How To Apply For Carer’s Allowance | Step-by-Step Guide

Carer’s Allowance is a benefit for carers who provide at least 35 hours of care a week for somebody who claims certain disability benefits. If eligible, you’ll get £81.90 a week. Below, we’ve explained how to apply for Carer’s Allowance.

This article also lists our top tips when applying, how Carer’s Allowance is affected when entering care, additional support for unpaid carers and how you can use our service to find professional care for your loved one.

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In this article:

1. A step-by-step guide to applying for Carer’s Allowance
2. Our top tips when applying for Carer’s Allowance
3. How Carer’s Allowance is affected when entering care
4. Additional support for unpaid carers
5. Find care for your loved one

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A Step-by-Step Guide To Applying For Carer’s Allowance

1. Check your eligibility for Carer’s Allowance

To be eligible for Carer’s Allowance, you’ll need to provide at least 35 hours of weekly care for somebody who receives at least one of the following benefits:

• Adult Disability Payment - The daily living component at the standard or enhanced rate
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance at either rate
• Child Disability Payment - The middle or highest care rate
• Constant Attendance Allowance at or above the normal maximum rate with an Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, or at the basic full-day rate with a War Disablement Pension
• Disability Living Allowance - The middle or highest care rate
• Personal Independence Payment - The daily living component

To be eligible, the following also need to apply:

• You’re aged 16 or over
• You’ve lived in the UK for at least two of the last three years
• You aren’t in full-time education, and you don’t study for 21 hours or more a week
• You earn £151 or less each week after tax
• You aren’t subject to immigration control
• Nobody else claims Carer’s Allowance for the same person you care for

2. Gather the necessary documents and information

You need the following documents and information to apply for Carer’s Allowance:

• National Insurance number (and your partner’s number if you have one)
• Bank details (unless you receive State Pension)
• Employment details and payslips (if you’re currently working). This should be the payslip immediately before the period you want to claim from and any received since
• P45 (if you’ve recently finished working)
• Most recently finalised accounts for your business (if you’re self-employed)
• Any course details (if you’re studying)
• Any expenses incurred, such as the cost of paying for care while you’re at work
• Details of the person you care for, such as their date of birth and National Insurance number (if they’re over 16) or Disability Living Allowance reference (if they’re under 16)

3. Fill in the Carer’s Allowance application form

Claiming in England, Scotland and Wales

Claim online here.

Download and print off the Carer’s Allowance form to apply by post. You can also call the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297 to request a form.

When applying by post, send your completed form to:

Carers Allowance Unit

Mail Handling Site A

Wolverhampton

WV98 2AB

Claiming in Northern Ireland

Claim online here.

Download and print off the relevant Carer’s Allowance form to apply by post:

• If you’re under the State Pension age
• If you’re over the State Pension age

When applying by post, send your completed form to:

Carer’s Allowance

Disability and Carers Service

Mail Opening Unit

PO Box 42

Limavady

BT49 4AN

4. Wait for a decision from the Department for Work and Pensions

You’ll then be told whether your claim has been successful.

If it has been, the money will be paid into the account you provided in your application. Carer’s Allowance is usually paid on a Monday.

If your application is unsuccessful, you can contact the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) within one month of the decision date to request a mandatory reconsideration. If this is unsuccessful, you have one month from this decision date to appeal the decision. An independent tribunal will then look at this.

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Contact the Carer’s Allowance Unit For Help With Applying

If you find applying for Carer’s Allowance challenging, the Carer’s Allowance Unit is there to help.

You can call them on 0800 731 0297, Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm.

You can also use this number to request a form and apply this way if you’d prefer.

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Our Top Tips When Applying For Carer’s Allowance

Apply online if you’re able to

Carer’s Allowance can be claimed online or by printing off a form, filling this in and posting it. You can also call the Carer’s Allowance Unit on 0800 731 0297 to request a form.

Applying online is usually the more convenient and quicker option, as there isn’t a waiting time for your letter to be physically received, so your claim should be processed faster.

Have the relevant information and documents ready

Be sure to have the documents we’ve listed in this article ready before you begin the application process. This will make the process run more smoothly.

These include:

• National Insurance number
• Bank details and payslips or your P45
• Details of the person you care for, including their National Insurance number or Disability Living Allowance reference number (depending on whether they’re over or under 16) and proof of any benefits they claim

Check if your Carer’s Allowance claim can be backdated

A Carer’s Allowance claim can be backdated by up to three months if you and the person you care for also met the eligibility criteria during this period.

By backdating your claim, you could get up to three months’ worth of Carer’s Allowance, so it’s definitely worth doing this.

Provide updates as necessary

You may sometimes need to report changes in your circumstances to the Carer’s Allowance Unit. If your application is successful, you’ll be told when you need to do this, such as if the amount you earn changes or if you take a break from caring.

You need to inform the Carer’s Allowance Unit of these changed circumstances as soon as possible, so you continue receiving the correct benefits.

Check any other benefits you’re eligible for

You may be eligible for other benefits, so it’s important to check you’re getting everything you’re entitled to.

There are many ways to check benefit eligibility, such as using the Carers UK benefits calculator.

We also have a guide explaining the different benefits for carers.

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How Carer’s Allowance Is Affected When Entering Care

If the person you’re looking after goes into full-time care, such as a care home, you’ll only be able to continue claiming Carer’s Allowance if they continue receiving a qualifying disability benefit and you still provide them with at least 35 hours a week. For this to be the case, the person you care for will probably be paying for their own in a setting such as a care home.

These benefits usually stop four weeks after moving into care. The main exception to this is when somebody pays for their own care:

• Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance - The care component
• Personal Independence Payment - The daily living component

If your Carer’s Allowance stops due to the person you’re looking after moving into full-time care, you can continue receiving the following for eight weeks:

• The carer premium or addition paid with any means-tested benefits
• Income Support (the amount you get should increase to the amount you were getting for Carer’s Allowance and Income Support combined)

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Additional Support For Unpaid Carers

While caring for somebody else is undoubtedly rewarding, it also comes with challenges, so it’s important to know what support is out there.

You can connect with people in similar situations through a local support group. You can find local support groups through websites such as Carers UK and Age UK.

You can also find free support for your wellbeing and mental health through websites such as MentalHealth.org, Mind, and Kooth.

Along with Carer’s Allowance, other forms of financial support are available to carers, and we’ve rounded these up in our carer benefits article.

Respite care so you can take a break from caregiving duties

Short-term respite care is usually given for one, two or three weeks at a time. It allows caregivers to take a well-earned break from their caregiving responsibilities. During this time, you can rest and relax, go on a holiday or take care of any other urgent commitments. These breaks allow carers to recharge physically and emotionally.

Respite care is often provided within a respite care home. You’ll find a fantastic range of respite care homes across the UK through Lottie. Each of our listings states the specific types of care available and whether the home has bed availability.

We’re also partnered with home care agencies, many of which provide respite care at home. Each of our home care listings states whether care is available on an ongoing or fixed-term basis. Fixed-term care is given for a specific length of time.

Lots of support is available through respite, including assistance with personal care, companionship, administering medication and help with daily household tasks.

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Find Care For Your Loved One

You can use Lottie to find supportive, round-the-clock care for the person you care for.

We list care homes throughout the UK, including residential care homes, dementia care homes and specialist nursing homes with registered nurses. We list respite care homes as well, if you want to take a temporary break from your caregiving duties.

We’re also partnered with the UK’s best home care agencies. You can find care at home with carer availability using our free service. This includes domiciliary (hourly) care and live-in care.

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Lottie matches care seekers with the best care homes and home care for their needs. You can request a free list of homes or home care agencies from our care experts, who will share relevant care options that match your budget, location and type of care needed.