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Eligibility

You’ll qualify for the Healthy Start scheme if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or you have at least one child that’s under 4.

You must also be receiving any of the following:

  • Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
  • Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

You will also be eligible for Healthy Start if:

  • you’re under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits
  • you claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant
  • you or your partner get Working Tax Credit run-on only. (Working Tax Credit run-on is the Working Tax Credit you receive in the 4 weeks immediately after you have stopped working for 16 hours or more per week)

To find out if your family earns £408 or less per month from employment whilst claiming Universal Credit, look at your ‘take-home pay for this period’ on your monthly Universal Credit award notice.

How to apply

If you are eligible for the Healthy Start Scheme, you can apply online. To apply, you will need your:

  • name
  • address
  • date of birth
  • National Insurance number
  • baby’s due date (if you’re pregnant)
  • benefit award letter if you’re over 18 (you must enter the same information that’s on this letter)

If you’re currently receiving paper vouchers for Healthy Start, these will stop once you complete the online application form. You can still use your Healthy Start vouchers until their expiry date. You can find the expiry date printed on your vouchers.

Check if you’re eligible

You can check if you’re eligible by applying now. Use the check what help you could get to pay for NHS costs online service to see if you’re eligible for other help with NHS costs.

If you’re not a British citizen but your child is

You might be able to get Healthy Start depending on your immigration status. You can get a Healthy Start card if all the following apply:

Your biometric residence permit (BRP) or your online immigration status will say if you cannot claim public funds. You might also have a letter from the Home Office about it.

To get your Healthy Start card, ask for an application form via email. Only use this email address if you think you cannot claim public funds because of your immigration status.

If you meet the eligibility criteria above and would like to apply for Healthy Start, please email Healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk and DHSC will be in touch with you to discuss the application process. 

Please contact Healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk if you have any other queries.