Eligible working parents may be able to get up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week for children aged 9 months to 4 years old.
For children aged 3 and 4, this includes:
- the universal 15 hours entitlement
- an additional 15 hours through the Working Parent Entitlement
Children can access the Working Parent Entitlement from the term after they turn 9 months old until they start school.
Check your eligibility on GOV.UK
When to apply
For the Working Parent Entitlement for children aged 9 months to 4 years, you can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old.
You should apply by:
- 31 August to receive a childcare code for use from 1 September
- 31 December to receive a childcare code for use from 1 January
- 31 March to receive a childcare code for use from 1 April
We encourage you to apply at least 4 weeks before the deadline to help avoid delays.
How to apply
To access the Working Parent Entitlement, you must apply online for a childcare code.
You will need:
- your National Insurance number, or Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) if you are self-employed
- the date you started work, or are due to start work
- details of any government support or benefits you receive
- your child's UK birth certificate reference number, if available
Apply for funded childcare if you're working
Before choosing a childcare provider
Some childcare providers only offer funded childcare hours on certain days or at specific times.
Before applying for a place, check that the provider's funded hours meet your childcare requirements.
Keeping your childcare code valid
To continue receiving funded childcare, you must check and update your details approximately every 3 months.
HMRC will send you a reminder when it is time to reconfirm your details.
If you do not reconfirm by the deadline provided by HMRC, your code may not be eligible for funding in the following term.
Your childcare provider must verify your code before your child can start using Working Parent funded hours.
Foster carers
Applications for funded childcare for foster children must be made through the responsible local authority.
The child's allocated social worker must countersign the application.
To be eligible:
- a single foster carer must be in paid work outside their fostering responsibilities, or
- in a two-carer household, both foster carers must be in paid work outside their fostering responsibilities
You may also be eligible if:
- one foster carer is in paid work, and
- the other foster carer receives qualifying benefits
If you are eligible, you must continue to reconfirm your details by the deadline given to keep your childcare code valid.
Grace periods
If your childcare code enters a grace period, you will not be able to use it to access the Working Parent Entitlement with a new childcare provider.
A grace period allows funding to continue temporarily only with a provider that successfully claimed the entitlement for your child in the previous term.
New providers cannot claim Working Parent Entitlement funding using a code that is in its grace period.
Your childcare provider can tell you when your code is due to enter its grace period.