Child Benefit when your child reaches age 16

What happens as your child approaches age 16

In the school year in which your child reaches 16 we’ll write to you to find out if they are going to carry on in full-time further education or approved training and, if so, the date you expect them to leave.

After we receive your reply, we’ll write to tell you if we can continue to pay Child Benefit.

If we don’t receive a reply, or if you tell us that your child doesn’t intend to continue in full-time further education or approved training, we will stop Child Benefit from the first Monday in September.

If we stop the payments but you think your child still qualifies (for example if the child’s plans have changed since you wrote to us, or you didn’t reply telling us about the child’s plans), contact the Child Benefit Office straight away. This will enable us to restart the payments where necessary.

Child Benefit Office contact details.

What counts as full-time education

Full-time education means more than an average of 12 hours a week during term time is spent on tuition, practical work, supervised study or taking exams not counting breaks for meals and homework.

Examples of further education are:

  • GCSEs and qualifications up to and including A level.
  • NVQ level 1, 2, or 3.
  • BTEC National Diploma, National Certificate and 1st Diploma.
  • SCE higher grade or equivalent.

Higher education

Child Benefit cannot be paid to a young person who is undergoing a course of higher education. Examples of higher education are courses that lead to the following qualifications:

  • a degree
  • Diploma of Higher Education (DHE)
  • Higher National Diploma (HND)
  • BTEC Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND)
  • Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Higher National Certificate (HNC) and Higher National Diploma (HND)
  • teacher training.

This is not a complete list.

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What counts as approved training

Approved training is:

  • England - Entry to Employment or Programme Led Pathways
  • Wales - Skillbuild, Skillbuild+ or Foundation Modern Apprenticeships
  • Scotland - Get Ready for Work, Skillseekers or Modern Apprenticeships
  • Northern Ireland - Access or Jobskills Traineeships

Changes that may extend your entitlement to Child Benefit

You may be entitled to Child Benefit for longer if the young person:

  • stays in full-time further education after the date you told us they were going to leave
  • is entered for exams to be taken during the term immediately after they have left education (re-sits may not qualify)
  • is in hospital and continuing in full-time further education
  • is 16 or 17 and leaves full-time further education or approved training, has registered for work, education or training with a qualifying body and isn’t working for 24 hours a week or more for which payment is expected or received.

For more detailed information on this subject please read the section on extended Child Benefit.

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Changes that mean you no longer qualify for Child Benefit

You will no longer qualify for Child Benefit if the child or young person:

  • is aged 16 or 17 and leaves full-time further education or approved training earlier than the date you told us they were going to leave and doesn’t register for work, education or training with a qualifying body
  • leaves full-time education or approved training and starts working 24 hours a week or more for which payment is received or expected
  • reduces the time they get supervised study at school or college to less than an average of 12 hours a week
  • starts a course of higher education, for example a degree, NVQ level 4 or above
  • starts a course of further education that is provided by an employer or any office they hold
  • starts being educated at home, unless there are health reasons why they cannot attend school or college
  • starts training which is not approved training or is provided by a contract of employment
  • starts to get a Tax Credit, Incapacity Benefit, Income Support or income-based Jobseekers Allowance in their own right
  • starts a course of further education or approved training after their 19th birthday.

Child Benefit cannot be paid after the young person’s 20th birthday.

Reporting changes after your child reaches age 16

To make sure that you get the Child Benefit that you’re entitled to it's important to tell us straight away about changes to the child or young person’s situation.

Please see the Changes that affect children and young people page for a more detailed list of changes that affect children and young people.

Child Benefit Office contact details.

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Extended Child Benefit after a young person leaves full-time further education or approved training

When a young person leaves full-time further education or approved training Child Benefit can be extended for up to 20 weeks if they are under age 18 and all of the following apply:

  • they have registered for work, education or training with the Careers Service, or Connexions Service (in Northern Ireland, the Department for Employment and Learning or an Education and Library Board), the Ministry of Defence or any corresponding body in another European Union member state
  • they are not working for 24 hours or more a week for which payment is received or expected
  • immediately before the extension period begins you were entitled to Child Benefit for the young person
  • you make a written request for the extension within three months of the end of education or training
  • the extension period for that person has not ended.

What counts as further education

What counts as approved training

Start and stop dates of extension periods

The extension period will run for a maximum of 20 weeks and will always start from the Monday following the date education or training ends.

The extension period will stop before 20 weeks if the young person:

  • starts full time paid employment, training which is not approved training or higher education
  • reaches age 18 before the end of the 20 week period.

To apply for an extension, download and fill in the application form and send it to the Child Benefit Office.

CH 299-Child Benefit extension application form (PDF 49K)

Child Benefit Office contact details

Restarting Child Benefit after it stops in the extension period

If Child Benefit has stopped it can start again if:

  • paid work ends or changes to less than 24 hours a week
  • non-approved training ends before the Child Benefit extension period ends, and the young person registers for work or training again with the Careers Service, or Connexions Service (in Northern Ireland, the Department for Employment and Learning or an Education and Library Board), the Ministry of Defence or any corresponding body in another European Union Member State
  • the young person returns to full-time further education or approved training.