3/26/22, 6:07 PM Universal Credit: How to claim - GOV.

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Universal Credit
Contents

What Universal Credit is (/universal-credit)

Eligibility (/universal-credit/eligibility)
What you'll get (/universal-credit/what-youll-get)
How your earnings affect your payments (/universal-credit/how-your-earnings-affect-your-payments)
How you're paid (/universal-credit/how-youre-paid)
How to claim
Get an advance on your first payment (/universal-credit/get-an-advance-first-payment)
Your responsibilities (/universal-credit/your-responsibilities)
Report a change of circumstances (/universal-credit/changes-of-circumstances)
Other financial support (/universal-credit/other-financial-support)
Contact Universal Credit (/universal-credit/contact-universal-credit)

How to claim
You can apply for Universal Credit online.

You need to create an account. You use it to make a claim. You must complete your claim within
28 days of creating your account or you will have to start again.

If you live with your partner, you will both need to create accounts. You’ll link them together when
you claim. You cannot claim by yourself.

If you cannot claim online, you can claim by phone through the Universal Credit helpline.

If you get other benefits that are replaced by Universal Credit (https://www.gov.uk/universal-
credit#if-you-already-get-other-benefits), they will stop when you or your partner applies for
Universal Credit. You cannot make a new claim for the benefits that have stopped.

What you need to apply

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To apply online you’ll need:

your bank, building society or credit union account details

an email address
access to a phone

If you do not have these, you can call the Universal Credit helpline or go to a jobcentre. You can
also get support from the Citizens Advice Help to Claim service.

You’ll also have to prove your identity. You’ll need some identity documents for this, for example
your:

driving licence
passport
debit or credit card
payslip or P60

To complete your claim you will need to provide information about:

your housing (https://www.gov.uk/housing-and-universal-credit), for example how much rent

you pay
your earnings, for example payslips
any disability or health condition that affects your work
how much you pay for childcare if you want help with childcare costs
your savings and any investments, like shares or a property that you rent out

You might need an appointment with the Universal Credit team if:

they need more information

you cannot verify your identity online

You’ll be told if this appointment will be in a jobcentre or on the phone.

Apply for Universal Credit online

Apply now

Help with your claim

There are 2 ways to get help with your Universal Credit claim. You can either call the Universal
Credit helpline or use the Help to claim service.

Calls to the Universal Credit helpline are free.

Universal Credit helpline

Universal Credit helpline

Telephone: 0800 328 5644

Welsh language: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 328 5644

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Textphone: 0800 328 1344

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Find out about call charges (https://www.gov.uk/call-charges)

British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service

You can use the BSL video relay service to make a claim.

Find out what you need to do to use the video relay service.

The service is available Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.

Help to Claim

You can get free support from trained advisers to make a Universal Credit claim. They can help
you with things like online applications or preparing for your first jobcentre appointment.

The Help to Claim service is provided by Citizens Advice and is confidential. They will not share
your personal information unless you agree.

Get Help to Claim if you live in England or Wales

Get Help to Claim if you live in Scotland

If you’ve claimed Universal Credit before

You can sign in to your account (https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-universal-credit) to start a new claim
if you’ve received a payment during the last 6 months.

If your payments stopped more than 6 months ago, you’ll need to make a new claim
(https://www.gov.uk/apply-universal-credit).

If you disagree with a decision

You can challenge a decision (https://www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration) about your claim.
This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

Previous
:
How you're paid
(/universal-credit/how-youre-paid)

Next
:
Get an advance on your first payment
(/universal-credit/get-an-advance-first-payment)

View a printable version of the whole guide (/universal-credit/print)

Related content

Sign in to your Universal Credit account (/sign-in-universal-credit)

Benefits calculators (/benefits-calculators)
Apply for Universal Credit (/apply-universal-credit)
Housing Benefit (/housing-benefit)
Self-employment and Universal Credit (/self-employment-and-universal-credit)
Sign in to a service (/sign-in)

Explore the topic

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Benefits and financial support if you're caring for someone (/browse/benefits/help-for-carers)

Benefits and financial support if you're looking for work (/browse/benefits/looking-for-work)
Benefits and financial support if you're on a low income (/browse/benefits/low-income)
Benefits and financial support if you're temporarily unable to work (/browse/benefits/unable-to-
work)
Benefits and financial support when someone dies (/browse/benefits/bereavement)
+ 2 more
Benefits and financial help (/browse/disabilities/benefits) and Finding a job
(/browse/working/finding-job)

All content is available under the Open Government Licence

v3.0, except where otherwise stated © Crown copyright

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