You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks if you’ve been either: registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby’s due employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby’s due If you’ve been employed, you must have been earning (or classed as earning) £30 a week or more in at least 13 weeks of your employment. The weeks do not have to be together. You may still qualify if you’ve recently stopped working. It does not matter if you had different jobs or periods of unemployment. You can use the maternity entitlement calculator to check your eligibility. If you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner’s business You might get Maternity Allowance for up to 14 weeks if, for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, you: have taken part in unpaid work for the business of your spouse or civil partner have not been employed or self-employed In the same 26 weeks, your spouse or civil partner must: be registered as self-employed with HMRC pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions If you lose the baby You may still qualify if the baby is either: stillborn from the start of the 24th week of pregnancy born alive at any point during the pregnancy

Use the maternity entitlement calculator to work out how much you could get. If you’re employed or have recently stopped working You’ll get £184.03 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for up to 39 weeks if you’re employed or have recently stopped working. You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks. This means if you take the full 52 weeks Statutory Maternity Leave, your final 13 weeks will be unpaid. If you’re self-employed You can get between £27 to £184.03 a week for up to 39 weeks if you’re self-employed. How much you get depends on how many Class 2 National Insurance contributions you’ve made in the 66 weeks before your baby is due. To get £184.03 per week you must have: been registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due paid Class 2 National Insurance contributions for at least 13 of the 66 weeks before the baby is due You may get £27 for a few weeks while your contributions are linked to your Maternity Allowance application. Your payments will be increased and backdated if necessary. This can take several weeks. If you’ve paid less than 13 weeks of contributions Your Maternity Allowance will be calculated based on how many weeks of Class 2 National Insurance contributions you’ve made. If you’ve not paid any Class 2 National Insurance contributions, you’ll be entitled to £27 per week Maternity Allowance. You can top-up your contributions to increase your Maternity Allowance after you apply. Increase your Maternity Allowance After you apply, HMRC will contact you if you’ve paid less than 13 weeks of Class 2 National Insurance. They will tell you how many additional contributions you need to get the full amount of Maternity Allowance. Depending on how many additional contributions you pay, you can get between £27 and £184.03 per week for up to 39 weeks. Once your additional contributions have been linked to your Maternity Allowance application, your payments will be increased and backdated if necessary. This can take several weeks. Class 2 National Insurance contributions are £3.45 per week. If you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner’s business You can get £27 a week for up to 14 weeks if you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner’s business. How you’re paid Maternity Allowance is paid every 2 or 4 weeks. All benefits, pensions and allowances are usually paid straight into your bank, building society or credit union account . Effect on other benefits When you claim Maternity Allowance, some of your other benefit payments may change, but your total benefit payments will usually either go up or stay the same. The benefits affected are: Universal Credit bereavement benefits Carer’s Allowance Carer Support Payment Council Tax Reduction Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Housing Benefit Income Support Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) - this will stop if you get Maternity Allowance You may also be affected by the benefit cap , which limits the total amount of benefit you can get. It applies to most people aged 16 or over who have not reached State Pension age . Use a benefits calculator to work out how your other benefits will be affected. If you get Universal Credit Your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by an amount equal to your Maternity Allowance payment. You may get an extra amount of Universal Credit for your children (whether you get Maternity Allowance or not). Report a change on your Universal Credit account if you start getting Maternity Allowance. Which benefits you get will affect which National Insurance credits you’re eligible for. If you get Universal Credit: with Maternity Allowance payments you get Class 1 National Insurance credits, which help you qualify for some other benefits and State Pension without Maternity Allowance payments you get Class 3 National Insurance credits, which count towards your State Pension only If you’ve been paid too much You may have to repay the money if you: did not report a change straight away gave wrong information were overpaid by mistake Find out how to repay the money you owe from benefit overpayment .

You can apply for Maternity Allowance once you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start any time between the 11th week before your baby is due and the day after the baby is born. To get the full amount that you’re entitled to, claim within 3 months of your Maternity Allowance start date. To claim, you’ll need a Maternity Allowance (MA1) claim form . You can either: print it and fill it in fill it in online and print it order a form if you cannot print it The form has notes to help you fill it in. You’ll need to give information about your employment in the 66 weeks before your baby is due (called the ‘Test Period’). You can use the Test period calculator to work out these dates. Send your claim to the address on the form. Call Jobcentre Plus to ask for alternative formats of the form, such as braille, large print or audio CD. What to send with your claim form You need to include other documents when you send in your claim form. Proof of income You need to provide original payslips as proof of income. Proof of a due date and birth You need to provide proof of your baby’s due date, even if the baby has already been born. This could be: a letter from your doctor or midwife on headed paper your MATB1 certificate – this must be an original version and not a photocopy If your baby has already been born, you also need to provide proof of that. This could be: a letter from your doctor or midwife on headed paper – this can be the same letter as the one proving the due date your baby’s birth certificate – this must be an original version and not a photocopy your MATB1 certificate, if the section about the actual date of birth has been filled in by a doctor or midwife – this must be an original version and not a photocopy Additional information You may also need to provide: your SMP1 form, if you were refused Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) by your employer more information about your partner’s self-employed business and the unpaid work you do for them, if you’re applying for Maternity Allowance for up to 14 weeks When you’ll hear about your claim You should get a decision on your claim within 20 working days. If you’re eligible, a form will be sent to you confirming your entitlement and asking you to confirm your last day of employment before leave. If you disagree with a decision You can challenge a decision about your claim. This is called asking for mandatory reconsideration.

Report a change of circumstances

You need to report changes in your circumstances that happen while you’re receiving Maternity Allowance, for example if you go back to work. Your Maternity Allowance could be stopped or reduced if you do not report a change straight away. If you’re paid too much you might have to pay some of the money back. You might also have to pay a £50 fine. If you deliberately do not report changes, you’re committing benefit fraud . Changes you need to report Report a change of circumstances if you: return to work (including ‘keeping in touch days’) start or stop work start a new job become entitled to Statutory Maternity Pay from your employer return to unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner’s business change your address change your name change your bank details move abroad go to prison or are held in police custody no longer wish to claim Maternity Allowance If you decide not to return to work after your Maternity Allowance has ended, you do not need to report this. Use a benefits calculator to check if you can get other financial support. Reporting ‘keeping in touch days’ You need to report any days you work for your employer while receiving Maternity Allowance. These are known as ‘keeping in touch days’. You can take up to 10 keeping in touch days without affecting the amount of Maternity Allowance you receive. How to report changes You can report changes by telephone or by post. If you’re not sure whether you need to report a change, you can call for advice. Report changes by phone You need your National Insurance number when you call. Maternity Allowance helpline Telephone: 0800 169 0283 Textphone: 0800 169 0286 Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0283 British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm Welsh language: 0800 169 0296 Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Find out about call charges Report changes by post You need to include your National Insurance number on any letters. Send details of your changes to: DWP Maternity Allowance Mail Handling Site A Wolverhampton WV98 2GL

Maternity Allowance

Overview

Maternity Allowance is a payment you can get when you take time off to have a baby.

You could get it if you:

are employed but cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)
are self-employed
have recently stopped working
take part in unpaid work for the business of your spouse or civil partner

You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks.

You can apply for Maternity Allowance as soon as you’ve been pregnant for 26 weeks. Payments can start any time between the 11th week before your baby is due and the day after the baby is born.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg), British Sign Language (BSL) and easy read format.

Any money you get can affect your other benefits.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Maternity Allowance

Overview

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK

Cookies on GOV.UK

Maternity Allowance

Overview

Related content

Is this page useful?

Help us improve GOV.UK

Help us improve GOV.UK