Family Maintenance Enforcement Program

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) is a provincial government program that monitors and enforces maintenance orders and agreements (for child or spousal support). This program can help you collect support payments that were ordered by a judge. (Payors can also enroll.)

You can enroll in the FMEP as long as one of the following applies to your situation:

• The payor and the recipient both live in BC and there is a maintenance order made in a BC court (a maintenance order includes any separation agreement filed in a BC court), OR
• The payor lives in BC or receives money in BC and there is a maintenance order made in a BC court or in a court in another province or country that has a reciprocal agreement with BC, OR
• The recipient lives in BC, the payor lives in a province or country that has a reciprocal agreement with BC, and there is a maintenance order made by a BC court or a court in another province or country that has a reciprocal agreement with BC.

Note: There are a number of other situations, not listed here, where the FMEP may monitor and enforce a maintenance order or agreement. Contact the FMEP if you are not sure whether or not your situation is covered.

To see a list of the countries that have reciprocal agreements with BC, see Section 6 of the Interjurisdictional Support Orders Regulation.

For more information about the program and to get the forms you need to register, see the FMEP website. The website also contains a glossary of terms and a child support calculator.