The 30 hours scheme is officially called Free Childcare for Working Parents. Since September 2025 it has covered eligible working families with children from the term after they turn 9 months until they start school. The rules below are from GOV.UK and the Department for Education’s statutory guidance, checked on 22 October 2026.
The short version
- What you get: up to 30 hours a week for 38 weeks of the year, which is 1,140 hours a year. Providers can offer to spread the hours over more weeks, which means fewer hours each week.
- Who it is for: parents in England who are each working (or a lone parent who is working), earn at least the equivalent of 16 hours a week at minimum wage, and expect to earn under £100,000 adjusted net income.
- How to get it: apply online for an 11-digit code, give it to your provider, and re-confirm every 3 months.
- Deadline: you need your code by 31 August, 31 December or 31 March to start in the term that follows.
Who is eligible
You and your partner, if you have one, must each be in work or about to start work. Employed, self-employed and company director income all count. Sick leave, annual leave and parental leave also count. Over the 3 months after you apply, you must each expect to earn at least:
| Your age | Minimum over 3 months | Weekly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 21 or over | £2,643.68 | £203.36 |
| 18 to 20 | £2,256.80 | £173.60 |
| Under 18, or an apprentice | £1,664 | £128 |
These are the minimum wage rates for 16 hours a week, so they change when the rates change.
You are not eligible if you or your partner expect an adjusted net income over £100,000 in the current tax year, or if your child does not usually live with you. Dividends, interest, property and pension income do not count towards the minimum.
Some situations are treated differently. If you started a business less than 12 months ago, you can earn less and still qualify. If your partner works and you cannot, you may still qualify if you get certain benefits, such as Carer’s Allowance. Foster carers should speak to their social worker and local authority instead of using the online application. You also need a National Insurance number, and must be a British or Irish citizen, have settled or pre-settled status, or have permission to access public funds.
How to apply
Set up a childcare account on GOV.UK. It usually takes about 20 minutes. You need National Insurance numbers for you and any partner, a Unique Taxpayer Reference if you are self-employed, your child’s UK birth certificate reference number if you have one, and the date you started or will start work. HMRC will also check whether you can get Tax-Free Childcare.
You often find out straight away, or within 10 days if extra checks are needed. If approved, you get an 11-digit code. Give it to your provider with your National Insurance number and your child’s date of birth. A code does not guarantee a place. You must sign in to your childcare account every 3 months to re-confirm your details, even before your child has started, or the code stops working.
When to apply
You can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old. The hours start from the term after your child turns 9 months old. Terms start on 1 January, 1 April and 1 September.
| Child turns 9 months between | Hours can start from | Get your code by |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January and 31 March | Term starting on or after 1 April | 31 March |
| 1 April and 31 August | Term starting on or after 1 September | 31 August |
| 1 September and 31 December | Term starting on or after 1 January | 31 December |
Apply at least 6 weeks before the deadline if you can, as some providers ask for the code earlier. If you miss it, you cannot start until the next term.
What the free hours cover
The hours must be free for parents. Providers can charge for meals and snacks, nappies and sun cream, optional trips and activities, and extra hours you choose to buy. These charges must be optional, and a provider cannot refuse a funded place because you decline them. Under the statutory guidance, providers should not charge top-up fees (the gap between their normal price and the council funding), or make a non-refundable registration fee or deposit a condition of a funded place. Invoices should be itemised so you can see funded hours, extra paid hours, food, consumables and activities separately. Our nursery fees guide shows typical London prices for the hours you pay for.
How the hours can be used
- Sessions can be up to 10 hours long, can fall at weekends, and should use no more than 2 sites in a day.
- You can take 30 hours over 38 weeks, or stretch the entitlement over more weeks, for example around 23 hours a week over 48 weeks. You cannot compress it into fewer than 38 weeks.
- Use a registered nursery, pre-school, school, or childminder on the Early Years Register. A nanny or a relative cannot provide funded hours.
- A funded place is not guaranteed at any one provider, and providers can choose not to offer funded places.
If you stop being eligible
If your code is no longer valid when you re-confirm, councils should keep funding the place for a grace period, which runs to the end of the current funding block (31 March, 31 August or 31 December) or, if you lose eligibility late in the block, to the end of the next one. You should not start a new place at a different provider during the grace period. Children aged 3 and 4 can still take the universal 15 hours.
Questions
Who is eligible for 30 hours free childcare?
Parents who are each working (or a lone parent who is working) with children from the term after 9 months until school age. In a couple, both must meet the work and income rules, with limited exceptions where one partner cannot work and receives certain benefits. Details are above.
How much is 30 hours of free childcare worth?
It is worth whatever your provider would otherwise charge for those hours. As a guide, the Department for Education’s 2025 provider survey found a London mean fee of £8.92 an hour for 2-year-olds, so 30 hours would be worth about £268 a week at that rate. Coram’s Childcare Survey 2026 found that 50 hours a week for a child under 2 in England averages £372.06 without funded hours and £148.82 with 30 funded hours. See the fees page.
Does 30 hours free childcare stop when my child starts school?
Yes. The funded hours are for children below school age. For 3 and 4-year-olds, they end when your child starts in a reception class, or reaches compulsory school age if that is later.
Can I get 30 hours if my child is 2 and I get extra support?
Yes, if you are eligible for both schemes you get 15 hours from each, up to 30 hours in total. Apply to your council for the extra-support hours first. See free childcare for 2-year-olds.