Child Support in Fresno County, California

Fresno County anchors the heart of the Central Valley, with Fresno itself as the county's largest city alongside Clovis, Sanger, Reedley, and Selma. Families throughout Fresno County handle child support matters through the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno, whose family law division sits at the B.F. Sisk Courthouse in downtown Fresno, and through the Fresno County Department of Child Support Services.

Child support in Fresno County, as everywhere in California, is calculated using the state's uniform guideline formula under Family Code section 4055. That formula looks at both parents' net disposable incomes and the timeshare, meaning how much time the child spends with each parent, to reach an amount the law presumes is correct.

Parents in Fresno County have two ways to get to a support order. If there's already a divorce, parentage, or custody case open, either parent can file a Request for Order (Form FL-300) with an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) with the family law division at the B.F. Sisk Courthouse. Otherwise, the Fresno County Department of Child Support Services, the county's local branch of the statewide Department of Child Support Services, can open a case directly to establish and enforce support without either parent needing to hire a lawyer. The forms and the underlying formula are the same statewide; what's local is which courthouse hears the case and which office runs the agency side.

Before filing, it helps to have a sense of the number. Our free California child support calculator can give you an estimate based on income and timeshare. If both parents already agree, they can submit a written stipulation for a judge to sign instead of a contested hearing.

How child support is calculated in California

California sets child support with a statewide uniform guideline (Family Code section 4055) that applies the same way in Fresno County as everywhere else. The formula is based mainly on two things:

1. Both parents' net disposable incomes.
2. The percentage of time the child spends with each parent (the timeshare).

The guideline amount is presumed to be correct, and courts use a calculator to run the numbers. Because the result depends on accurate income, the Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) you file is what drives your number.

Where child support cases are handled in Fresno County

Child support in Fresno County is handled through the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno, and the county's Local Child Support Agency, which is part of the California Department of Child Support Services. There are two common paths:

1. Either parent files a Request for Order (Form FL-300) with an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) inside a divorce, parentage, or custody case.
2. The Local Child Support Agency opens a case to establish, collect, and enforce support, often at no cost to the parents.

Because courthouse and local agency office details change over time, confirm current details using the official California Courts court finder:

Find the Fresno County Superior Court (official California Courts finder)

Local notes for Fresno County

Family law filings for Fresno County, including Requests for Order tied to child support, are handled at the B.F. Sisk Courthouse, home to the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno's family law division. The court's own e-filing system accepts family law documents, and represented parties are generally required to file and serve electronically, while self-represented parents may use e-filing but are not required to.

The Fresno County Department of Child Support Services maintains its own office separate from the court and runs child support cases directly, at no cost to the parent who opens the case; it can help establish paternity, set a support order, and enforce an existing one. For help with the paperwork itself, the Office of the Family Law Facilitator, based at the B.F. Sisk Courthouse, assists parents representing themselves with completing Form FL-150 and related documents and explains court procedure, free of charge, though staff there cannot give legal advice about your particular case or tell you how to argue it.

Given that agricultural and seasonal work is common in Fresno County, reporting accurate and complete income figures on the Income and Expense Declaration is especially important, since it's what the guideline calculation actually runs on. Child support in Fresno County generally continues until the child turns 18, or 19 if the child is a full-time high school student still living at home and not self-supporting, the same rule that applies statewide. Either parent can ask the court for a modification later if income or the parenting timeshare changes.

Official child support resources in Fresno County

Two separate local offices handle child support work in Fresno County, and it helps to know which does what. The Fresno County Department of Child Support Services is the county's branch of the statewide Department of Child Support Services. It can open a case to establish paternity, set a support order, and collect or enforce support, all at no cost to the parent who requests it, and it operates independently of the court.

The B.F. Sisk Courthouse in downtown Fresno houses the Superior Court of California, County of Fresno's family law division. This is where a parent already in a divorce, parentage, or custody case files a Request for Order (Form FL-300) with an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) to establish or change support through the court rather than through the county agency.

Also based at the B.F. Sisk Courthouse is the Office of the Family Law Facilitator, the court's self-help resource for family law. Facilitator staff help self-represented parents choose and complete the right forms, explain the general process, and provide support calculations, free of charge, but they do not give legal advice or represent either parent's interests. The court's e-filing system accepts family law filings, and while it's generally required for parties represented by an attorney, self-represented parents may choose to use it or file in person.

• Fresno County Department of Child Support Services
• Superior Court of California, County of Fresno: Family Law
• Office of the Family Law Facilitator (Fresno Superior Court)

Local details reviewed July 2026. Offices and locations can change, so confirm with the official sites above before you file.

Fresno County Child Support FAQs