How to Apply for 30 Hours of Free Childcare for Working Parents in England

Check whether your family qualifies

Free Childcare for Working Parents is an England-only scheme. Eligible working families can receive up to 30 hours of funded childcare a week for 38 weeks of the year for a child aged from 9 months to 4 years.

The entitlement normally starts from the term after your child reaches 9 months and continues until they start school, provided you remain eligible. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland operate different childcare schemes.

Meet the minimum and maximum income rules

You and your partner, if you have one, must normally each expect to earn at least a prescribed amount during the 3 months after applying. As verified on 9 September 2026, the current minimum amounts before tax are:

• £2,643.68 over 3 months, or £203.36 a week, if aged 21 or over;
• £2,256.80 over 3 months, or £173.60 a week, if aged 18 to 20;
• £1,664 over 3 months, or £128 a week, if under 18 or an apprentice.

These thresholds represent an average of 16 hours a week at the relevant National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage rate. If either you or your partner expects adjusted net income, including relevant foreign income, to be over £100,000 for the current tax year, you are not eligible.

If you are self-employed or paid irregularly

If you work throughout the year but are not paid regularly, or you are self-employed and do not expect to meet the threshold during the next 3 months, HMRC allows you to use an average of your expected earnings over the current tax year in qualifying circumstances.

If you are self-employed and started your business less than 12 months ago, you can earn below the normal minimum threshold and still qualify. Earnings from more than one job can be combined. Dividends, interest, property investment income and pension income do not count towards the minimum earnings requirement.

You do not always have to be physically at work

You can usually qualify while employed, self-employed or working as a company director. Eligibility can also continue or arise while you are on sick leave, annual leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, adoption leave, receiving Statutory Neonatal Care Pay or on Bereaved Partner's Paternity Leave, subject to the scheme rules.

If one partner is working and the other is not currently working, eligibility can still exist in certain cases involving Carer's Allowance, qualifying Universal Credit elements, contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or National Insurance credits.

Check the residence and immigration conditions

You must live in England. You and your partner, if you have one, must have a National Insurance number. The person making the application must also normally have British or Irish citizenship, settled or pre-settled status or a pending qualifying application, or immigration permission allowing access to public funds.

If your immigration status does not satisfy the scheme requirements, do not assume that your child's age and your earnings alone make you eligible.

Work out which term your 30 hours can start

You can submit an application from when your child is 23 weeks old. The term in which funded hours can begin depends on the date the child turns 9 months old:

• turns 9 months between 1 September and 31 December — funded hours can start from 1 January;
• turns 9 months between 1 January and 31 March — funded hours can start from 1 April;
• turns 9 months between 1 April and 31 August — funded hours can start from 1 September.

Ask your childcare provider for the exact date it starts delivering your funded place, because provider term arrangements can vary.

Do not miss the term application deadline

The official application deadlines are tied to the term in which you want funded childcare to begin:

• 31 December for an entitlement starting from 1 January;
• 31 March for an entitlement starting from 1 April;
• 31 August for an entitlement starting from 1 September.

You should not leave the application until the deadline. The Department for Education's Best Start in Life guidance recommends applying at least 6 weeks before the deadline where possible, giving time to deal with eligibility queries and secure a childcare place.

If you are starting a job or returning from parental leave

Different application windows apply if you are starting a new job or returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave. For a January start, the relevant return-to-work or job-start period is generally 1 October to 31 January and the application window is 1 September to 31 December. For an April start, the corresponding dates are 1 February to 30 April with applications from 1 January to 31 March. For September, the work-start period is 1 May to 30 September and the application window is 1 April to 31 August.

If both parents are on shared parental leave for the child, both must have returned or be returning to work within one month of the relevant term start. GOV.UK specifies return-by dates of 30 September for the autumn term, 31 January for the spring term and 30 April for the summer term.

Prepare your details before applying online

The application is made through HMRC's online Childcare Service. You will normally need:

• your National Insurance number and your partner's if applicable;
• your UTR if you are self-employed and have one;
• the UK birth certificate reference number for the child, if available; and
• the date you started work or expect to start.

If you have a partner, you normally need to include them if you are married or in a civil partnership and live together, or live together as though married or in a civil partnership. Their work and income can be disregarded in specified circumstances, including certain absences from the household lasting more than 6 months or imprisonment.

Apply through your childcare account

The online application usually takes about 20 minutes. A childcare account is created as part of the process. HMRC also checks whether you may qualify for Tax-Free Childcare when you apply for Free Childcare for Working Parents.

HMRC usually tells you whether you qualify immediately. If additional checks are necessary, a decision is normally provided within 10 days, although some cases can take longer.

Once approved, an 11-digit childcare code appears in your childcare account and HMRC notifies you by text or email.

Give the eligibility code to your provider

Give your childcare provider:

• your 11-digit eligibility code;
• your National Insurance number; and
• your child's date of birth.

The provider uses these details to validate your eligibility. Receiving a code does not itself guarantee that a particular nursery or childminder has a place available, so contact your preferred provider early.

Understand the 30-hour entitlement

The standard entitlement is up to 30 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year. Some providers offer a stretched arrangement where the same funded entitlement is spread as fewer hours each week over more than 38 weeks.

Ask the provider what pattern it offers. The funded entitlement must be accessible free of charge, but a provider does not have to offer every possible pattern of hours.

Know what a provider can charge for

The funded hours themselves must be available free of charge. Government funding does not necessarily cover meals, nappies, sun cream, private hours above the funded entitlement or optional activities such as trips.

A provider may ask you to pay for these extras, but Department for Education guidance states that such charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place. Parents must be able to opt out of chargeable extras and providers should offer reasonable alternatives that allow access to the funded entitlement free of charge.

Reconfirm your eligibility every 3 months

Approval is not permanent. You must sign in to your childcare account every 3 months to confirm that your information remains up to date and that you are still eligible.

If you apply more than 3 months before the funded childcare starts, you will need to reconfirm before the start date so the code remains valid. Check your childcare account for your individual reconfirmation date.

Foster carers use a different application route

A foster parent may qualify for Free Childcare for Working Parents if they are in paid work outside their fostering role and their adjusted net income is below £100,000. However, the normal online application cannot be used for a foster child. Speak to your social worker and local authority to apply.

When two funded childcare schemes apply

A 2-year-old may qualify both for the working-parent offer and for separate funded early learning based on additional support. In these circumstances, GOV.UK states that the child can receive 15 hours through the additional-support scheme and 15 hours through the working-parent scheme, up to 30 hours in total for 38 weeks.

The additional-support entitlement is handled through the local council's early years team or Family Information Service and has separate eligibility rules.

Avoid problems with your application and code

• Do not assume the scheme applies across the whole UK; it is specifically for families living in England.
• Do not wait until after 31 December, 31 March or 31 August if you need the entitlement from the next relevant term.
• Do not assume a code guarantees a nursery place; arrange a provider as early as possible.
• Include your partner where the application rules require it.
• Use expected adjusted net income, not simply salary, when checking the £100,000 upper limit.
• Respond promptly if HMRC asks for income or employment evidence.
• Do not forget to reconfirm eligibility every 3 months.
• Do not assume compulsory charges for meals, nappies or additional private hours are required to access the funded entitlement; mandatory extras cannot be a condition of a funded place.

Secure the place and monitor your childcare account

Once you have your eligibility code, give it and the required identifying details to the childcare provider. Agree the days and hours it can offer under the funded scheme and ask clearly about any optional charges.

Keep your childcare account details current and complete each 3-month reconfirmation. If HMRC has not given you a decision more than 10 days after you applied, GOV.UK says you can contact the Childcare Service helpline.