How to Claim Child Benefit After Your Child Is Born or Comes to Live With You

Claim after the birth is registered or when a child moves in

HMRC allows you to claim Child Benefit 48 hours after your child's birth has been registered. If a child comes to live with you, you can claim from that point.

This includes an adopted child. GOV.UK states that you can claim as soon as a child you are adopting comes to live with you and you do not need to wait until the adoption process is complete.

Do not delay unnecessarily. Child Benefit can only be backdated for up to 3 months from the date you make your claim.

Basic Child Benefit eligibility

You normally qualify if you are responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 and you live in the UK. You are usually considered responsible if:

• the child lives with you; or
• you pay at least the equivalent of Child Benefit towards looking after them, for example towards food, clothing or pocket money.

Only one person can receive Child Benefit for each child. If you and another person are both responsible for the same child, you should agree who will claim. If you cannot agree, HMRC can decide who receives the benefit.

Eligibility after age 16

Child Benefit can normally continue for a child under 20 if they remain in approved education or training. Different rules apply when a young person leaves education, starts certain work or begins to receive particular benefits in their own right.

If you are making a new claim for a child who is already over 16, check the approved education and training rules before applying.

How much Child Benefit you can receive

For the tax year from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, the weekly rates are:

• £27.05 per week for the eldest or only child;
• £17.90 per week for each additional child.

That is £1,406.60 over a full year for the eldest or only child and £930.80 over a full year for each additional child. There is no limit to the number of children you can claim Child Benefit for, provided the eligibility conditions are met.

If you and your partner make separate claims for different children while living together, only one of you can receive the higher eldest-child rate. HMRC warns that receiving the higher rate twice can lead to money having to be repaid.

Documents and details to prepare

For a standard claim, GOV.UK tells you to have:

• your child's birth or adoption certificate, if you have it;
• your bank or building society details;
• your National Insurance number, if you have one;
• your partner's National Insurance number, if you have a partner.

You can still submit a claim if you do not currently have the birth or adoption certificate. HMRC warns that the claim can take longer, and you may later be asked to send the certificate as evidence. If HMRC asks for it and you do not provide it, you may need to start the claim again.

If the birth was registered outside the UK

If your child's birth was registered outside the UK, HMRC requires the original birth or adoption certificate and the child's passport or travel document used to enter the UK.

If the child's only form of immigration identity is an eVisa, GOV.UK says HMRC will check the details and you do not need to provide a share code.

Documents sent to HMRC for this purpose are usually returned within 4 weeks.

Claim online through GOV.UK or the HMRC app

The quickest standard route is to make the claim digitally. HMRC provides an online Child Benefit service through GOV.UK and also allows claims through the HMRC app.

You can use the service to:

• make a new Child Benefit claim; or
• add another child to an existing Child Benefit claim.

The claim itself is free.

Paper and phone alternatives

If you cannot claim online, HMRC provides the official CH2 Child Benefit claim form. Complete it and send it to the Child Benefit Office using the address given on the form.

If you are claiming for more than 2 children on the paper route, complete the additional CH2(CS) form and send it with CH2.

If you cannot claim online or using the paper forms, HMRC says you can contact the Child Benefit Office to claim by phone. The current Child Benefit helpline number published by HMRC is 0300 200 3100 from within the UK.

Child Benefit can protect your State Pension record

Claiming Child Benefit has an important effect beyond the cash payment. The person registered for Child Benefit automatically receives Class 3 National Insurance credits while the child is under 12.

These credits count towards the State Pension and can help prevent gaps in your National Insurance record if you are not working or do not earn enough to pay National Insurance contributions.

Because only one person can claim for a child, couples should consider which parent or guardian most needs the credits before deciding who makes the claim.

If the claimant does not need the credits, it may be possible for credits to be transferred to a spouse or partner. A qualifying family member who provides childcare may instead be able to apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits in relevant circumstances.

If you provide significant care for someone because they are ill or disabled, a different National Insurance credit may be relevant. Helpydo has a separate guide explaining how to apply for Carer's Credit.

High Income Child Benefit Charge and opting out of payments

Child Benefit itself is not means-tested at the claim stage, but the High Income Child Benefit Charge can require some or all of the payments to be repaid through tax.

For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, if you or your partner has adjusted net income above £60,000, a charge may apply. The charge equals 1% of the family's Child Benefit for every £200 of adjusted net income above £60,000. At adjusted net income of £80,000 or more, the charge equals the full amount of Child Benefit received.

If both partners are above the threshold, the person with the higher adjusted net income is normally responsible for the charge.

Claim and opt out to keep National Insurance credits

If you do not want to receive Child Benefit payments because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge, you can still make a claim and opt out of the payments.

This keeps important advantages, including National Insurance credits while the child is under 12 and HMRC arranging a National Insurance number for the child shortly before they turn 16. Opting out of the payments means there are no Child Benefit payments to generate a High Income Child Benefit Charge.

When your first Child Benefit payment should arrive

HMRC states that you might not receive your first payment for 12 weeks. It can take longer if you have recently moved to the UK.

If your claim is successful, payment can include up to 3 months of backdated entitlement. Your award notice tells you when your first payment is due.

After that, Child Benefit is normally paid every 4 weeks on a Monday or Tuesday. Weekly payments can be available if you are a single parent or if you or your partner receive certain benefits, such as Income Support.

Only one person can claim for the same child

If a child comes to live with you, you may be able to claim Child Benefit from that point, but another person cannot continue receiving Child Benefit for the same child indefinitely simply because they previously claimed it.

If two people are responsible for the child and cannot agree who should get the benefit, HMRC decides who is entitled. Special rules also apply where a child lives with someone else, goes into care or hospital, or where a local council contributes towards accommodation or maintenance.

Special family situations

Adoption

You can claim as soon as the child you are adopting comes to live with you. You do not have to wait for the adoption to become final. HMRC says it may also be possible to receive Child Benefit for a period before the adoption in some cases, and advises contacting the Child Benefit Office.

Fostering

You can receive Child Benefit for a foster child if the local council is not paying anything towards the child's accommodation or maintenance.

Looking after someone else's child

You may also qualify where you have an informal arrangement to care for a friend or relative's child. However, entitlement can be affected if the local council contributes towards accommodation or maintenance.

Check other support separately

Child Benefit is separate from Universal Credit. If your household is on a low income or you are out of work, you can separately check whether you can claim Universal Credit.

If your claim follows the birth of a baby and you still need to complete the civil registration process, see the separate Helpydo guide on how to register a baby's birth.

Avoid losing payments or National Insurance credits

• Waiting too long to claim. You can lose entitlement for earlier months because a new claim is normally backdated for no more than 3 months.
• Both parents trying to claim for the same child. Decide who should be the claimant, taking National Insurance credits into account.
• Not claiming because your income is high. You can make a claim and opt out of payments while retaining National Insurance credits and other registration benefits.
• Missing documents for a birth registered abroad. HMRC requires the original birth or adoption certificate and the child's relevant passport or travel document.
• Not reporting changes. Changes affecting where the child lives, education after age 16, bank details or other entitlement conditions should be reported to the Child Benefit Office.
• Choosing the claimant without considering their National Insurance record. The credits can be particularly valuable for someone who is not working or earning enough to make National Insurance contributions.