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Help with the Child Benefit claim form

Help with the Child Benefit claim form

To claim Child Benefit, you'll need to fill in a claim form as fully and accurately as you can. To avoid delays, send it back as soon as possible - even if you've had to leave some bits blank - as we can only backdate your claim for up to three months.

Before you start

Decide who should fill in the form. Usually whoever fills it in gets the payments. But you may be able to claim on behalf of someone else if they can't claim for themselves.

If you're a couple, it's usually best for the person who does most of the childcare to claim. But if the other partner doesn't earn enough to pay National Insurance or isn't working, they might want to claim instead to protect their State Pension.

Getting Child Benefit on behalf of someone else

How claiming Child Benefit can protect your State Pension

Get everything you need to hand

You'll need:

your National Insurance number if you've got one
your bank or building society account or roll number if you've got one
any previous Child Benefit reference number you've got for the child you're making the claim for

How to find your Child Benefit number

Part 1 - Personal details

You'll need to fill in some details about yourself.

National Insurance number

You'll find this on your National Insurance number card, or on things like:

payslips from an employer, and the form P60 you get from them each year
letters about tax credits
letters from Jobcentre Plus or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Social Security Agency or the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland.
letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

If you don't have a National Insurance number - or you can't find it - send in the form anyway to avoid delays.

Last name or family name

Give your current name. If you change it, let the Child Benefit Office know as soon as possible.

Are you subject to immigration control?

You can't usually claim Child Benefit if you're subject to immigration control. This could be when you:

need permission to be in the UK but don't have it
have permission to stay if you don't use public funds, for example by claiming benefits

New arrivals to the UK and Child Benefit

Do you usually live in the UK?

If you only go abroad for short periods, like holidays or business trips, tick the 'Yes' box.

If you don't usually live in the UK, you may still qualify for Child Benefit.

Child Benefit if you're living or working abroad

Part 2 - Partner's details

By 'partner', we mean:

your husband, wife or civil partner
someone you live with as if you're married or in a civil partnership

You'll need your partner's National Insurance number, and any previous Child Benefit reference number if they've claimed before. They'll find their National Insurance number on things like payslips and letters from HMRC. And they'll find any previous Child Benefit reference on letters from the Child Benefit Office.

If they don't have these details - or they can't find them - send in the form anyway to avoid delays.

Part 3 - Children you want to claim for

Fill in the names of the children you're claiming for. If there's more than four, list the others in Part 6 of the claim form. Don't include children you're already getting Child Benefit for.

Start with your eldest child, then the next eldest and so on.

If your child has died

You may still be able to claim Child Benefit. You would need to make your claim within three months of the date your child died. This is because we can only backdate your Child Benefit for up to three months from the date we get your claim form. Please put the date they died in Part 6 of the form.

Check what happens to Child Benefit if your child dies

Birth or adoption certificates

If you haven't claimed Child Benefit for your child or children before, you'll need to provide their birth or adoption certificate. If you haven't got it, explain why in Part 6 of the form and send the form in anyway to avoid delays.

Get more information about Child Benefit and birth or adoption certificates

Question: are any of the children you want to claim for living at a different address to yours?

If the child you're claiming for lives at a different address, you may still be able to get Child Benefit if:

the person they live with isn't claiming for them
you're helping to pay towards the cost of their upbringing

Check what happens to Child Benefit if your child lives with someone else

Part 4 - Children who are not your own

If you're responsible for a child, you can claim Child Benefit even if you're not their parent. But if more than one person claims for the same child, only one will be able to get it.

If one or more of the child's parents have died, you could also get Guardian's Allowance.

Find out what happens if there's more than one claim for Child Benefit for the same child

Find out more about Guardian's Allowance

Adopting or fostering a child

If you're adopting a child, you can claim Child Benefit when you become responsible for them. But foster parents don't usually qualify.

Get information about Child Benefit if you adopt or foster a child

Part 5 - How we will pay you

We pay Child Benefit straight into your bank, building society or Post Office® card account. It's the safest way to pay you. If you don't have a suitable account, you could ask any bank or building society to set one up for you. Or you could arrange for someone else to receive the payments on your behalf.

Find out how we pay Child Benefit, tax credits and Guardian Allowance

Building society section

To avoid any delays, make sure you fill in the:

roll number
account reference or account number

How often you can be paid

We usually pay Child Benefit every four weeks. But if you're bringing up your children on your own, or you're on Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance, you can choose to get paid weekly. Tick the box that applies.

Part 6 - Other information

This section's for anything else you need to tell us about - like details of additional children, or problems getting hold of your National Insurance number or a birth certificate.

Part 7 - Declaration

Before you sign the declaration on the form, make sure:

you've filled in all the sections that apply as well as you can
all your answers are correct

We use the form to decide if you can get Child Benefit. It's up to you to make sure the information is correct and as complete as possible.

If you give us incorrect information, you could get the wrong payment and you may have to pay it back.

Part 8 - What to do now

Follow steps one to four on the claim form, but you can ignore step four if you’ve downloaded the claim form from the Internet. Then send the form with the birth or adoption certificate to:

Child Benefit Office (Washington)
Freepost
NEA 10463
PO Box 133
Washington
NE38 7BR

If you need any further help

If you need more help with the claim form you can contact the Child Benefit Helpline on Tel 0845 302 1444 or textphone Tel 0845 302 1474. The Helpline is open between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, seven days a week, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

If your preferred language is Welsh you can call on Tel 0845 302 1489, and if you're calling from outside the UK Tel + 44 161 210 3086.

If your circumstances change

If your circumstances change after you make your claim, you must tell the Child Benefit Office.

Find out about how changes can affect your Child Benefit payment