Child Support in Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County, home to the state capital and surrounding cities like Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Rancho Cordova, handles a steady volume of family law and child support matters each year. Cases for families anywhere in the county are heard at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento's dedicated family law and probate courthouse, and support cases can also be opened directly with the Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services.

Like every county in California, Sacramento County determines child support using the state's uniform guideline formula set out in Family Code section 4055. The formula is built from both parents' net disposable incomes and the timeshare, the share of time the child spends with each parent, and produces a number that the law presumes to be correct.

Parents in Sacramento County can reach a support order in one of two ways. Inside an existing divorce, parentage, or custody case, either parent can file a Request for Order (Form FL-300) along with an Income and Expense Declaration (Form FL-150) at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. Outside of that, the Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services, part of the statewide California Department of Child Support Services, can open a case directly to establish and enforce support, generally at no cost to the parent who requests it. The forms don't change by county; what's local is which courthouse handles the case and where the local agency office is.

Before you file, it can help to know roughly what to expect. Try our free California child support calculator. If you and the other parent are already in agreement, you can put that agreement into a written stipulation for a judge to sign instead of going through a 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 Sacramento 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 Sacramento County

Child support in Sacramento County is handled through the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento, 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 Sacramento County Superior Court (official California Courts finder)

Local notes for Sacramento County

Sacramento County's family law cases, including support matters, are directed to the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, which houses the court's Family Law and Probate Divisions. The Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services operates separately from the court, with its own office and online case tools for opening, updating, or enforcing a support case.

The Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator's Office, located on the third floor of the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, helps self-represented parents complete Form FL-150 and related forms and can explain how the process works, but staff are not able to give legal advice about your specific case. Since the guideline calculation is driven directly by the income figures reported, filling out that form completely and accurately is the most important step in the process.

Support in Sacramento County, as throughout California, generally lasts until the child turns 18, or 19 if the child is still a full-time high school student living at home and not self-supporting. Either parent may ask the court to modify the order later if income or the custody timeshare changes.

Official child support resources in Sacramento County

Sacramento County's child support cases are handled by the Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services, the county's Sacramento based office of the statewide California Department of Child Support Services. The agency can open a case to establish parentage and a support order, and to enforce an existing order, and doing so is generally free to the parent who requests it.

Family law cases in Sacramento County, including Requests for Order that touch child support, are heard at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse, which houses the court's Family Law and Probate Divisions. This is the courthouse where a parent files paperwork such as Form FL-300 and Form FL-150 when asking a judge to set or change support inside an open family law case.

The court also operates the Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center and Family Law Facilitator's Office, located on the third floor (Room 314) of the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. Staff there provide free help with forms and procedure for self-represented parents, including child support matters connected to a Department of Child Support Services case, but they cannot give legal advice or tell you how to handle your specific case.

• Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services
• Sacramento Superior Court: Family Law Child Support
• Family Law and Probate Self-Help Center
• William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse

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

Sacramento County Child Support FAQs