The CSEA offers our clients the option to file an agreed entry in three situations:

1. The custodial parent (obligee) wishes to waive some or all of the support arrearage owed to the obligee.
2. The parties wish to give the obligor credit for payments made directly to the obligee.
3. The support order should be terminated (emancipation of child, change of legal custody, etc) and the parties wish to expedite the process by filing an agreed entry.

The CSEA can offer assistance in completing an agreed entry at no cost if certain conditions exist:

1. Both parties must be in complete agreement on the facts of their case.
2. There can be no indication of coercion by either party.
3. The CSEA will not mediate an agreement between the parties. If a disagreement arises during the agreed entry process, the parties must resolve this between themselves.
4. The CSEA does not represent either party and cannot offer legal advice.
5. The parties cannot waive any arrearage owed to the state of Ohio because the custodial parent previously received public assistance benefits.

Waiving Support Arrearage

Circumstances may arise in which the obligee wishes to voluntarily waive some or all of the support arrearage owed to them per CSEA records. This can be accomplished by completing an agreed entry to establish an account balance determined by the parties.

Giving the Obligor Credit for Direct Payments

It is not uncommon for both an obligor and obligee to be in agreement on what is owed, or not owed, on a case, and have that figure differ from the official records of the CSEA. If ALL payments have been made through the CSEA, you need to contact your support officer to have the agency’s calculations re-checked. An explanation can be made and, if the CSEA calculations are found to be in error, they can be corrected at that time.

In some situations, however, the discrepancy occurs because the obligor made payments to the obligee directly, and not through the CSEA. Since 12/04/1986, Ohio law has required all payments for child support to be paid through the Ohio Child Support Payment Central. Direct payments from obligor to obligee “shall be deemed to be a gift” per Ohio Revised Code 3121.45. The CSEA cannot adjust our records to credit direct payments without an agreed entry order signed by a Judge on a judicial order, or an order signed by an agency Hearing Officer on an administrative order. To prevent a repetition of this problem, the parties must agree that all future payments will be made through the Ohio Child Support Payment Central (OCSPC).

Agreed Termination Entries

If a judicial support order is due to be terminated because of the child’s emancipation, or other valid reason, the parties may request an agreed termination entry if they are in agreement on all facts pertaining to the termination of the support order and the account balance on the case. See the section on agreed termination entries under the “Support Order Termination” link for more information.

Executing an Agreed Entry

If your support order is judicial, meaning it stems from a divorce or dissolution, or was established through Domestic or Juvenile Court by a judge, you need to contact your support officer to see if your case meets the criteria for an agreed entry. If it does, the support officer will send the requesting party a packet of forms and affidavits. The forms must be completed and notarized by BOTH obligor and obligee. After mailing the forms, the support officer assigned to your case will take no enforcement action for 14 days to allow time to complete and return the agreed entry. Once the forms have been completed, the requesting party returns the documents to the CSEA. The support officer will send the documents to the court to be signed by a judge to establish an entry that can be acknowledged by the CSEA.

If you have an Administrative Order established by a CSEA Hearing Officer, you will both need to come to the agency in person to complete an agreed entry. See the section below titled Agreed Entry Wednesdays for more information.

If you are not sure whether your support order is an administrative order or a judicial order, contact the CSEA at 614-462-3275 to find out.

Agreed Entry Wednesdays

Agreed termination entries, entries to waive support arrearage or entries to credit direct payments may be completed at the agency on any Wednesday on a walk-in basis. Agreed entries can be completed for both judicial and administrative order cases. While no appointment is needed, it would be helpful if you would contact your support officer in advance to verify that your case does in fact qualify for an agreed entry. This will allow us to prepare the paperwork ahead of time and expedite the walk-in process.

If you wish to complete an agreed entry on a walk-in basis, BOTH parties need to arrive at the Franklin County CSEA at 80 E. Fulton in downtown Columbus between noon and 3:00 p.m. on any Wednesday. Tell the Front Desk staff you wish to complete an agreed entry. At that point an agency attorney will meet with you to see what can be done. Agreed entry walk-in requests are processed on a first-come, first-served basis, so it is better to arrive at noon than at 3:00 pm. It is not required to bring the child(ren).