How do I transfer Child Benefit NI credits to the parent who is not working?

Who do Child Benefit National Insurance credits sit with?

GOV.UK says Class 3 credits are added automatically if you claim Child Benefit and the child is under 12. Those credits count towards State Pension and can fill a gap if the claimant is not working or does not earn enough to pay National Insurance. The same page says you should still make a claim if you choose not to take the payments, so the credits and the child's National Insurance number can still follow the award.

GOV.UK eligibility for National Insurance credits repeats the rule for tax years from 6 April 2010: a parent or guardian registered for Child Benefit for a child under 12 receives Class 3 credits automatically, even if they do not take the money. Only one credit sits on each Child Benefit claim.

GOV.UK: if the claimant does not need the credits, a husband, wife or partner can apply to transfer them, or a different family member who cares for the child can apply for Specified Adult Childcare credits.

How do you transfer the credits with form CF411A?

CF411A is HMRC's form to claim or transfer Class 3 credits for parents and carers. The GOV.UK publication page is the live starting point: apply online, or use the print-and-post form, and read the CF411A notes. This is a credits transfer. It does not, by itself, move the Child Benefit claim into the other parent's name.

1. 1
   Check both National Insurance records Each parent can check their National Insurance record to see which years already count and whether credits are missing. The service shows the record up to the start of the current tax year.
2. 2
   Confirm the Child Benefit claimant does not need the credits HMRC's manual at NIM41257 says a credit cannot go to the partner for any week in a tax year where the person awarded Child Benefit does not already have a qualifying year by other means.
3. 3
   Confirm you are the partner who lives with the claimant NIM41257 defines partner as the person who resides with the Child Benefit claimant and shares responsibility for a child under 12. The CF411A notes also say you would have been able to register for Child Benefit if your spouse, partner or civil partner had not, and that you reach State Pension age after the period you want to transfer.
4. 4
   Complete CF411A online or by post Use the online service or the print-and-post form on the GOV.UK CF411A page. The online service issues a reference number so you can track the form. Supporting evidence, if needed, must be PDF or JPEG and no more than 5MB. Postal applications go to PT Operations North East England, HM Revenue and Customs, BX9 1AN — the address printed on the current form.
5. 5
   Apply within the usual window — or explain a late application See the time-limit section below. If the window has passed, the CF411A notes still tell you to send the form and give the reason for the delay.

What is the time limit for transferring the credits?

HMRC's National Insurance manual (NIM41257) says the partner's application must be received before the end of the tax year following the tax year in which the relevant week falls, or within such further time as HMRC considers reasonable.

The CF411A notes give the same clock with a worked example: if the transfer period is the 2016 to 2017 tax year, apply before 5 April 2018. If that date has passed, the notes still say complete the form and explain why it is late. HMRC can still award the credits where the circumstances are reasonable and the transfer conditions are met.

A tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. For a week in 2025–26, the usual CF411A window ends on 5 April 2027. Confirm the current notes on the GOV.UK form page before you post or submit.

When should you change who claims Child Benefit instead?

GOV.UK — Make a claim says only one person can get Child Benefit for a child, and that whoever claims is the person whose record the credits attach to. If the parent who is not working should be the claimant going forward, that is a change of who claims, not a CF411A transfer of past credits.

Which? (9 April 2021) reported HMRC figures, via a Freedom of Information request by LCP, that many couples had the higher earner as the Child Benefit claimant. That article also described contacting the Child Benefit Office to move the claim, and using CF411A to move credits. The Which? payment rates and High Income Child Benefit Charge figures in that 2021 piece are out of date — use live GOV.UK rates for 2026–27.

If you need to speak to HMRC about an existing award, the Child Benefit enquiries page lists 0300 200 3100 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) and the HMRC app as the first place to manage a claim.

Do grandparents use the same form?

No. Specified Adult Childcare credits use form CA9176. GOV.UK says those credits started on 6 April 2011. The Child Benefit recipient must not need the credits, must agree, and must countersign. Eligible family members include a parent who does not live with the child, grandparents, aunts, uncles and siblings (including half, step and adopted).

CA9176 has a later start date than CF411A: GOV.UK says wait until 31 October after the end of the tax year you want, so HMRC can see that the parent already has a qualifying year. There is only one credit per Child Benefit claim, however many children are on it.

In shortIf the Child Benefit claimant does not need the Class 3 credits, the partner they live with uses CF411A. Other relatives who provided care use CA9176. Neither form is a new-baby claim, and neither changes the published Child Benefit weekly rates.