A nursery place, an approved childcare application and the first funded month are three different milestones. Putting only the nursery start date in a family budget can leave a gap: you may be paying the full bill before the funded hours begin. This guide covers England's Free Childcare for Working Parents, not every UK childcare scheme.
First check eligibility, then the start date
Eligible working parents can receive 30 funded hours a week for 38 weeks for a child aged nine months to four years. Age alone is not enough. The work and income conditions apply, including the upper limit for each parent's expected adjusted net income. If either expects more than £100,000 for the tax year, the family will not qualify for this scheme. Salary and combined household income are not the test.
The salary versus adjusted net income guide explains that income check. Universal 15 hours for three- and four-year-olds are separate and remain available regardless of parental income, from the term after the third birthday.
When your child turns nine months matters
You can apply from when your child is 23 weeks old. GOV.UK gives these age-based application deadlines and earliest term starts:
- Turns nine months between 1 September and 31 December: hours can start from 1 January; application deadline 31 December.
- Turns nine months between 1 January and 31 March: hours can start from 1 April; application deadline 31 March.
- Turns nine months between 1 April and 31 August: hours can start from 1 September; application deadline 31 August.
Returning from parental leave changes the timeline
If you are returning from maternity, paternity, shared parental or adoption leave, GOV.UK also uses the date you return to work. Paid annual leave with salary counts as having returned to work. The child must still meet the age rules.
- Return between 1 October and 31 January: hours can start from 1 January; apply between 1 September and 31 December.
- Return between 1 February and 30 April: hours can start from 1 April; apply between 1 January and 31 March.
- Return between 1 May and 30 September: hours can start from 1 September; apply between 1 April and 31 August.
Shared parental leave has an additional rule for the child you are applying for: both parents must have returned, or be returning, within one month of the start of the term. Starting a new job also has timing rules. Use the official application page for your exact situation rather than treating one table as the whole eligibility test.
Approval gives you a code, not a completed nursery arrangement
Once approved, you receive an 11-digit code in your childcare account. HMRC lets you know by text or email. Give the code to your provider along with your National Insurance number and the child's date of birth, so the provider can check it. Send those details through the provider's appropriate process, not a public comment or post.
Ask the provider to confirm the funded start date, how the hours will be spread over your attendance weeks, any separately charged extras and the monthly bill. Keep that quote alongside the code confirmation. A provider can offer fewer weekly hours over more weeks, so 30 funded hours does not mean 30 off every week of a full year.
Keep reconfirmation separate from the term deadline
You must sign into the childcare account every three months and confirm your details are up to date. If you applied more than three months before childcare starts, reconfirm to keep the code valid. Put the actual date shown in your account in your calendar; do not substitute a guessed quarterly date.
If work, income or family circumstances change, check what to update. Do not assume that missing a reconfirmation means an instant full bill, or that any grace period will apply indefinitely. Ask the provider or local authority when your hours would change and check the account's messages.
Build the budget around confirmed milestones
- Before support begins: use the provider's full written quote for your attendance pattern.
- After the funded start: use the revised quote, with funded hours and charged extras shown separately.
- At each reconfirmation: refresh expected income and work details and check the next account deadline.
The nursery-budget guide explains the bill and Tax-Free Childcare top-up. The maternity-leave budget guide helps line up leave income with the return-to-work month.
A free chapter for the wider first-year plan
The £100k Baby, by Practical Finance, covers leave, Child Benefit, childcare, pensions and a year-one checklist. This guide promotes the book. General education, not personal financial or tax advice. Rules checked 30 September 2026; verify your own dates and circumstances with the official sources.