Can I get a Sure Start Maternity Grant?
You can apply for a Sure Start Maternity Grant if you or your partner get:
You may also be able to get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if you get Child Tax Credit (at a rate higher than the family element) or Working Tax Credit (where a disability or severe disability element is included in the award).
If your income drops because you are taking time off to have a baby, it may be worth asking the Tax Credit office to reassess whether you qualify for Tax Credits based on your estimated income in the current year. You may then find you can get a Sure Start Maternity Grant.
If you don't qualify for one of these benefits because you're under 16 or in education, a family member could claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant for you if they get a qualifying benefit.
To qualify you will also need to have received the advice of a health professional on the health and welfare needs of your baby and fit one of the following criteria:
• You or your partner is at least 29 weeks pregnant or has given birth to a child within the last six months
• You have a dependent child who is pregnant or has given birth in the last six months. This might apply to you if you have a daughter for whom you are getting Child Benefit and she is pregnant
• You are adopting a child aged 12 months or under (by being given an adoption order, having a child placed with you from an adoption agency in the UK or having adopted a child from overseas)
• You have been given a residence or parental order for a child aged 12 months or under
• You have been appointed as the guardian of a child aged 12 months or under
• You are the father or other parent, not in a relationship with the mother and are solely responsible for a child aged 12 months or under.
Multiple births
The current rules have been extended to allow an extra Sure Start Maternity Grant to be paid in some circumstances when there is a multiple birth and there is already a child or children under the age of 16 in the family.
You may also be able to claim a Sure Start Maternity Grant under these rules if your dependent already has a child or children and is expecting a multiple birth.
The amount you can get depends on whether the number of babies expected or born is more than the number of children already in the family.
See Sure Start Maternity Grants information on the Gov.UK website. (link opens in a new window)
Updated November 2018