9 month to 4-year-old funding for working families

Eligibility criteria

Each parent (or the sole parent in a single parent family) will need to earn the equivalent to the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average, but no more than £100,000 a year each.

A family with an annual household income of £199,999 would be eligible if each parent earns just under £100,000.

Self-employed parents and parents on zero-hour contracts will be eligible if they meet the average earnings threshold.

Parents can still be eligible if they usually work but:

• one or both parents are away from work on statutory sick pay
• one or both parents are on parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave

In addition, parents are eligible if one parent is employed, but the other:

• has substantial caring responsibilities based on specific benefits for caring
• is disabled or incapacitated based on specific benefits

Parents who work less than 16 hours a week

Eligibility is based on income earned, not hours worked. If a parent works for less than 16 hours, but in that time, earns more than the equivalent of 16 hours per week at national living wage (or minimum wage for under 25s), they will still be eligible.

If you are not eligible for the working parent offer you will still receive the 15 hour entitlement for all 3 and 4 year olds from the term after your child turns 3 until they start school, irrespective of your income level, benefit status, or family circumstances.

Your immigration status

To be eligible for funded childcare for working parents, you (and your partner if you have one and if they live with you) must have a National Insurance number.

The person who applies must also have at least one of the following:

• British or Irish citizenship
• settled or pre-settled status, or you have applied and you’re waiting for a decision
• permission to access public funds - your UK residence card will tell you if you cannot do this

Important information from HMRC for parents and carers using a 30-hour code (11 digit code)

HMRC does not have the ability to change the date of a code (backdate) as this is bound by the date a parent/carer applies. If you feel that you have missed out on 30 hours free childcare, through no fault of your own, HMRC has a 30-hour compensation process to determine entitlement.

HMRC will determine entitlement on a case by case basis and cannot guarantee that parents/carers will be successful in their compensation request.

HMRC is responsible for determining who is eligible for the 30-hour offer.

If you have queries about checking your eligibility or if you’re experiencing ongoing technical issues contact HMRC by phone on 0300 123 4097.

If you provide false information about eligibility you can be fined between £300 and £3,000.

How to apply

If you think you are eligible, you can apply for a 30 hour (11 digit code) via Best Start in Life up to 16 weeks before your baby turns 9 months old.

• Check out the table with dates on the Best Start in Life to find out when to apply
• Successful applicants will be issued a voucher code by HMRC
• Funding can start from the term following your baby turning 9 months or the term after you apply, whichever is later
• And the funding will continue until they reach compulsory school age or have started a school reception place

Home child carers (nannies and au pairs) are exempt from the requirement to register under the Childcare (Exemptions from Registration) Order 2008 if they provide childcare for no more than 2 families in the parent’s homes. They are currently not permitted to register on the Early Years Register and cannot therefore receive early education funding.

Difficulties applying or a delay on the decision of your application

In this instance please contact the HMRC Childcare Helpline on 0300 123 4097.

Error on your HMRC childcare account

Please contact HMRC to claim compensation for loss of funding for the term and for more information please refer to HMRC.

Applying as a foster carer

It would be very unusual for a child in foster care to receive child care outside the foster placement for 30 hours each week.

If you believe there are extenuating circumstances which would make this appropriate, see Applying for childcare support as a foster carer.

Application process for prospective adoptive parents

When a previously looked-after child has been placed with the prospective adoptive parent(s) but the formal adoption order has not yet been granted by the courts, the parent(s) are no longer considered to be the child’s foster parents.

The adoption agency (the relevant local authority) must notify the prospective adopter(s) in writing of the date on which the child is placed for adoption with them (this is the adoption placement order).

If they wish to apply for the working parent entitlement, these prospective adopter(s) must then apply through the Childcare Service rather than via the local authority as they can no longer apply via the foster parent route. If they do not hold the child’s birth certificate, they can provide HMRC with the adoption placement order from the adoption agency during the application process.

As with other parents, they must meet the eligibility criteria for the working parent entitlement, including the minimum income requirement and the requirement to reconfirm via the Childcare Service every 3 months. This remains the same when the adoption order is granted by the court.

How you can use your funding for working families

You can:

• use your 30 hours between 6am and 8pm for a maximum of 10 hours a day
• split your 30 hours between providers, for example a nursery and a childminder, but at no more than 2 settings each day
• get up to 30 hours of funded childcare for 38 weeks of the year (1,140 hours, the same as school terms)
• get funded childcare for up to 52 weeks if you use fewer than 30 hours per week - check with your childcare provider to find out if this is something they offer

Please note: if your child is a 3 to 4 year old and attending a registered childcare setting the setting will be claiming the 3 and 4 year Universal funded hours and, if you provide them with your 30 hour code, they may also claim from your extended hours. Please ask the setting/provider to confirm which funded hours they are claiming.

How to find a place at a nursery or childminder for your child

You can find a place for your child with a registered childcare provider, on our Family Information Directory.

Take the code to your chosen provider to secure your child’s place and ensure you receive the funding for the following term.

They will validate your code by verifying that you are eligible for the funding through the local authority.

For this, they will require:

• voucher code
• forename
• surname
• child’s date of birth
• National Insurance (NI) number or Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)

How to reconfirm your eligibility

If you claim 30 hours and/or Tax-Free Childcare, you must reconfirm your eligibility.

You must do this even if your child has not started their 30 hours place.

You must reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months from the date you first applied or you are at risk of losing your funded childcare.

What is the grace period

This will allow continuity for the child and also give the parent sometime to regain employment. Early years and childcare providers can also be assured that if they offer the extended entitlement, they will not run the risk of having an empty place immediately should the parents circumstances change.

If a family no longer meet the criteria, a grace period would be given to allow them to find employment.

For 3 and 4 year olds - if a family did not meet the criteria after the grace period elapsed, they would no longer receive 30 hours but would receive the universal 15 hour entitlement.