(A)The office of child support enforcement (OCSE) will refer an obligor who has been submitted for federal income tax refund offset to the United States department of state (DoS) for passport denial when the arrears of the obligor equal or exceed twenty-five hundred dollars in accordance with the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171, 120, Sta. 4 (2005), 42 U.S.C. 652, February 6, 2006.

(B)Upon receipt of a passport application from an obligor who has been referred to DoS for a passport denial, DoS will take the following actions, as appropriate:

(1)Issue a passport denial notice to the obligor; or

(2)Refuse to issue a passport to the obligor.

(C)A child support enforcement agency (CSEA) shall only request the release of the passport of an obligor that had been denied by DoS under any of the following criteria:

(1)For leisure travel, the obligor is required to pay the arrears in full.

(2)For employment or business travel, the obligor is required to provide documentation on company letterhead and current or prospective employment information or information about funds on deposit in a financial institution for withholding purposes and do one of the following:

(a)Pays off all the arrears;

(b)Pays the arrears so that the balance falls below the submission criteria; or

(c)Pays an amount that is acceptable by CSEA but at least equal to one month of child support obligation.

(3)There is a case of mistaken identity and the CSEA has verified this information.

(4)In extenuating circumstances in which:

(a)The reason for travel is a family emergency with supporting documentation that is accepted by the CSEA; or

(b)The obligor is a member of the military services whose passport is being issued by a special issuance agency of DoS. The military member or the authorized representative must provide military travel papers or military orders.

(D)When the CSEA accepts the request from an obligor to reverse the passport denial, the CSEA shall take the following action(s):

(1)When the obligor requests the release of the passport for the reason listed in paragraph (C)(1) of this rule, the CSEA shall take the appropriate action in the support enforcement tracking system (SETS) to reverse the passport denial. The normal time frame for the release of the passport by DoS is approximately six to eight weeks.

(2)When the obligor requests the release of the passport for the reason listed in paragraph (C)(2) of this rule, the CSEA shall:

(a)Prepare a federal notice of withdrawal of passport, which is available from the coordinator in the office of child support (OCS) within the Ohio department of job and family services;

(b)Provide the OCS coordinator a copy of the notice of withdrawal and supporting documentation, and provide the obligor a copy of the notice of withdrawal; and

(c)Take the appropriate action in SETS to reverse the passport denial.

The time frame to release the passport by DoS under this circumstance is approximately one to three weeks.

(3)When the obligor requests the release of the passport for the reasons listed in paragraphs (C)(3) and (C)(4) of this rule, the CSEA shall:

(a)Prepare a federal notice of withdrawal of passport, which is available from the OCS coordinator;

(b)Provide the OCS coordinator a copy of the notice of withdrawal and supporting documentation, and provide the obligor a copy of the notice of withdrawal; and

(c)Take the appropriate action in SETS to reverse the passport denial.

The time frame to release the passport by DoS under these circumstances is approximately three to five business days.