Electronic Income Withholding Orders (e-IWO) - Answers to Employers’ Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Publication Date: June 2, 2023
Current as of:

Frequently asked questions about the electronic Income Withholding Orders (e-IWO) for employers

What is the Electronic Income Withholding Orders or e-IWO process?

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e-IWO is an efficient and cost-effective way to electronically exchange income withholding order (IWO) information between state child support agencies and employers.

What are the benefits of e-IWO?

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Some of the benefits include:

  • Money gets to the family faster
  • An employer can acknowledge receipt of each IWO and quickly respond to the state when an employee is no longer employed
  • Increased accuracy, and reliability of data
  • Saves time, money, and resources

How does an employer register to use e-IWO?

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Register online with the Child Support Portal for employers. Get more information on the Portal webpage or email eIWOmail@acf.hhs.gov

Does the e-IWO process send income withholding orders to the employer by email?

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No. OCSS places all files on a secure server designated by the employer for information exchange.

Employers using e-IWO online will download and respond to orders using the Child Support Portal. Visit the e-IWO webpage for more information.

What hardware does an employer need to participate in the e-IWO process?

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For e-IWO online users, there are no hardware requirements.

If using the No Programming Option or System-to-System option, the e-IWO process requires either a Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) server or a dedicated File Transfer Protocol Secure (FTPS) server.

Does OCSS charge a fee for an employer to use e-IWO?

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No.

Does the employer come to the e-IWO Portal to pick up orders?

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Yes, if the employer registered on the Child Support Portal to receive orders via the e-IWO Portal application. Otherwise, OCSS will send orders to a secure server designated by the employer.

How quickly will the employer get the orders through e-IWO?

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Employers receive their e-IWOs the day after the state child support agencies generate them.

Are all states using the e-IWO process?

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All 50 states and 3 territories, currently. Review the list of states using e-IWO.