Detailed guide: Childcare Service compensation

If you’ve been affected by technical issues, you may be able to get the government top-up as a one-off payment. We’ll also consider refunding any reasonable costs directly caused by the service not working as it should, mistakes or unreasonable delays.

You may be eligible for these payments if you’ve:

• been unable to complete your application for Tax-Free Childcare
• been unable to access your childcare account
• not received a decision about if you’re eligible, without explanation, for more than 20 days

Make a claim

To make a claim, you must send us:

• a brief description of the issues you’ve had
• copies of receipts for payments to your childcare provider
• your full name
• your home address
• National Insurance number
• bank name, account number and sort code

Send this information to:

If you’re eligible for compensation, we’ll write to you and make a payment directly into your bank account.

Your 30 hours free childcare code

If you’ve already applied for 30 hours free childcare, you can get your code by signing into your childcare account and selecting ’30 hours free childcare’. The code should start with ‘500’.

You can take your code to your childcare provider to secure a 30 hours free childcare place.

If haven’t been able to complete your application and get your 30 hours free childcare code for technical reasons, you should call us on 0300 123 4097.