I missed the 30 hours deadline — or we are starting nursery mid-term. What now?

What is the 30 hours application deadline?

Free Childcare for Working Parents in England runs in three funding blocks. GOV.UK — When to apply lists the last day you can apply for each block. Best Start in Life’s 15 and 30 hours FAQ (updated 8 April 2026) states the same dates and adds: if you do not apply on or before the deadline, you cannot take up the entitlement that term.

Statutory guidance valid from 1 April 2026 says the eligibility code must remain valid on 31 March, 31 August or 31 December for the child to take up a working-parent place in the term that follows. A code issued after that day does not unlock the term that has already started.

I missed it. Should I still apply now?

Yes. Missing one deadline does not close the scheme. Apply so HMRC can issue the 11-digit code and so you can reconfirm it before the next block. GOV.UK lets you apply from when the child is 23 weeks old; Best Start in Life says you can apply up to 16 weeks before they turn 9 months.

1. 1
   Apply on GOV.UK now Use Apply for free childcare if you live in England. You need National Insurance numbers, and a Unique Taxpayer Reference if you are self-employed. HMRC also checks Tax-Free Childcare on the same application.
2. 2
   Give the code to the provider When the account shows an 11-digit code, pass it over with your National Insurance number and the child’s date of birth. The provider or council has to verify it before they can claim working-parent funding.
3. 3
   Reconfirm every 3 months Sign in even if the child has not started funded hours yet. GOV.UK says that if you apply more than 3 months before childcare starts, you have to reconfirm to keep the code valid. Best Start in Life sends the same warning.
4. 4
   Aim at the next 1 January, 1 April or 1 September That is the next national start date after a missed deadline. Ask the provider whether they need the code earlier than the statutory last day — some settings set their own cut-off so they can plan rooms.

Cambridgeshire County Council’s working-parent page (checked 10 September 2026) puts the local consequence in one line: if a code is not issued by the start of a funding period, the child waits until the following period. That matches the national rule. It is not a promise that every council phrases invoices the same way.

We start nursery in February. Are any hours funded before April?

Not under the national working-parent rules. February sits inside the January–March block. If the code was not valid on 31 December, that block is closed. The next national start date is 1 April, and the code must still be valid on 31 March.

• Apply in February anyway. A code issued in February is for the April block, not a backdated January term.
• Ask how the provider bills until 1 April. Some settings charge their private rate for the whole mid-term stretch. Others offer a local deal. That is a contract between you and the setting, not a GOV.UK entitlement.
• Do not assume funding starts the day the code arrives. Statutory guidance tells local authorities to pro-rate hours for children who first take up a place later in the year from the next relevant date — 1 April, 1 September or 1 January — not from a random weekday in term.
• Keep reconfirming. A February code can expire before April if you skip the 3-month check.

A mid-term start is common after a job change or a nursery waiting list. The funded hours still wait for the next block. Budget the private fees for the weeks in between, or change the start date to 1 April / 1 September / 1 January if that is what you can afford.

Does missing the code deadline stop the universal 15 hours too?

No. All 3 and 4 year olds in England have 15 hours of free childcare for 38 weeks, from the term after the third birthday. That place goes through the provider with the child’s birth certificate. There is no 11-digit code and no 31 August / 31 December / 31 March Childcare Service deadline.

If the child is already 3 or 4, ask the setting whether a universal 15-hour place is available while you wait for the next working-parent block. That is still a place-availability question, not an HMRC code question. See 15 hours universal vs 30 hours working-parent.

Can the nursery start funding the day my code arrives?

The national scheme does not require that. Local authorities fund working-parent hours from the termly dates above. A provider who invoices as if the code unlocked yesterday’s sessions is making a local commercial choice, not applying a hidden GOV.UK backdate.

1. Ask, in writing, which date they will treat as the first funded session.
2. Ask whether meals, nappies or extra hours are billed separately — those charges must not be a condition of a funded place.
3. If they say they can amend an invoice issued before the code arrived, treat that as their policy. Best Start in Life notes that some providers can do this; it does not say every provider must.

In shortMissed 31 December, 31 March or 31 August: that term’s working-parent hours are closed. Apply now, reconfirm every 3 months, and plan on 1 January, 1 April or 1 September. Mid-term private fees are a provider conversation, not a national backdate.