudication or judgment: recommendation or order, available; compulsory enforcement, possible; first step, recommendation, then order, then compulsory enforcement. The other party's workplace or accounts unknown: first step, the procedure for obtaining information from third parties and the property disclosure procedure.

Next, finding the workplace. The ex-husband had changed jobs and the woman did not know where he worked. Using the "procedure for obtaining information from third parties" from the 2020 amendment, enquiries were made through the court to the municipality and the Japan Pension Service, and his current workplace was identified. About five weeks from application to obtaining the information. In parallel, an enquiry to financial institutions identified one of his accounts, but the balance was about 80,000 yen. Wage seizure gives more stable collection.

Finally, seizure of wages. With the adjudication and the workplace information, she applied to the district court for an order of seizure of claims. Since it was child support, up to half of take-home pay, and continuing seizure for future amounts too. The ex-husband's take-home pay was about 240,000 yen a month, and the unpaid amount (the portion that could be claimed back from the month of the adjudication and after) and the ongoing 50,000 yen a month came to be paid by his employer directly into the woman's account. Three weeks from application to service of the seizure order. Seven months after it stopped, child support resumed, and since then it has come directly from his employer, so he cannot stop it at will. However, of the nine months before the adjudication, 450,000 yen, most could not be recovered, because the adjudication set the start "from the time of the claim."

In summary, in order. If your documents are weak, first create a title of debt through conciliation (or, since the reform, check the statutory lien route). With a conciliation record, a recommendation for performance, then an order for performance. If they still do not pay, compulsory enforcement. If you do not know the workplace or accounts, the procedure for obtaining information from third parties and the property disclosure procedure. The limitation period is five years from each payment date (periodic payment claims), so act before you leave it and the oldest amounts start to vanish. Places to consult are the family court's family procedure information desk, Houterasu (the Japan Legal Support Center, 法テラス; lawyers' fees can be advanced if you meet the income conditions), and the local authority's child support consultation desk (described in the article on support for single-parent families). An administrative scrivener can go as far as preparing a notarial deed, but cannot act as agent in applying for compulsory enforcement.

The private agreement turned, over seven months and four procedures (conciliation, adjudication, information gathering and seizure), into direct payment from wages. In the main text I wrote that most moments of regret, "if only we'd made a notarial deed at the divorce," come at this stage. With a notarial deed, two steps, obtaining the workplace information and seizure, would have been enough, taking two months. 450,000 yen and five months: that is the difference against the cost of making a notarial deed (about 30,000 yen for this family).

Written by: 長澤湊（licensed real-estate transaction specialist, administrative scrivener, assistant surveyor）　Content checked on: 2026-10-24

This article is a general explanation of Japanese rules and procedures, not advice on an individual case. Figures and rules are as of the date shown. For your own situation, consult a lawyer, judicial scrivener, tax accountant or administrative scrivener in Japan.

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When child support is not paid ― the order of collection methods from a recommendation for performance to seizure, and the routes added by the reform

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