Applying for the working parent childcare entitlements

You need to meet the eligibility criteria before you can claim 15 hours free childcare.

You apply online here at Gov.uk.

You'll need to make sure you have the following information to hand before starting the application:

• your national insurance number (or unique taxpayer reference if you are self-employed)
• the date you started or are due to start work
• details of any government support or benefits you receive
• the UK birth certificate reference number (if you have one) for your child.

You may find out if you're eligible straight away, but it can take up to 7 days.

Once your application has been approved, you'll get a code for free childcare to give to your childcare provider.

Parents will be asked to reconfirm that they are still eligible for the support every 3 months and will be reissued their code.

Applications are open until 31 March. If you miss the deadline, or don't receive your code by 31 March, you won't be able to start using the new entitlements from 1 April.