Disability Living Allowance for children

Mobility component

How DLA for children is paid

DLA is usually paid every four weeks. All benefits, pensions and allowances are paid into an account.

• How benefits and pensions are paid

You might qualify for Carer’s Allowance if you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a child who gets the middle or highest care rate of DLA.

Eligibility

The information is a guide only. Disability and Carers Service can answer any questions you have about claiming and getting Disability Living Allowance.

• Disability and Carers Service 

Usually, to qualify for DLA the child must: 

• be under 16
• need extra looking after or have difficulty walking
• be habitually resident in Northern Ireland
• be in Northern Ireland when they make their claim
• have been in Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey for at least two out of the last three years (the period is 13 weeks for babies under six months old and does not apply at all for people paid under special rules)
• not be under immigration control

There are some exceptions to these conditions if the child is living or coming from another EEA country or Switzerland.

You can claim DLA for children if you’re in or out of work.

Children under three

A child under six months must have lived in Northern Ireland for at least 13 weeks.

A child aged between six months and three years must have lived in Northern Ireland for at least 26 of the last 156 weeks.

The rules on residence don’t normally apply if a child is terminally ill.

The child’s disability or health condition

The child’s disability or health condition must mean one or both of the following apply:

• they need more looking after than a child of the same age who doesn’t have a disability
• they have difficulty getting about

They must have had this for at least three months and expect it to last for at least six months. If they’re terminally ill (that is, not expected to live more than six months), they don’t need to have had this difficulty for three months.

Care component

The rate the child gets depends on the level of looking after they need, for example:

• lowest rate - help for some of the day or night
• middle rate - frequent help or constant supervision during the day, supervision at night or someone to help while they’re on dialysis
• highest rate - help or supervision throughout both day and night, or they’re terminally ill

Mobility component

The rate the child gets depends on the level of help they need getting about, for example:

• lowest rate - they can walk but need help and or supervision when outdoors
• highest rate - they can’t walk, can only walk a short distance without severe discomfort, could become very ill if they try to walk or they’re blind, severely sight impaired

Change of circumstances

Contact the Disability and Carers Service as soon as the child’s circumstances change. This can affect how much they get, for example if their disability gets worse or they go abroad for medical treatment.

Their DLA won’t usually be affected if they go:

• into a residential or nursing care home for less than 28 days
• into a hospital
• abroad for less than 13 weeks
• abroad for less than 26 weeks to get medical treatment for a condition which began before they left

How to claim

You can download a claim form, or contact the Disability and Carers Service or your local Social Security and Jobs & Benefits office.

Contact the Disability and Carers Service

You can call and ask to be sent a claim pack. The date of your phone call will be treated as your date of claim from which DLA can be paid, as long as you send your form back within six weeks of that date.

If you delay making a claim, you may lose out on benefit as DLA cannot be back dated.

• Disability and Carers Service

Download a claim form 

Download a claim form using the link below. When you have filled in the form you can either post it to the Disability and Carers Service or hand it in at your nearest Social Security / Jobs & Benefits office. 

• Disability Living Allowance child claim form and guidance notes - DLA 1A

Contact your local Social Security/Jobs & Benefits office

If you request a form from your local Social Security/Jobs & Benefits office, the date of request will be treated as your date of claim from which DLA can be paid - as long as the form you receive is returned within six weeks of that date. If you delay making a claim, you may lose out on benefit.

• Social Security / Jobs & Benefits offices and Job Centres

Alternative formats

Call the Disability and Carers Service and ask for alternative formats such as Braille, large print or audio CD.

Terminal illness

There are special rules if the child is not expected to live more than six months, so they can get DLA more quickly. You must:

• complete a Disability Living Allowance child claim form (DLA 1A) 
• include a DS1500 medical condition report with your claim form or send it soon after - these are free and you can only get them from a doctor, specialist or consultant

Appeal a decision

If you disagree with a decision, you must usually ask for ‘mandatory reconsideration’ before you appeal.

If you think a decision about your child’s benefit claim is wrong you can ask the Disability and Carers Service to explain it. You can also ask to have the decision reconsidered and if you're still unhappy, you can in most cases, appeal against the decision.

• Appealing against a benefits decision

When your child turns 16

Your child will need to apply for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) when they turn 16.

Your child will get a letter inviting them to apply for PIP. The letter will be sent:

• shortly after their 16th birthday
• when they leave hospital, if they were in hospital on their 16th birthday
• about 20 weeks before their DLA award ends, if they were awarded DLA under the rules for people who are terminally ill

Your child’s DLA payments will stop unless they apply for PIP by the date given in the letter.

If they apply by the date given in the letter, they’ll continue to receive DLA until their claim is assessed.