There is a question I get asked more than almost any other, and it usually comes somewhere between the initial enquiry and the first settling-in session. Sometimes it arrives by message at nine in the evening. Sometimes it is the last thing a parent says at handover, almost as an afterthought.
When does my child become eligible for the funded hours?
It sounds like a simple question. It is not. And the gap between how simple it sounds and how complicated the answer actually is has real consequences for families, consequences I have watched unfold in my own setting more times than I would like.
This article is my attempt to explain it clearly, so that you are not one of the families who miss a window through no fault of your own.
Because missing a deadline can mean paying full fees for months, even when your child is the right age and already attending.
First: it is not free — what the funding covers and what it doesn’t
The government has recently moved toward calling this funded childcare rather than free childcare, and I think that shift matters. It is not free. What it is, is a government contribution toward the cost of your child’s early years place. Your provider may still charge for meals, nappies, trips, and additional hours beyond the funded entitlement. The funded rate paid to providers does not always cover the full cost of the place, which is why some settings can only offer the funded hours on certain days or at certain times.
This is not providers being difficult. It is the reality of a funding rate that has not historically matched the actual cost of delivering high-quality early years care. Understanding this from the start means fewer surprises later.
Who is eligible
For working parents in England, funded childcare is available for children from the term after they turn 9 months old until they start school. To be eligible as a working parent, you and your partner (if you have one) each need to be earning the equivalent of at least 16 hours per week at the National Living Wage, which from April 2026 is around £203 per week, and each earning less than £100,000 adjusted net income per year.
Eligible working parents can now access up to 30 hours of funded childcare per week, following the September 2025 expansion that doubled the previous entitlement for under-twos. This was the final phase of a rollout that began with 15 hours for younger children, and it means the stakes around getting the application right have doubled.
There is also a universal 15-hour offer for all three- and four-year-olds, regardless of parental working status, and a 15-hour offer for eligible two-year-olds from families receiving certain forms of government support, such as Universal Credit. If you think you might qualify, check your eligibility at beststartinlife.gov.uk.
The part most parents do not realise: it is term-based, not birthday-based
Your child does not become eligible on their birthday. They become eligible from the start of the term after they reach the relevant age. And to access funding in that term, you need to have applied before the end of the previous term.
There are only three deadlines you need to remember, and they never change.
| To access funding from… | You must apply by… |
|---|---|
| January (spring term) | 31 December |
| April (summer term) | 31 March |
| September (autumn term) | 31 August |
Miss the deadline, and your child cannot access funded hours until the following term, even if they are already the right age, already in a setting, and already attending.
Common misconceptions
“My child becomes eligible on their birthday.” They don’t. Eligibility begins from the start of the following term.
“I can apply once they start attending.” You can, but you will miss that term’s funding if the deadline has passed.
“If I miss the deadline, my provider can override it.” They cannot. The deadline is set by the government, not the setting.
The table below, taken directly from the government’s Best Start in Life website, shows when your child becomes eligible based on when they turn 9 months old:
| If my child turns 9 months old between… | I can access the working parent entitlement from the… |
|---|---|
| 1 January to 31 March | Term starting on or after 1 April |
| 1 April to 31 August | Term starting on or after 1 September |
| 1 September to 31 December | Term starting on or after 1 January |
And if you want to quickly work out when your child will turn 9 months, use this table:
| If your baby is born in… | They will turn 9 months in… |
|---|---|
| January | October |
| February | November |
| March | December |
| April | January |
| May | February |
| June | March |
| July | April |
| August | May |
| September | June |
| October | July |
| November | August |
| December | September |
If you wish to use your entitlements later than the term after your child turns the relevant age, you can apply closer to the time you wish to start. Provided you still meet the eligibility criteria at that time, you will not lose your ability to apply.
Returning to work or starting a new job
This is the rule that catches the most families out, especially those on maternity leave.
There is an additional rule that catches many parents out: if you are returning to work or starting a new job, you must do so within one month of the start of the term. The official dates are 30 September, 31 January, and 30 April. In practice, this means that for September funding, you need to have returned to work by 30 September; for January funding, by 31 January; and for April funding, by 30 April.
One important note: if you are on paid annual leave and receiving your salary as normal, this counts as having returned to work for eligibility purposes.
For parents returning to work:
| Date of returning to work | When you can apply from | When you can access your entitlements from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October to 31 January | 1 September to 31 December | 1 January |
| 1 February to 30 April | 1 January to 31 March | 1 April |
| 1 May to 30 September | 1 April to 31 August | 1 September |
For parents starting a new job:
| Date of starting work | When you can apply from | When you can access your entitlements from |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October to 31 January | 1 September to 31 December | 1 January |
| 1 February to 30 April | 1 January to 31 March | 1 April |
| 1 May to 30 September | 1 April to 31 August | 1 September |
If you are starting work more than one month after the start of the term, you will be able to apply to start using the entitlements from the start of the following term.
What this looks like in practice
I want to share some real examples from my own setting, because I think they make this clearer than any table can.
Two families joined my setting in February. Both had children who were the right age for the funded hours, but both had received their job offers after the 31 December deadline. This meant that, even though they applied as soon as they could, the spring-term funding window had already closed. Their children were of age, they were attending, and they paid full private fees in March regardless. They were not late in any meaningful sense. The system simply does not account for the timing of life.
A child who is due to start with me in May was born in July. He will be nine months old when he joins, and you might reasonably assume that a nine-month-old starting in May would be eligible for the funded hours from the day he walks through the door. He is not. He turns 9 months in April, which falls in the 1 April to 31 August window, so his entitlement begins from 1 September. He will pay private fees from May until the start of the autumn term. Not because anything has been done wrong. Because of how the system works.
And most recently, a parent adjusting her return-to-work date. She had planned to return in June. To be eligible for funded hours in the summer term, she needed to have applied by 31 March and returned to work by 30 April. She changed her return-to-work date accordingly. A significant personal and professional decision, shaped entirely by a funding deadline she had only just learned about.
These examples are not rare. They are the norm.
The process
To apply, go to beststartinlife.gov.uk and use the eligibility checker. If eligible, you will receive an 11-digit code to give to your provider.
Your code needs to be reconfirmed every three months. If you do not reconfirm, your funded hours will stop. Put a reminder in your phone the moment you receive your code.
If your circumstances change and you find you no longer meet the eligibility criteria at reconfirmation, you will not lose your child’s place immediately. There is a grace period during which your child can continue to access their funded hours while you and your provider make alternative arrangements. Your provider will be able to see your grace period end date and should let you know. After the grace period ends, the funded hours will stop, and full fees will apply.
If your eligibility changes, it is always worth speaking to your provider as soon as possible. The earlier you have that conversation, the more time everyone has to plan.
A note on what providers can charge, and why
Your provider receives a funded rate per hour for the hours your child is entitled to. They cannot charge you for those hours. What they can charge for includes meals, nappies, trips, and any hours beyond your funded entitlement. Any invoice must clearly show what you are being charged for, and you are entitled to know exactly what each charge is for.
Every setting delivers funded hours differently. Ask your provider at your first visit how their funding works and what it means for your invoice. Do not assume, and do not wait until a bill arrives to ask.
There is something worth understanding here that often goes unsaid. The funding rate that settings receive does not always cover the true cost of delivering a high-quality early years place. Childcare providers run businesses, and the way they structure their funded hours offer is designed to keep those businesses viable.
The funded hours are a genuine and significant help to families. But it is worth remembering that the funding is designed to help you, not necessarily the setting. When a provider charges for meals or consumables, or structures their hours in a particular way, it is almost always because the alternative is not financially workable. Understanding this changes the conversation and tends to make the relationship between families and settings more honest.
The short version
- — The three application deadlines are 31 March, 31 August and 31 December.
- — Apply before the deadline for the term your child will first be eligible.
- — Do not wait until your child starts attending.
- — You must return to or start work within one month of the start of the term.
- — If you are not sure whether you are eligible, check beststartinlife.gov.uk before assuming you are not.
And if you have a question this article hasn’t answered, the Q&A page on this site is the right place to ask it. The question that prompted this article came from a family who simply did not know where to look. That is exactly what this site is here for.
Susanne Rice
Registered Childminder · MEd, MRes · EdD Researcher
Founder, Grounded Parenting & Growing Curious Children