The BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program (FMEP) is a Provincial Government service established by the British Columbia Ministry of Justice in 1988.
[1] Annually, the program assists approximately 45,000 families, 58,000 children and collects and disburses over $200 million (CAD) in maintenance payments each year.
By providing services to both payors and recipients, the FMEP ensures that the terms of these maintenance orders are fulfilled.
The FMEP's services are available on an opt-in basis to most parents who live in British Columbia and who have valid maintenance orders or agreements filed with any court in Canada, the United States, or in other countries with which British Columbia has reciprocal agreements.
There is no cost for the program's services but default fees and interest charges apply if support payments are not made on time.
Administrative enforcement actions include Notices of Attachment, which require the garnishment of wages and other sources of income or the interception of federal payments (such as employment insurance benefits and income tax returns), reporting arrears to the credit bureau, refusing to issue or renew a payor's driver's license, and placing a lien on a payor's land or personal property.
Under section 11.1 of the Act, the FMEP has the authority to charge payors interest on late and unpaid maintenance.
The average child support order registered with the program requires payment of just under $400 per month.