CH2: Child Benefit claim form

You can usually get Child Benefit if you are responsible for bringing up a child under 16, or under 20 if they stay in education or training that qualifies, and you live in the UK. Only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, so decide with the other parent who should claim. Whoever claims gets the National Insurance credits that count towards their State Pension.

HMRC asks you to use the CH2 only if you cannot claim online. The online service at gov.uk/child-benefit/how-to-claim also lets you add another child to an existing claim, and the form says you could get your first payment in as little as 3 days that way.

Even if you do not want the payments, gov.uk advises making a claim and opting out, so you still get National Insurance credits while your child is under 12 and your child gets a National Insurance number automatically.

Sign and date the declaration and send the form with any documents HMRC needs. If you do not have a pre-addressed envelope, the current form gives the address as Child Benefit Office (GB), Washington, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE88 1ZD. You will need a stamp.

For a child you have not claimed for before, send the birth certificate if the birth was registered in Northern Ireland or outside the UK, the passport or travel document used to enter the UK if the child was not born here, or the adoption certificate for an adoption outside the UK. Send originals, not photocopies, and fill in the CH3 address label if you want them back. If you are claiming for more than 2 children, add the CH2(CS) additional child form.

If you cannot claim online or by post, you can call the Child Benefit helpline on 0300 200 3100 (Relay UK 18001 then 0300 200 3100; from overseas +44 161 210 3086).

Gov.uk lists no fee for claiming Child Benefit.

If you or your partner has an individual adjusted net income over £60,000, the person with the higher income may have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge: 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 over £60,000, and all of it above £80,000. You can pay it through PAYE or Self Assessment, or opt out of the payments so the charge does not apply.

You can claim 48 hours after registering the birth, or once a child comes to live with you. Child Benefit can be backdated for up to 3 months from the date you claim, so claiming late can cost you payments.

The form says HMRC will normally return your documents within 4 weeks. If you do not send all the documents with the claim, the decision may be delayed, but payments can be backdated to the date HMRC received your claim.

If you have to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge, you can only pay through PAYE until 31 January after the tax year concerned; after that, you must use Self Assessment.

• Using the paper form when you could claim online. Gov.uk asks you to use the CH2 only if you cannot claim online.
• Both partners claiming at the higher rate. If you live together, only one of you can claim the higher rate for the eldest child, and you may have to pay money back.
• Not claiming because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge. You can claim and opt out of payments to keep the National Insurance credits.
• Sending photocopies. The declaration confirms you are sending the original documents.
• Waiting for a missing certificate. Claim now and send it later, because backdating is limited to 3 months.
• Forgetting to check income each year. The form says you must check every year whether either of you is over £60,000.

• Child Benefit guide
• Make a Child Benefit claim online
• CH2, CH2(CS) and claim notes on GOV.UK
• High Income Child Benefit Charge