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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鈥檝e 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.

You can get Maternity Allowance for up to 39 weeks if you鈥檝e been either:

• registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby鈥檚 due
• employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby鈥檚 due

If you鈥檝e been employed, you must have been earning (or classed as earning) 拢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鈥檝e 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鈥檚 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鈥檙e employed or have recently stopped working

You鈥檒l get 拢184.03 a week or 90% of your average weekly earnings (whichever is less) for up to 39 weeks if you鈥檙e 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鈥檙e self-employed

You can get between 拢27 to 拢184.03 a week for up to 39 weeks if you鈥檙e self-employed.

How much you get depends on how many Class 2 National Insurance contributions you鈥檝e made in the 66 weeks before your baby is due.

To get 拢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

If you鈥檝e 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鈥檝e made.

If you鈥檝e not paid any Class 2 National Insurance contributions, you鈥檒l be entitled to 拢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鈥檝e 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 拢27 and 拢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 拢3.45 per week.

If you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner鈥檚 business

You can get 拢27 a week for up to 14 weeks if you do unpaid work for your spouse or civil partner鈥檚 business.

How you鈥檙e 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鈥檚 Allowance
• Carer Support Payment
• Council Tax Reduction
• Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Housing Benefit
• Income Support
• Jobseeker鈥檚 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.

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鈥檙e 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鈥檝e 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鈥檝e been pregnant for 26 weeks.聽

Payments can start any time between the 11th week before your baby is due and the day after the baby is born.

To claim, you鈥檒l need a Maternity Allowance (MA1) claim form. You can either:

• print it and fill it in
• fill it in online and print it
• if you cannot print it

The form has notes to help you fill it in.

You鈥檒l need to give information about your employment in the 66 weeks before your baby is due (called the 鈥楾est Period鈥�). You can use the to work out these dates.

Send your claim to the address on the form.

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鈥檚 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 鈥� 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 鈥� this can be the same letter as the one proving the due date
• your baby鈥檚 birth certificate 鈥� 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 鈥� 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鈥檚 self-employed business and the unpaid work you do for them, if you鈥檙e applying for Maternity Allowance for up to 14 weeks

When you鈥檒l hear about your claim

You should get a decision on your claim within 20 working days.

If you鈥檙e 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.

You need to report changes in your circumstances that happen while you鈥檙e 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鈥檙e paid too much you might have to pay some of the money back. You might also have to pay a 拢50 fine.

Changes you need to report

Report a change of circumstances if you:

• return to work (including 鈥榢eeping in touch days鈥�)
• 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鈥檚 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

Reporting 鈥榢eeping in touch days鈥�

You need to report any days you work for your employer while receiving Maternity Allowance. These are known as 鈥榢eeping in touch days鈥�.

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鈥檙e 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.

Report changes by post

You need to include your National Insurance number on any letters.

Send details of your changes to: