Eligibility

There are now two 15 hour entitlements for 2 year olds:

1. Parents who are receiving some additional forms of government support may be eligible for 15 hours of early education. Applications for this 15 hour entitlement are usually made through local authorities or providers, not through the HMRC childcare service accessed via gov.uk.
2. Parents can apply for 15 hours free childcare for working parents of 2 year olds, if they meet the eligibility criteria. You apply for this through the HMRC Childcare Service and will be told by HMRC if you are eligible or not.

If you are told that you are not eligible for one of these entitlements, you should check whether you're eligible for the other one (using Childcare Choices). Although there will be some parents who are not eligible for either entitlement.