ICBC Can Take Your Driver’s License if You Owe Support
Child support and spousal support, despite being ordered by The Court, are often not paid. How often? In the last decade, media has reported figures in the hundreds millions owing in unpaid support. And that’s just in British Columbia.
To help make child and spousal support enforcement more effective, The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) introduced changes to their program in 2019 that permit ICBC the power to cancel driver’s licenses of BC parents owing more than $3,000. This initiative adds another powerful compliance measure to an already extensive list of available actions. Where child or spousal support is outstanding, FMEP – a free service of the British Columbia Ministry of Attorney General – can perform the following:
- Intercept federal sources of income such as income tax or EI;
- Attach wages, bank accounts or other sources of income;
- prevent a driver’s license or motor vehicle registration from being issued or renewed;
- suspend a passport or federal licenses such as a pilot’s license;
- report unpaid maintenance to a credit bureau;
- summons the payor to a default hearing in court;
- issue a lien against the payor’s personal property or land;
- In addition, they also charge interest and default fees on late or missed payments.
As a payor, it is important to note: FMEP will not automatically stop the enforcement of a child or spousal support order. If your circumstances have changed due to the loss of a job, or if a child is now an adult, a new court order must be sent to FMEP.
Are you in arrears with support, and putting your license on the line with FMEP? Contact the Coach My Case Legal Navigator to ensure you stay in your lane.
