3 and 4 year old funded childcare - Working families

In this section:

Parents who work the equivalent of 16 hours per week at minimum living wage and have a child aged 3 years old may qualify for an additional 15 hours funded childcare per week for 38 weeks per year.

How do I know if I qualify?

You can usually get funded childcare for working parents if you (and your partner, if you have one) are:

  • in work or starting a new job
  • on sick leave or annual leave
  • on shared parental, maternity, paternity or adoption leave

You may still be eligible if your partner is working, and you are on carer’s leave or if you get any of the following: 

  • Incapacity Benefit 
  • Severe Disablement Allowance 
  • Carer’s Allowance 
  • Limited Capability for Work Benefit 
  • contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance

How do I apply?

To check if you are eligible for this scheme you need to apply to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) via your gateway account by the termly cut-off date.

Apply for funded childcare at GOV.UK

If you have any queries about your application, you can call HMRC on 0300 123 4097 or you can view further information on the scheme on The Education Hub.

If you are found to be eligible you will be provided with an 11 digit eligibility code; you will need to pass this code to your chosen childcare provider to be able to take up your place in the following term.

What if I don’t have a gateway account?

When you click the HMRC link above you will be prompted to log into your gateway account or register for an account if you do not already have one. If you have already registered for Tax Free Childcare this is via your gateway account, so you can just log in using your gateway code and password.

If you do not have an account, when you click to register you will be provided with a gateway code which you will use to set up your account. Once your account is set up you can log in with your gateway code and password and apply for the eligibility code.

Your gateway code is not your eligibility code and cannot be used to take up a funded place.

Is there a deadline for applications?

To be able to take up a place in the following term, you will need to have applied to HMRC for your eligibility code by the national cut-off dates listed below.

You must apply to HMRC by To access a place in
31 August September term
31 December January term
31 March April term

If you apply after the cut-off date your code will not be valid until the next term.

Do I have to reapply each term?

Once you have been provided with your eligibility code you will be required to reconfirm your details on your HMRC childcare account every 3 months to ensure your code remains valid. You will receive an email or text reminder from HMRC when you need to do this.

If your working situation does not change and you reconfirm your details every 3 months you will be able to continue to use your eligibility code until your child starts in reception.

Find a childcare provider

You can find childcare providers who offer under 2's funding by searching our online directory.

Search for a childcare provider

Frequently asked questions

The earliest you can apply for a 3 year old funded place is during the term that your child turns 3. If you are eligible as a working parent you can apply for the additional 15hrs early education through HMRC who will provide you with an 11 digit eligibility code that you can pass to your childcare provider for you to take up a place the following term.

Please see dates below:

A child who is 3 years old between Can access their place from the following
1 April and 31 August September term
1 September and 31 December January term
1 January and 31 March April term

When you are applying for your eligibility code you need to ensure you apply before the following cut off dates. If you apply after these dates you will have to wait until the following term to take up the funded hours:

  • 31 August - funding starting in the Autumn term (from September)
  • 31 December- funding starting in the Spring term (from January)
  • 31 March - funding starting in the Summer term (from April)

Your child’s funded hours are free of charge. The funding does not cover the cost of meals, consumables or additional services.

  • Childcare providers can charge for meals and snacks and so, if you choose to take these up, you would be expected to pay for them. Childcare providers should provide you with alternatives such as supplying your child’s meals and snacks yourself.
  • Childcare providers can charge for consumables (such as sun cream, nappies, trips, specialist tuition or additional services). Childcare providers should provide you with an alternative such as supplying your own items, your child not accessing the specialist tuition/trips or them waiving/reducing fees.
  • Childcare providers can charge for extra hours so, if you choose to take these up, you would be expected to pay for them. If you choose not to access extra hours this should not stop you from accessing your child’s funded place.

You should discuss any charges with the childcare provider you wish to use before making a booking. This will allow you to understand any charges and ask the childcare provider what alternative options they can offer. If you choose to pay for any meals, consumables or additional services, these should be clearly listed on your invoice so you know what you are paying for. 

If you have any questions please discuss them directly with your chosen childcare provider who will be able to explain their process to you.

Yes, you could be entitled to further government support including Tax Free Childcare and Universal Credit for Childcare depending on your circumstances.

You can use the online childcare calculator to see what you may be eligible for and view information on all of your options on the government Childcare Choices website.

You can choose to access fewer hours if you would like to, but the number of hours you choose must remain the same for that whole term.

Your childcare setting may be able to stretch your hours so that your child attends for fewer hours per week but for more weeks out of term time. Please speak to your childcare setting about stretching your hours.

For more information on how to choose an appropriate setting for your child, please view our childcare choices booklet.

You need to set a pattern of attendance for your funded hours for the term during headcount week which is usually the third week of the funding term. Once this pattern is set you cannot increase your hours until the next term.

If you wish to move some or all of your funded hours to another childcare provider during the term, that is fine, as long as you give the relevant amount of notice to the original nursery and do not increase the total number of funded hours you are taking up.

For example: You cannot start the term with a pattern of 10 hours and then start another nursery mid-term to take up additional hours as this would be classed as increasing, but you can take up 15 hours at one provider and then move 5 of these hours to another provider during the term i.e. you continue to have 15 funded hours but move some of them to another provider.

If you no longer meet the criteria for the extended funded hours following the reconfirmation check, you will be permitted a ‘grace period’ whereby your child will still have access to 30 hours entitlement for a set number of weeks after your check.

You will be told how long the grace period is when you have had your reconfirmation check. If the grace period has lapsed and you still no longer meet the criteria you will have to pay for any childcare hours taken over and above your universal 15 hours, as the funded 15 hours for working families entitlement will stop.

Some school nurseries are able to offer the additional extended entitlement (30 hours).

The process for applying for a school nursery place has changed. Parents will now need to contact their chosen school directly to apply for a school nursery place. There should be information on each school website on how and when to apply as well as their admissions criteria and admissions policy. The school will be able to tell you what they can offer.

If you are not sure which schools are local to you please visit our schoolfinder page where you can search for schools closest to your postcode area, including your catchment school.

If you are struggling to find a school nursery who can offer the care you require, the Family Information Service can support you to find an alternative private provider.

For parents on parental leave who are applying for the child who is the reason for the leave, or for parents starting a new job, the following applies:

  • If you are planning to start or return to work from parental leave between 1 October 2024 and 31 January 2025, then you will be able to apply from 1 September 2024 to take up a place from the start of the January term 2025. 

From 1 October, the below dates will apply:

Date of starting or returning to work When you can apply from When you can access your entitlement from
1 May to 30 September 1 April to 31 August 1 September
1 October to 31 January 1 September to 31 December 1 January
1 February to 30 April 1 January to 31 March 1 April

If you are applying for childcare for an older child, who is not the reason for your parental leave, you can apply regardless of your return-to-work date.

A parent who has leave to remain with a 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF) condition cannot apply for the funded childcare hours but can be included in an application that is made by a partner who does meet the residence requirement. 

Government funded childcare is not a 'public fund' for immigration purposes, so a partner with no recourse to public funds can be included in the application without this causing them to breach their immigration conditions. 

When a parent who meets the residence requirement has a partner, both will need to satisfy the requirements relating to employment and income. For example, if one parent is a British citizen and their partner has leave to remain with NRPF, the British parent can make the application and both will need to meet the employment/income requirements.

When a single parent has leave to remain with NRPF, or both parents in a household have leave to remain with NRPF, the family will not be able to access the funded hours for working parents or tax-free childcare, even if they meet the employment and income requirements. 

If you are not sure if you meet the requirements, you can call the Childcare Choices helpline on 0300 123 4097.

If you are not eligible for the 30 hours childcare due to having no recourse to public funds, you are still eligible for the 15 hours universal funding for your child that all children are entitled to.