Child Support Through the SDU

June 23rd, 2025 by Tiffany Hughes

In Illinois, parents have the basic obligation to provide for the reasonable and necessary physical, mental and emotional health needs of their child. This obligation can be paid through multiple different ways depending on the facts of a particular case and the abilities of the parents to communicate. One of the most popular payment methods for both custodial parents and non-custodial parents is to have the child support payment be sent through the Illinois State Disbursement Unit (SDU).

What is the SDU?

The SDU is essentially a payment processing center whereby the SDU process’s payments received from the paying parent’s employer and disburses the funds via check, direct deposit or debit card to the receiving parent. This is a great program because the SDU keeps its own records of payments and non-payments should you ever need to show proof of payments made or a lack thereof. This is helpful in both prosecuting and defending against petitions alleging missed court-ordered child support payments. When enforcing child support payments or showing that all child support payments have been made to the non-paying parent, the parties are able to obtain a ledger from the SDU for all child support payments made and disbursed.

How Do I Make a Child Support Payment to the SDU?

Parents looking to make their child support payments via the SDU need to have a Uniform Order for Support entered by the Judge. Once that is entered, the clerk’s office will send the same to the SDU for processing. Any subsequent order modifying a child support order will need an accompanying Uniform Order for Support modifying the child support obligation with the SDU. All child support payments to the custodial parent shall be made payable to the SDU and submitted in accordance with the instructions included within the Uniform Order for Support.

How Do I Get Money for Child Support from My Employer?

In order to get money sent to the SDU directly from the paying parent’s pay check, the first step is to send a Notice of Income Withholding for Support to the paying parent’s employer. The employer must then begin taking the necessary obligation amount of child support out of the paying parent’s paycheck for sending of the same to non-paying parent via the SDU. Since these payments are court-ordered child support payments, the employer is required to withhold the child support payments for the custodial parent and release the funds to the SDU.

Need More Information or Representation?

If you are thinking of requesting court-ordered child support payments through the SDU, give The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. a call today at 773-893-0228 for a confidential, complimentary 30-minute phone consultation or email Tiffany Hughes directly at Tiffanyhughes@thugheslaw.com. Our entire practice is solely dedicated to the area of family law. We are highly experienced in providing legal representation to anyone who is wanting to know more about what the SDU is, how to make child support payments to the SDU, benefits for paying parents vs. non-paying parents or non-custodial parents vs. custodial parents, seeking assistance in preparing a Notice of Income Withholding for Support, how to get money for child support from an employer, seeking court-ordered child support payments, modifying a child support order, or enforcing child support payments.

About Tiffany M. Hughes, Divorce Attorney, Principal, Managing Partner, The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C.:

Tiffany M. Hughes is a divorce attorney and Managing Partner of The Law office of Tiffany M. Hughes. Recognized as a Top 100 Lawyer in Lawyers Magazine in 2018 and 2019, Super Lawyer from 2016 to date, and in addition to numerous other accolades, Ms. Hughes represents individuals in all aspects of family and matrimonial law proceedings, including litigation, mediation, allocation of parental responsibility (formerly known as custody), parentage, divorce and other child-related matters.

—

This blog is made available by The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of Illinois law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. The website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in Illinois.  The law changes constantly and we do not go back in time to edit old posts that may be affected by these changes.  If you have any questions about Illinois law, which is the only State this blog and website discusses, please call The Law Office of Tiffany M. Hughes, P.C. for a complimentary phone consultation and do not draw any legal conclusions without speaking to a competent attorney in Illinois first.