When Can I Apply for Free Childcare?
Check when you can apply for working-parent free childcare, find your likely application deadline and estimate when funded hours could begin based on your child’s date of birth and your work circumstances.
Check Your Application DateCalculate Your Dates
Use your child’s date of birth to estimate the earliest application date, deadline and funded start term.
Check DatesReturning To Work
Check the special application windows for parents returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave.
View Return RulesProtect Your Childcare Code
Learn when to give the code to your provider and how to reconfirm eligibility every three months.
Manage Your CodeFree Childcare Application Date Calculator
Enter your child’s date of birth and select your circumstances to estimate when you can apply, the relevant deadline and the earliest term your working-parent funded hours may begin.
Your Childcare Application Details
This tool covers the Free Childcare for Working Parents scheme in England. Exact eligibility, application timing and provider start dates must be confirmed through the official childcare service.
Your Application Timeline Will Appear Here
Enter your child’s date of birth and work circumstances to estimate when you can apply and when funded childcare may start.
Your Free Childcare Timeline
Free Childcare Application Dates At A Glance
Working-parent childcare in England follows three main funded start dates and three corresponding application deadlines.
Explore Free Childcare Applications
Use these related guides to check eligibility, calculate funded hours and prepare your childcare application.
Apply Before The Deadline, Not After It
Eligible working parents can normally apply from when their child is 23 weeks old. The funded hours do not necessarily begin immediately: the start date depends on when the child reaches 9 months and which funded term follows.
The main deadlines are 31 December for a January start, 31 March for an April start and 31 August for a September start. Missing a deadline can delay funded childcare until a later term.
- Check the date your child reaches 9 months.
- Apply before the relevant term deadline.
- Find a participating provider with a suitable vacancy.
- Give the provider your 11-digit eligibility code.
- Reconfirm your childcare-account details every three months.
When Can I Apply for Free Childcare in England?
For Free Childcare for Working Parents, you can normally apply from when your child is 23 weeks old. The childcare itself can begin from the relevant funded term after your child reaches 9 months, provided you meet the eligibility rules and apply by the deadline.
The scheme provides eligible working parents with up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week for 38 weeks of the year. Some providers allow the annual entitlement to be stretched across more weeks by offering fewer funded hours each week.
Working-Parent Application Deadlines
| Child Reaches 9 Months | Earliest Funded Start | Application Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September To 31 December | 1 January | 31 December |
| 1 January To 31 March | 1 April | 31 March |
| 1 April To 31 August | 1 September | 31 August |
Why Should I Apply Early?
Although the deadline is the final date for the relevant term, applying earlier gives you time to complete additional checks, resolve account problems and give the code to your chosen childcare provider.
An approved childcare code does not automatically reserve a nursery or childminder place. Providers can have waiting lists, limited funded sessions or no availability on the days you need.
What Happens If I Apply After The Deadline?
A late application may mean you cannot use the working-parent funded hours from the intended term. You may need to pay private childcare fees until the next available funded start date.
Do not assume that a provider can backdate funded hours. Contact the childcare service and the provider immediately if a technical problem prevented you from applying on time.
Do I Have To Wait Until My Child Is 9 Months Old?
No. You can normally submit the working-parent application from when the child is 23 weeks old. This allows the account and code to be arranged before the child reaches the age for funded childcare.
Can I Apply More Than Three Months Before The Start?
You may be able to apply early enough that more than three months pass before the funded place begins. Because eligibility must be reconfirmed every three months, you may need to reconfirm before the provider can use the code for the new term.
When To Apply If You Are Starting Or Returning To Work
Parents do not always need to be working on the day they submit the application. You may be able to apply while preparing to start a new job or return from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave.
Your work start or return date affects the application window and the funded term from which the childcare can begin.
Starting A New Job
| New Job Starts | Potential Funded Start | Application Window |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October To 31 January | 1 January | 1 September To 31 December |
| 1 February To 30 April | 1 April | 1 January To 31 March |
| 1 May To 30 September | 1 September | 1 April To 31 August |
Returning From Family Leave
The same broad windows apply where you are returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave. The official application assesses when you will return and whether the remaining conditions are met.
Paid annual leave can count as having returned to work where you are receiving your salary. This may be useful where annual leave is taken immediately after statutory family leave.
Shared Parental Leave
Where both parents are taking shared parental leave for the child, both parents must normally have returned or be due to return within one month of the start of the relevant funded term.
- For an autumn-term start, both parents must return by 30 September.
- For a spring-term start, both parents must return by 31 January.
- For a summer-term start, both parents must return by 30 April.
What If My Return Date Changes?
Update the childcare service if your return-to-work date changes. A delayed return may affect eligibility, while an earlier return may affect when you are allowed to apply.
Also tell your provider if a change affects the date on which you expect funded childcare to begin.
Starting Self-Employment
Self-employed parents can qualify for working-parent childcare. New businesses may receive special treatment under the self-employment start-up rules, but the other conditions still apply.
Read our Free Childcare for Self-Employed Parents guide for income, evidence and start-up-period information.
Application Dates For Different Free Childcare Schemes
The phrase “free childcare” can refer to several entitlements. Each has its own age conditions, application process and starting point.
Free Childcare For Working Parents
Eligible working parents in England can receive up to 30 hours per week for a child aged 9 months to 4 years. Parents apply through a government childcare account and receive an 11-digit code.
You can normally apply from when the child is 23 weeks old. The funded hours begin from the relevant January, April or September start after the child reaches 9 months.
Universal 15 Hours For 3 And 4-Year-Olds
All 3 and 4-year-olds in England can receive 570 funded hours per year, usually delivered as 15 hours per week for 38 weeks.
Parents generally do not complete the working-parent online application for the universal 15 hours. Instead, they arrange the funded place directly with a participating provider or through their local authority.
| Child’s Third Birthday | Universal 15 Hours Can Normally Start |
|---|---|
| 1 January To 31 March | Term Beginning On Or After 1 April |
| 1 April To 31 August | Term Beginning On Or After 1 September |
| 1 September To 31 December | Term Beginning On Or After 1 January |
15 Hours For Eligible 2-Year-Olds
Some 2-year-olds can receive 15 funded hours where the family receives qualifying support or the child meets specified additional-needs criteria.
Applications are usually handled through the local authority, Family Information Service or its eligibility-checking service. The place normally starts from the relevant term after the child’s second birthday and eligibility is confirmed.
Two-Year-Olds Eligible Under Two Schemes
A 2-year-old whose family qualifies for both the extra-support entitlement and Free Childcare for Working Parents may receive up to 30 hours through the two schemes combined.
The protected extra-support hours may continue even if the family later stops qualifying for the working-parent element.
Working-Parent Offer
Apply online, receive an 11-digit code and reconfirm your details every three months.
Universal 15 Hours
Usually arranged directly with a provider after the child becomes eligible from the term after turning three.
Eligible 2-Year-Old Offer
Apply through the local authority or its approved eligibility process.
Tax-Free Childcare
A separate childcare-account top-up that may be available alongside funded hours.
How To Apply For Free Childcare
Working parents apply through the official childcare service. The service checks the information entered and, where approved, places an eligibility code in the childcare account.
Information You May Need
- Your National Insurance number.
- Your partner’s National Insurance number, where applicable.
- Your Unique Taxpayer Reference if you are self-employed and have one.
- Your child’s name and date of birth.
- Information about expected work and income.
- A work start or return date where you are not already working.
- Immigration information where the service requests it.
Application Steps
- Check your child’s age and likely funded start term.
- Review the work, income, residence and immigration conditions.
- Find the application deadline for the term you need.
- Create or sign in to your government childcare account.
- Complete the application using accurate household information.
- Wait for the eligibility result or provide extra information if requested.
- Give the 11-digit code to your childcare provider.
- Provide your National Insurance number and the child’s date of birth so the provider can validate the code.
- Reconfirm the account information every three months.
How Long Does The Application Take?
Many applicants receive a result immediately. Where additional checks are required, a decision may take up to 10 days and can occasionally take longer.
Apply early enough to allow for additional checks. Contact the Childcare Service helpline if more than 10 days have passed and you have not received a result.
Can My Provider Apply For Me?
No. The parent normally completes the working-parent application and receives the code. The provider then validates the code and uses it to arrange the funded place.
Does Approval Guarantee A Place?
No. Providers decide whether they participate, which funded sessions they offer and whether they have spaces available. Contact providers before the deadline where possible.
What Happens After You Apply?
If the application is approved, an 11-digit eligibility code will appear in your childcare account. HMRC normally sends a text or email telling you that the code is available.
Give The Code To Your Provider
Give the code to the nursery, childminder, preschool or other approved provider you want to use. The provider will normally also need your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth.
The provider checks the code and confirms whether it can offer the funded place within your preferred schedule.
Agree The Funded-Hours Pattern
Ask for a written breakdown showing the funded hours, privately paid hours and optional services. Funded childcare may be offered as 30 hours over 38 weeks or stretched across more weeks.
Reconfirm Every Three Months
Sign in to the childcare account every three months and confirm that your details remain accurate. The account should show the reconfirmation deadline.
Missing the reconfirmation deadline can make the code invalid for a future term, even where your circumstances have not changed.
What If Your Circumstances Change?
Update the childcare account if your work, income, household or other relevant circumstances change. A grace period may sometimes protect the place temporarily after eligibility ends, but this should not be assumed.
What If The Code Does Not Work?
First check that the code has been entered correctly and remains valid. Confirm that your reconfirmation is complete and that the provider used the correct National Insurance number and child date of birth.
Read our Free Childcare Code Not Working guide for common validation and reconfirmation problems.
| After Approval | What To Do |
|---|---|
| Code Appears In Account | Copy The Full 11-Digit Code |
| Provider Validation | Give The Code, NI Number And Child’s Date Of Birth |
| Place Agreement | Confirm Sessions, Start Date And Additional Charges |
| Every Three Months | Sign In And Reconfirm Eligibility |
| Circumstances Change | Update The Childcare Account Promptly |
Related Free Childcare Guides
Continue checking eligibility, application codes, funded hours and childcare costs with these related resources.
Free Childcare Code Guide
Learn where to find your 11-digit code, how providers validate it and when reconfirmation is required.
Read The Code Guide →30 Hours Free Childcare
Estimate term-time and stretched funded hours and calculate the privately paid childcare that may remain.
Calculate Funded Hours →15 Hours Free Childcare
Review the universal entitlement for 3 and 4-year-olds and funded support for eligible 2-year-olds.
Read The 15 Hours Guide →Childcare Eligibility Calculator
Check the main child-age, work, income and household conditions for childcare support.
Check Eligibility →Tax-Free Childcare Calculator
Estimate the government top-up available for qualifying approved childcare fees.
Estimate Your Top-Up →Choosing A Nursery
Compare funded-place availability, sessions, inspection information, contracts and additional charges.
Choose A Nursery →When Can I Apply for Free Childcare? FAQs
Find answers about child-age rules, term deadlines, returning to work, childcare codes and late applications.
Check Your Free Childcare Application Timeline
Use your child’s date of birth and your work circumstances to estimate when you can apply, the deadline you need to meet and the first funded term you may be able to use.
Calculate Your Application Dates