Location Services and the New Hires Directory Fact Sheet

The New Jersey Child Support Program has many tools available to find the non-custodial parent and will do so within 75 calendar days of determining this is necessary.

To locate a non-custodial parent, the child support program can use the State Parent Locator Service to:

  • Access all local, state and federal resources available (such as the NJ Division of Motor Vehicles, NJ Wage Reporting and the Social Security Administration);
  • Coordinate with other state and national databases; and
  • Refer a case to the Federal Parent Locator Service when appropriate.

Another locator tool is the state New Hires Directory.

All employers and labor organizations doing business in New Jersey must report the hiring or re-hiring of any person to the Department of Human Services. The employer must submit the report within 15 days of the hiring if it is done electronically or within 20 days if the report is submitted in another form.

The report must contain the employee's name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, and the employer's name, address and federal tax identification number.

An employer who does not file the report will receive a written warning of non-compliance by the Department of Human Services and can be fined.

The state may disclose New Hire information to the National Directory of New Hires, other state programs that are responsible for administering similar programs such as food stamp benefits, or the agency operating the unemployment insurance benefits and workers' compensation programs.

In order to locate a non-custodial parent, the state has access to many resources both public and private.

These include, but aren't limited to, agency records relating to:

  • Bureau of Vital Statistics in the Department of Health and Senior Services
  • Division of Taxation in the Department of Treasury
  • Real and titled property
  • Occupational, professional, recreational and sporting licenses
  • Ownership and control of corporations, partnerships and other business entities
  • Department of Labor
  • Administration of welfare programs
  • Division of Motor Vehicles in the Department of Transportation
  • Department of Corrections, including those relating to state-sentenced inmates and parolees

The state Department of Human Services can access records held by private entities, including information on the assets and liabilities of individuals held by banks and other financial institutions. The state can also use customer records of public utilities (such as the electric company or cable television) to identify names and addresses of non-custodial parents.

The state may also contact personal sources, such as relatives, friends, employers and landlords to try to locate the parent.