Can a nursery charge a non-refundable deposit for funded hours?

What does the April 2026 DfE guidance ban?

This is England early-education funding (the 15- and 30-hour entitlements), not a UK-wide consumer-law rewrite. The live document is Early education and childcare: statutory guidance for local authorities, valid from 1 April 2026.

Paragraph A1.31 says the 15 or 30 hours must be accessible free of charge and there must not be mandatory charges for those free hours. A1.38 then lists charges local authorities must stop in connection with entitlement hours.

Are refundable deposits and mixed funded-plus-paid hours different?

Yes, and the guidance does not give a national number of days for a refund. A1.38's deposit line is aimed at a non-refundable deposit as a condition of the entitlement place. The same bullet notes that a provider may retain a deposit if the parent does not take up the place — which is how many refundable holding deposits already work when a family walks away.

• Funded-only place — a non-refundable deposit or registration fee cannot be the condition of taking the free hours.
• Refundable holding deposit — not listed as a banned charge in the same way. Ask, in writing, when it is repaid if you start, and whether it is kept if you never start. DfE does not publish a statutory refund deadline.
• Mixed funded + paid hours — A1.32 allows the setting to charge its usual fees for extra private hours, provided taking those paid hours is not a condition of the free place. A deposit that only relates to the paid hours needs to be itemised that way. If the setting will only offer funded hours bundled with paid days, that bundle is the thing to take to the local authority.
• Universal Credit — help with a deposit is a different rule set (what can be reported as childcare costs). It does not rewrite DfE charging rules.

Which extras can a nursery still charge for?

A1.32 allows charges for listed extras only if they are voluntary. A1.34–A1.36 say parents must be able to opt out, children who opt out must still receive EYFS provision, and a free place must not be refused because a parent declines extras. A1.35 says settings that offer the entitlements must have a policy with reasonable alternatives — including letting parents supply their own items or waiving the cost.

• Consumables the child uses, such as nappies or sun cream
• Meals and snacks the child eats
• Optional extras such as events, celebrations or specialist tuition not required to deliver the EYFS
• Additional private hours, on the setting's usual terms, if those hours are not a condition of the free place

A1.39–A1.42 say admissions criteria and extra fees should be easy to find, extras should be published (with a DfE chargeable-extras template), and invoices should separately show free entitlement hours, extras and paid hours. Childminders and settings caring for 10 or fewer children can be exempted from publishing online.

How do I challenge a non-refundable funded-hours deposit?

1. 1
   Get the charge in writing Ask for the registration pack or email that shows whether the fee is a deposit or a registration fee, whether it is refundable, and whether the place is funded-only or mixed with paid hours.
2. 2
   Compare it with A1.38 A non-refundable deposit or registration fee as a condition of the entitlement place is on the banned list. A voluntary, itemised extra is not.
3. 3
   Ask the setting to point to its published extras A1.40 expects a breakdown. If the invoice is a single 'fees' line on funded hours, that is the gap the local authority is told to police.
4. 4
   Contact the local authority Families Information Service A1.36 says the local authority should intervene if extras or extra hours are made a mandatory condition of a free place. Take the written offer and the GOV.UK guidance link.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own funded-childcare rules. Do not assume A1.38 applies there. Ask the local authority in that nation.

In shortIn short: in England from 1 April 2026 a non-refundable deposit or registration fee cannot be the condition of a funded-only place, and extras must be voluntary and itemised. Refundable deposits and mixed paid hours are a different conversation — DfE does not set a national refund date.