What free hours can I get?
England pays part of the childcare bill for most families. The rules widened twice between 2024 and 2025, so plenty of parents qualify for more than they think. Here is the shape of it.
From 9 months, working parents
Up to 30 funded hours a week from the term after your child turns nine months, if you and any partner each earn roughly the equivalent of 16 hours a week at minimum wage, and neither of you earns over £100,000.
From 2, some families
15 hours for two-year-olds whose families receive certain benefits, or who have an education, health and care plan, are looked after, or have left care.
From 3, everyone
15 hours for every three and four-year-old, whatever you earn, from the term after their third birthday, rising to 30 if you meet the working parent test.
Worth knowing before you budget
None of this is a discount voucher. It is paid to the setting at a council rate.
- Free rarely means free. The government rate often sits below what a setting charges, so many add a charge for meals, nappies or consumables. That is allowed.
- Hours are usually term time. The headline figure is spread over 38 weeks. Stretched across the whole year it is fewer hours a week.
- Not every setting offers them. Councils approve providers one by one, and a setting can cap how many funded places it takes.
- You have to claim. Apply for a code through the government childcare service and give it to the setting before the term starts.
- State school nurseries are the simplest. They deliver the entitlement free at the point of use, which is why we badge them separately in search results.
- Ask how they apply it. Two settings can take the same funded hours and leave you paying very different amounts.
Take-up across England
Registered children as a share of those the Department for Education estimates are eligible. Where take-up is low it is usually because families do not know they qualify.