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. This guide applies to the paper version of the Child Benefit claim form, and it can help you answer some of the main questions.

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 your partner doesn't earn enough to pay National Insurance or isn't working, they might want to claim instead to protect their State Pension.

Page 1 of the claim form

Question 10 - Do you have a National Insurance number?

You can find your National Insurance number on:

a P60 certificate or P45 from your current or last employer
a PAYE Coding Notice
letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), including the Tax Credit Office
a payslip from your employer
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

An example of a National Insurance number is QQ123456A.

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

Find out how to apply for a National Insurance number

Page 2 of the claim form

Question 14 - Have you always lived in the United Kingdom?

This question is about the country you have always lived in.

The United Kingdom (UK) is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It does not include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

It doesn't usually matter if you sometimes go to other countries on holiday or for work.

Child Benefit if you're living or working abroad

Question 15 - Do you usually live in the UK?

This question is about the country you live in most of the time.

It doesn’t usually matter if you sometimes go to other countries on holiday or work.

Child Benefit if you're living or working abroad

Question 18 - Are you subject to immigration control now, or have you been at any time in the last three months?

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

Page 3 of the claim form

Question 28 - Your partner's National Insurance number

You can find their National Insurance number on:

a P60 certificate or P45 from their current or last employer
a PAYE Coding Notice
letters from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), including the Tax Credit Office
a payslip from their employer
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

An example of a National Insurance number is QQ123456A.

Question 32 - 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, send the form in anyway to avoid delays.

Child Benefit and birth and adoption certificates

Pages 4 and 5 of the claim form

Questions 38 and 52 - Is this child your own?

If you are not the child's parent but you are looking after the child, you can still claim Child Benefit. This also applies if you have a step child or a legally adopted child. But foster parents don't usually qualify.

Child Benefit if you adopt or foster a child

Questions 39 and 53 - Has anyone else claimed Child Benefit for this child?

If the child lives with you but someone else gets the Child Benefit, the Child Benefit Office may be able to transfer payment to you. For example if you’re separated and your child is now living with you. If it can be transferred, you may not get a payment until four weeks (and in some cases eight weeks) after you've made your claim.

If someone else has claimed Child Benefit for the same child that you are claiming for, the Child Benefit Office will contact you.

It's also a good idea to get any previous Child Benefit reference number you may have for the child you're making the claim for.

Questions 40 and 54 - Does this child live with you?

You should answer 'No' to this question if your child doesn't live with you in the UK.

The person who your child lives with will usually get the Child Benefit even if you pay towards the cost of looking after them. This applies even if both of you make a claim for Child Benefit.

Child Benefit if your child lives with someone else

Questions 41 and 55 - Has this child lived with someone else in the last 12 months?

If you and another person both claim Child Benefit for the same child, only one of you can get it. You should try to choose between you who should be the one to get the benefit. If you can't decide, someone acting on behalf of the Commissioners for HMRC will decide for you.

More than one claim for Child Benefit for the same child

Page 6 of the claim form

Question 61 - Do you want to be paid Child Benefit every week?

Child Benefit is usually paid every four weeks, but you can choose to be paid weekly in certain circumstances. You can get weekly payments if you're bringing up children on your own, or if you or your partner receive any of the following benefits:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
Pension Credit
income-related Employment and Support Allowance

Tick the box that applies.

If you get your Child Benefit paid weekly, you must tell the Child Benefit Office immediately if you stop:

bringing up children on your own
getting at least one of the above benefits

Your payments may then change to every four weeks.

Question 65 - Name the account is in

The bank account you want to use will need to be one of the following:

in your name
in the name of your husband, wife or partner if you have one
in the names of you and your husband, wife or partner
in the name of someone acting on your behalf
in the names of you and a person acting on your behalf

Your Child Benefit can't be paid into:

an account that is in a child's name
more than one account
How Child Benefit, tax credits and Guardian's Allowance are paid

Question 67 - Your branch sort code

Make sure you enter the sort code shown on your bank card or statements from your bank or building society.

Question 68 - Your account number

Your account number is usually eight digits and is shown on your statements or cheque book. Please include any zeros, for example 00123456.

Question 69 - The roll or reference number of your account

If your account is with a building society, or a bank that was a building society, you may have an extra reference number. This may be called any of the following:

a roll number
an account reference
an account number

If you are not sure which numbers to enter, check with your bank or building society.

The 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

The Child Benefit Office 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 them incorrect information, you could get the wrong payment and you may have to pay it back.

What to do now

Send your claim form with the birth or adoption certificate in the pre-paid envelope, or to the address on the form.

If you need any further help

Contact the Child Benefit Office if you need any further help or advice. You can do this by sending them a query online or you can phone the Child Benefit Helpline.

If your circumstances change

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

How changes can affect your Child Benefit payments