Is child maintenance still payable when a child is at university?

Child maintenance payments under the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) generally stop when a child completes their full-time secondary education. Once a child starts university, the legal obligation to pay child maintenance through the CMS ends.

Parents can choose to support their child at university through a private arrangement, or by agreeing terms in a financial Consent Order as part of divorce, but this is not legally required under the CMS system.

If there is no private agreement or court order, there is no legal requirement to continue maintenance, but parents can make voluntary arrangements or financially support their child directly.