Child Benefit if your child dies
If your child has died, your Child Benefit payments will carry on for a short while longer. They could help with the extra costs that you face at this difficult time.
On this page:
- What you need to do
- The first eight weeks after your child dies
- If your child dies before you've made a claim for Child Benefit
- More useful links
What you need to do
You will need to tell the Child Benefit Office as soon as possible if your child or a child you're responsible for has died. Tell them the exact date of death too. The Child Benefit Office will record this information and also pass it on to other parts of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that need to know. That way you'll only have to get in touch with HMRC once.
Let us know online if your child has died
The first eight weeks after your child dies
The Child Benefit Office generally carries on paying your Child Benefit for eight weeks from the date that your child died.
If you don't tell the Child Benefit Office that they've died until after the eight weeks, they might end up paying you too much.
If you qualify for Child Benefit for your child you may also be able to get a Child Trust Fund payment.
Find out what happens if your child dies on the Child Trust Fund website (Opens new window)
If your child would have been 20 during the eight week period
If your child would have turned 20 before the end of the eight weeks there's a different way of working out how long you'll get Child Benefit for. The Child Benefit Office can only pay up to the Monday after the week in which they would have been 20. If your child's birthday would have fallen on a Monday, that's the date they'll pay up to.
If your child dies before the end of the week they were born in
If your child dies before the end of the week they were born in the Child Benefit Office will pay Child Benefit for eight weeks. They'll start the eight weeks from the Monday after the day your child died. The payments will stop after the eight weeks.
If your child dies before you've made a claim for Child Benefit
If your child died before you'd claimed Child Benefit for them you can still do so. The Child Benefit Office will pay Child Benefit for eight weeks from the date your child died.
When you send in your Child Benefit claim tell the Child Benefit Office the date of death in the space provided in Part 6 of the claim form. You'll need to send them your child's birth or adoption certificate but there's no need to send their death certificate too.
You may also qualify for a Child Trust Fund payment.
Find out if you qualify for the Child Trust Fund on their website (Opens new window)
Can your claim be backdated?
There are time limits for claiming Child Benefit. The Child Benefit Office can only backdate payments for three months. So you'll need to make your claim within three months of the date your child died if you're to get Child Benefit for the full eight week period.
If you make a claim after three months you'll still get some payments, as long as you claim within three months of the last week of the eight week period after your child died. If you leave it later than this the Child Benefit Office won't be able to make any payments. This may also mean you won't get a Child Trust Fund payment because to get one you have to qualify for Child Benefit.
If you need help with working out whether you're in time to claim you can contact the Child Benefit Helpline.
If your child is stillborn
You won't be able to claim Child Benefit if your child was stillborn. This is because Child Benefit can only be paid if a child was alive when they were born.
If your child was stillborn the doctor or midwife will have given you a medical certificate of stillbirth.
Contacting the Child Benefit Office
If you need to contact the Child Benefit Office you can do it online following the link below. Or you can call the Child Benefit Helpline on Tel 0845 302 1444 or Textphone 0845 302 1474. The helpline is open between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm, seven days a week, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
If your preferred language is Welsh you can call on Tel 0845 302 1489, and if you are telephoning from outside the UK you can call on Tel + 44 161 210 3086.
If you prefer you can write to:
Child Benefit Office
PO Box 1
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
NE88 1AA
Send us your Child Benefit query online
