Guardian's Allowance

Description

A tax-free £22.95 a week, paid on top of Child Benefit, to someone bringing up a child whose parents have died. You can also qualify if one parent is still alive but can't be traced, will be in prison for at least 2 years, or is in hospital under a court order. You don't need to be the child's legal guardian, despite the name. Paid by HMRC through the Guardian's Allowance Unit.

Eligibility summary

• Available across the whole UK (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
• Open to individuals — not restricted to businesses.

Notes

Verified Oct 2026 directly on gov.uk's Guardian's Allowance overview, eligibility and how-to-claim pages (£22.95/week, tax-free, paid on top of Child Benefit). If you adopt the child you can keep getting it only if you were already getting it before the adoption. Backdating is limited to 3 months, so claim as soon as the child comes to live with you. gov.uk doesn't spell out Northern Ireland arrangements; Child Benefit and Guardian's Allowance are both HMRC benefits, so UK_WIDE is used here, but NI claimants should confirm the claim address with the Guardian's Allowance Unit. Not means-tested.

Requirement

You're bringing up a child who isn't your own, the child's parents have died, and you qualify for Child Benefit for them. Where one parent survives, you can still qualify if you don't know where they are after reasonable efforts to contact them, they'll be in prison for at least 2 years from the other parent's death, or they're in hospital under a court order. At least one of the parents who died must have been born in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland, or have lived in the UK for at least 52 weeks in any 2-year period since age 16.