Maintenance Enforcement Process

Singapore's Maintenance Enforcement Process (MEP) is a phased process for enforcing court-ordered maintenance. It was introduced by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in January 2025 after the Family Justice Reform Act 2023. Its stated aims are to deter non-payment, make enforcement easier, support sustainable maintenance outcomes and improve access to justice, especially for self-represented applicants (MinLaw, 17 June 2026).

Phase 3 scope from 1 July 2026

The third and final implementation phase began on 1 July 2026. It expanded the MEP to all applications to enforce maintenance orders made under the Women's Charter 1961, Guardianship of Infants Act 1934, Administration of Muslim Law Act 1966 and Maintenance of Parents Act 1995. Before Phase 3, the MEP covered eligible repeat applications in Phase 1 and eligible first-time applications with maintenance arrears of at least S$10,000 in Phase 2 (MinLaw, 17 June 2026; MinLaw, 19 September 2025).

How referrals and conciliation work

Applicants file maintenance-enforcement applications at the Family Justice Courts or through an authorised agency. The Court refers eligible cases to MinLaw's Maintenance Enforcement Division (MED), where Maintenance Enforcement Officers (MEOs) conduct conciliation. This replaces the earlier mediation role in the MEP: MEOs take a more active role in seeking information and recommending solutions, and may obtain information from the parties and, where necessary, banks and public agencies including CPF Board, HDB, IRAS, SLA and LTA. MEOs then report to the Family Justice Courts, which can use the fuller financial picture to make more targeted enforcement orders (MinLaw, 17 June 2026; MED, accessed 20 August 2026).

Fees, access and reported scale

Respondents referred to the MEP because they failed to pay maintenance as ordered by the Court must pay a S$180 fee for the MEO follow-up under the Phase 3 announcement. Applicants can file directly with the Family Justice Courts or use authorised access points named by MinLaw, including the Singapore Council of Women's Organisations and ServiceSG Centres at Our Tampines Hub and OnePunggol. MinLaw reported 1,320 cases referred to the MED as of 31 May 2026; that is a cumulative referral count at a stated date, not the number of all maintenance orders or a success rate (MinLaw, 17 June 2026).

What the MEP does not decide

The MEP is an enforcement and conciliation process after a maintenance order exists. It does not itself determine the original maintenance entitlement, replace the Family Justice Courts, or guarantee that arrears will be recovered. If an application is not eligible under the MEP rules, MinLaw states that the Family Justice Courts' existing maintenance-enforcement process applies; people should use the official MED and Courts instructions for current filing requirements rather than treat this article as case-specific legal advice (MinLaw, 17 June 2026; MED, accessed 20 August 2026).