Can I get a Sure Start Maternity Grant if I already have a child under 16?

Do I qualify if I already have a child under 16?

The default line on GOV.UK is that you must have no other children under 16. You or your partner must also get one of these: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or a Support for Mortgage Interest loan. A refusal that only repeats “first child only” is applying that default. It is not the whole eligibility page.

If you live in Scotland you cannot apply for this grant. Social Security Scotland pays a Pregnancy and Baby Payment instead.

GOV.UK (checked 10 September 2026) lists the one-off amount as £500. You do not have to pay it back, and the page says it does not affect other benefits. MayTally does not decide claims.

What are the official exceptions if I already have a child?

GOV.UK says you may still qualify, with a listed benefit, if any of the following apply. These are the lines that matter after a first-child-only refusal.

• Multiple birth. You are expecting twins, triplets or another multiple birth. The amount then follows the official twins-and-triplets table, not an extra invented rate.
• Someone else’s child. The child you already care for is someone else’s (not your partner’s) and that child was over 12 months old when the arrangement started.
• Refugee, humanitarian protection, Afghanistan or Ukraine. GOV.UK allows a grant for your first child born in the UK if you have refugee status or humanitarian protection, you left Afghanistan because of the collapse of the Afghan government on 15 August 2021, or you were resident in Ukraine immediately before 1 January 2022 and left because of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.
• Claiming for a family member. You are claiming for a family member who is having their first child and lives with you. That person must be under 16, or 16 to 19 and in certain approved education or training.
• Adoption, parental order, guardian or residence order. You may also apply if you are not the person giving birth, the baby is under one on the date you claim, and one of the responsibility tests on the eligibility page is met.

Turn2us (last reviewed 8 June 2026) restates the same exception list and notes that if you do not qualify because you are under 16 or in education, a family member on a qualifying benefit may be able to claim for you. The decision still sits with DWP on the SF100 form.

How much is the grant for twins or triplets if I already have children?

The one-off grant is £500 when the first-child rule is met. If you already have children under 16, GOV.UK only publishes extra amounts for a multiple birth. Copy the table as printed — do not add a “per extra baby” figure that is not on the page.

A household that already had triplets and is expecting again is shown as £0 on that table. A household that already had twins and is expecting triplets is shown as £500. Those are the official cells.

Can I claim for a family member who lives with me?

Yes, if that family member is having their first child, lives with you, and is either under 16, or 16 to 19 in approved education or training. GOV.UK’s approved list includes full-time A levels (or similar), T levels, NVQs and other vocational qualifications up to level 3, some home education, and traineeships in England. Employer-paid courses and “advanced” courses such as a university degree or BTEC Higher National Certificate are not approved. Approved training should be unpaid and can include Foundation Apprenticeships or Traineeships in Wales, and named Northern Ireland programmes (PEACE IV Children and Young People 2.1, Training for Success, or Skills for Life and Work). Courses that are part of a job contract are not approved.

This is a claim by the adult on a qualifying benefit, for the young person in the household — it is not a second grant for your own older child.

When and how do I claim after a refusal?

GOV.UK says you can claim from 11 weeks before the week the baby is due. The latest date is 6 months after the birth. If you are becoming responsible for a child (adoption, parental order, guardian, residence order), you must claim within 6 months of that happening. Waiting for a qualifying-benefit decision does not extend those dates — nidirect says the same for Northern Ireland.

1. 1
   Read the exception that applies Open the GOV.UK eligibility page and match your facts to one printed exception (multiple birth, someone else’s child over 12 months when care started, refugee / Afghanistan / Ukraine route, or claiming for a family member). A first-child-only letter is not the last word if an exception is on that page.
2. 2
   Download SF100 and gather evidence Print the Sure Start Maternity Grant (SF100) form. A doctor or midwife should complete a MAT B1 or write a statement confirming the pregnancy or birth. For adoption or a similar order, send the order. GOV.UK says you can post the form first to meet the deadline and send evidence later if needed.
3. 3
   Post it to the right address In England and Wales, post SF100 and the evidence to Freepost DWP SSMG (no postcode or stamp). Northern Ireland uses a different form address: DfC Sure Start Maternity Grants, Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 2JX. Scotland should not use this form.
4. 4
   If the decision is still no GOV.UK says you can ask for a mandatory reconsideration. The Sure Start Maternity Grant helpline is 0800 169 0140 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm; Welsh 0800 169 0240). GOV.UK says a decision letter is usually sent within 28 days of DWP receiving the form and evidence, and that a new Universal Credit claim can take longer.

What if I live in Scotland, or already had this grant?

Scotland is not Sure Start Maternity Grant. Apply for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment on mygov.scot. mygov.scot also says you cannot get Pregnancy and Baby Payment if a Sure Start Maternity Grant was already paid for the same baby — moving nation does not unlock a second payment for that child.

In shortIf you already have a child under 16, start from the GOV.UK exception list, not the “first child only” headline. Multiple births use the published twins-and-triplets table. Kinship-style care only counts when the child was over 12 months old when care started and is not your partner’s child. Scotland uses Best Start, not this grant.