Federal Case Registry (FCR)

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) amended the Social Security Act (“the Act”) to require the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Child Support Services (“OCSS”) to establish and maintain in the Federal Parent Locator Service (FPLS) the Federal Case Registry of Child Support Orders (“Federal Case Registry or FCR”). The FCR is a national database of state-provided abstracts of IV-D child support cases and non-IV-D cases, including orders that are entered or modified by courts or other tribunals after October 1, 1998. The PRWORA also amended the Act to require each state to have a “State Case Registry” (SCR) that includes information on individuals involved in child support cases. IV-D cases are those in which the state is currently providing child support services as directed by the state’s IV-D program. A non IV D case is one in which the state has no current application for services or is not receiving services from any other state program. Each state is required to transmit SCR information to the FCR, which serves as an electronic information exchange system within the FPLS. The FCR contains key information, including an order indicator and case and participant data received from each of the SCRs. Using the FCR allows authorized state agencies to determine whether any state has an interest in the same individuals, thereby enhancing the nation’s child support enforcement efforts and avoiding duplication of efforts.

The latest form for Federal Case Registry (FCR) expires 2026-11-30 and can be found here.