State of New Jersey

Administrative Office of the Courts

New Jersey Court Rules: R. 5:6B

B. Overview

R. 5:6B requires that all child support orders shall be adjusted every two

years to reflect changes in the cost of living. A cost of living adjustment

(COLA) is an automatic adjustment of a child support order that is

enforced under Title IV-D. The objectives of the COLA are to ensure the

adequacy of child support in future years and to reduce the number of

modification applications filed throughout the duration of the support. The

For a COLA to occur, the following conditions must exist:

1. The case must be an open case with a charging child support

obligation;

2. The New Jersey Kids Deserve Support (NJKiDS) system date is

less than or equal to the next COLA date, recorded with support

order details, less 45 calendar days;

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2. The Notice of Cost of Living Adjustment (CS150) is generated via a

weekly batch process 45 days prior to the next COLA date.

3. The CS150 informs the parties that their case is scheduled to be

adjusted and that a COLA may be applied. The CS150 contains

the date the COLA will occur, the amount and frequency of

payment of the current order, the CPI rate applied to the current

order, and the amount and frequency of the adjusted order.

5. NJKiDS automatically updates the COLA record with the proposed

order and proposed effective date (if not contested). These fields,

along with the COLA date and the last COLA date, can be reviewed

on the Court Order/SORD page in NJKiDS.

6. NJKiDS has been programmed to round COLA increases to the

nearest dollar. Amounts of 50 cents or more are rounded up to the

1. Thirty-five days after the CS150 is generated, COLA cases in a

pending or resolved status will be automatically updated with the

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generate a Civil Action Order Cost of Living Adjustment (CS154)

signature of the Family Division Presiding Judge of the vicinage will

automatic be affixed to orders. Income withholding notices

automatically generate reflecting the change in the order.

Note: If a child support modification order is entered while the

COLA chain is pending, NJKiDS will cancel the COLA and

set a new COLA date two years in the future from the date of

the modification order.

F. Contested COLA

they are contesting the COLA, within 30 calendar days of the date

of the CS150. Oral contests, whether by telephone, or in person,

are not acceptable.

2. A party may request an administrative review of a COLA if one or

more of the following criteria exist:

a. The person contesting is not the Non-Custodial Parent

c. The child support order indicates that the case is exempt

from the COLA process and/or contains a provision for an

alternative form of periodic review; and/or

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a. Mistaken Identity – a photocopy of identification containing

date of birth and social security number.

b. Incorrect Child Support Amount – a copy of a court order,

showing the correct amount, signed by a judge. PCSE staff

must then verify it is the most current court order.

c. Exemption from COLA or Alternative COLA Schedule – a

copy of a court order that stipulates exemption or an

d. NCP’s/Obligor’s Income Unchanged or Increase is Less

Than CPI Rate – tax returns, W-2s, employer 1099s, award

letters showing Public Assistance, Social Security, or other

public entitlements. The financial information should cover

the three-year period immediately preceding the COLA

contest.

on the COLA chain, which generates the Notice of Additional

Information Needed for COLA (CS596). The chain is increased 15

days so the NCP/obligor may provide the necessary proof

supporting their contest. If additional time is needed, PCSE staff

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the Notice of Determination of COLA Administrative Review

6. If a change in circumstances is the sole basis of a challenge to a

COLA, the COLA contest should be denied. The parties should be

advised of their right to file a motion/application with the Family

Division in the county of venue.

G. Administrative Review Process

1. When a written contest meets the accepted criteria and is received

with the proper supporting documentation, the designated PCSE

administrative review process within 20 days of receipt of the COLA

contest. The administrative review process can result in only one

of the following determinations:

a. COLA will be applied with the effective date contained in the

CS150. These cases will be updated with the new obligation

effective date. Upon completion of the administrative review,

the CS152 is generated and sent to the parties. Thereafter,

2. If they wish to contest the determination, they must

submit a request to contest, in writing, to PCSE within

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Administrative Office of the Courts

c. Schedule the case before a Child Support Hearing Officer

(CSHO) for further review. This is the appropriate

determination if PCSE is unable to determine if the COLA

should be applied based on the contest. In this event, PCSE

staff selects “Not Resolved Administratively – Schedule

Hearing” in the COLA chain and a formal hearing will be

scheduled. These cases are not to be updated with a new

obligation amount, until CSHO review. PCSE staff must

generate a COLA Worksheet for the hearing.

a. The COLA Worksheet generates automatically once a case

is marked contested in NJKiDS. Prior to advancing to the

next step in the chain, a copy of the COLA Worksheet must

be printed, otherwise the calculations automatically get

deleted. A copy will be made part of the PCSE file and

additional copies may be made for court, if needed.

(the prior 2 years will automatically show once the

current year is entered); and

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d. Actual Income Change – The Worksheet calculates the

difference plus or minus from the two tax years under

review.

e. Adjusted Order – fills in automatically. It will say “YES”

(COLA goes through) or “NO” (no COLA for this cycle).

H. Scheduled Hearing to Record Hearing Officer’s Recommendation at

COLA Hearing

NCP/obligor desires to contest the determination of the

administrative review, the case shall be scheduled before a CSHO

or judge for further review.

2. The case should be placed on the next available enforcement

calendar in accordance with standard scheduling and noticing

procedures.

Note: In limited circumstances, when the CSHO is unable to hear

the COLA contest, they are scheduled before a judge.

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Administrative Office of the Courts

File/NOTE page.

I. Missed COLAs and Retroactive Modifications

chain and enter the date the COLA was missed on the COLA

Worksheet. Thereafter, the COLA process shall resume.

2. Retroactive Orders

If a retroactive order is entered on the Obligations by Case/OWIZ

process the oldest COLA first. Once that COLA has been

processed, the system will automatically initiate the next COLA that

has been missed.

J. Uniform Interstate Family Support Act

When a new COLA order has been produced on an intergovernmental

case, PSCE staff will get an action alert/task to register the new COLA

order with the foreign jurisdiction.

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3. Navigate to the Correct Existing Court Order/SORD page and

select “Yes” in the dialog box.

4. All required fields should be pre-filled; however, if any of the

required fields are not pre-filled enter the following selections:

a. Ordered by field – “D – Default”;

b. Order type field – “A – Administrative”;

d. Controlling order field – “P – Presumed”;

e. Check the box “Guidelines Followed”; and

f. Enter the new next COLA date. If necessary, the last COLA

date can be changed.