Guardian's Allowance UK: Eligibility, Amount, and How to Claim

Guardian's Allowance is one of the least-known benefits in the UK system. It pays £22.95 per week — tax-free and non-means-tested — to anyone raising a child whose parents have both died. In some circumstances, you can claim even if one parent is still alive.

Who Qualifies?

You can claim Guardian's Allowance if you're raising a child and:

• Both of the child's parents have died, or
• One parent has died and the other meets one of these conditions: serving a prison sentence of two years or more, whereabouts unknown and uncontactable, or the parents were never married and the surviving parent's identity is unknown

You must also be receiving Child Benefit for the child. If you're not already claiming Child Benefit, you'll need to apply for that first — Guardian's Allowance can't be paid without it.

There's no requirement that you're formally appointed as a legal guardian. You simply need to be the person providing a home for the child and receiving Child Benefit for them.

How Much Is It?

For the 2026/27 tax year, Guardian's Allowance pays £22.95 per week per qualifying child. It's:

• Tax-free
• Not means-tested — your income and savings don't affect eligibility
• Paid on top of Child Benefit (not instead of it)
• Not affected by other benefits you receive

Over a year, that's approximately £1,193 per child. If you're caring for multiple qualifying children, you receive the allowance for each one.

How to Apply

Apply using form BG1, available to download from GOV.UK or by calling the Child Benefit helpline on 0300 200 3100. For children from abroad, use form BG1 (CS).

You'll need to provide:

• The child's birth certificate
• Death certificates for both parents (or one parent plus evidence of the other parent's circumstances)
• Your own details as the person caring for the child
• Your Child Benefit reference number

The claim can be backdated for up to three months, so apply as soon as the qualifying conditions are met to avoid losing payments.

When One Parent Is Still Alive

The rules allowing claims when one parent survives are narrowly defined:

Prison: The surviving parent must be serving a custodial sentence of at least two years. Short sentences don't qualify.

Missing parent: The surviving parent's whereabouts must be genuinely unknown. The DWP will investigate whether reasonable efforts have been made to locate them.

Paternity unknown: If the parents were never married and the father's identity is unknown (not named on the birth certificate), the claim can proceed based on the mother's death alone.

These situations require supporting evidence — a letter from the prison service, police records of a missing person, or a birth certificate showing no father's name.

Common Questions

Does Guardian's Allowance affect other benefits? No. Guardian's Allowance is fully disregarded when calculating Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Reduction. It doesn't reduce any other benefit you receive.

What if the child's parents later reunite or a missing parent is found? Guardian's Allowance stops if the qualifying conditions no longer apply — for example, if the surviving imprisoned parent is released and resumes care. You must notify HMRC immediately of any change in circumstances.

Can I claim for a child I've fostered? Formal foster placements through a local authority generally don't qualify for Guardian's Allowance — the council provides fostering allowances instead. But if you're an informal kinship carer (raising a relative's child without a formal fostering arrangement), you may qualify.

What about adoption? If you've legally adopted the child, their birth parents are no longer relevant for Guardian's Allowance purposes. The eligibility would depend on whether your adoptive status and circumstances meet the criteria.

Guardian's Allowance and Other Support

Guardian's Allowance is just one part of the financial support available to kinship carers. Depending on your circumstances, you may also be eligible for:

• Child Benefit — the baseline payment for anyone raising a child (£26.05/week for eldest child, £17.25 for additional children)
• Universal Credit — with child elements added for each dependent
• Kinship care support from your local authority — some councils provide regular allowances for kinship carers that are significantly more generous than Guardian's Allowance
• Bereavement Support Payment — if you were the partner of the deceased parent
• Free school meals and uniform grants — check your council's eligibility criteria

If you're raising a child after both parents have died, the financial and practical challenges are enormous. The England Survivor Benefits Navigator maps all available support for kinship carers, including local authority entitlements that vary by council.

See more England guides →