How to Apply for Universal Credit Online: Step by Step

To claim, you must:

• ✓Yes: Live in the UK
• ✓Yes: Be aged 18 or over (there are some exceptions if you are 16 to 17)
• ✓Yes: Be under State Pension age
• ✓Yes: Have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments

If you live in Northern Ireland, go to Universal Credit in Northern Ireland. If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family might also need settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to get Universal Credit.

You can make a claim if you are in full-time education and you live with your partner and they are eligible for Universal Credit, or you are responsible for a child, either as a single person or as a couple.

If you live with your partner, you will both need to claim Universal Credit. You must make a joint claim for your household, even if your partner is not eligible.

For a full breakdown of eligibility rules, see our UC eligibility guide.

To apply online you will need your bank, building society or credit union account details, an email address and access to a phone. If you do not have these, you can call the Universal Credit helpline or go to a jobcentre. You will also have to prove your identity, and you will need some identity documents for this, for example your driving licence, passport, debit or credit card, or payslip or P60.

To complete your claim, you will need to give information about:

• Your housing, for example how much rent you pay
• Your earnings, for example payslips
• Your National Insurance number, if you have one
• Other benefits you get
• Any disability or health condition that affects your work
• How much you pay for childcare, if you want help with childcare costs
• Your savings and any investments

It usually takes around 5 weeks to get your first payment. Universal Credit is calculated based on your circumstances each month. These are called your assessment periods. Your first assessment period starts the day you make a claim, and you usually get your payment 7 days after each monthly assessment period ends.

• After the first payment, you will be paid on the same date of every month
• If your payment date is on a weekend or a bank holiday, you will be paid on the working day before
• You can see your monthly statement in your online account, which tells you how much Universal Credit you are going to get
• In your online account you can see when your next payment is due and how much you will get

If you live in Scotland, you can get paid once or twice a month. If you make a new claim, you will get a notification about how often you want to be paid after your first payment.

Our Universal Credit payment dates guide covers bank holidays and the months with two payments.

If you need help to pay your bills or cover other costs before you get your first Universal Credit payment, you can apply to get an advance. The amount you can get depends on your circumstances. The most you can get is the amount of your first estimated payment. You will usually pay it back automatically through your regular Universal Credit payments.

• You must usually pay back the advance within 24 months, and you usually start paying it back out of your first payment
• To apply, you can update your journal in your Universal Credit account, ask a Universal Credit contact at your local jobcentre or your work coach, or call the Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644
• You will need to explain why you need an advance, verify your identity, give bank account details for the advance and explain any money or savings you have
• You will usually find out the same day if you can get an advance
• If you cannot afford your advance repayments, you can ask for your repayments to be delayed for 3 months

If you are no longer claiming Universal Credit, you will still need to pay back your advance.

To get Universal Credit payments, you will need to accept an agreement called a claimant commitment. This is a record of what you agree to do to prepare for and look for work, and to increase your earnings if you are already working. You must do everything you agree to in your commitment or your payment could be reduced or stopped. This is called a sanction.

What you need to do depends on whether you:

• Have a health condition or are disabled
• Care for someone
• Have a child under 13
• Earn above a certain amount (the administrative earnings threshold)

The expected number of hours per week for a claimant is 35 unless a lesser number of hours applies. A lesser number can reflect caring responsibilities, a child's normal school hours or what is reasonable in light of a physical or mental impairment. If you are not able to work now but you will be able to in the future, you might need to prepare for work. This could include things like writing a CV or attending a training course.

The Secretary of State may not impose any work-related requirement on you if:

• ✓Yes: You have limited capability for work and work-related activity
• ✓Yes: You have regular and substantial caring responsibilities for a severely disabled person
• ✓Yes: You are the responsible carer for a child under the age of 1

You may need to attend regular appointments. These are usually in the jobcentre, but could also be by phone. If you miss an appointment, you will need to provide a good reason for not attending. If your reason is not accepted, you could get a sanction and your Universal Credit payment will be reduced. You need to report changes in your circumstances as soon as they happen. A delay could mean you get too little or too much Universal Credit, and you will have to pay back any money you are overpaid.

You might get an extra monthly amount if you cannot work because of a health condition, disability or long-term illness. A health professional will review your medical evidence as part of a Work Capability Assessment. You will not need to have a Work Capability Assessment if you are nearing the end of your life.

If you have a severe health condition or disability that is unlikely to change, or you are nearing the end of your life, the extra amount is £429.80 a month. If your health condition or disability is assessed as less severe or your condition may improve over time, it is £217.26 a month. There are different rules if you reported a health condition before 6 April 2026. See the LCWRA guide for how the amounts work.

If a medical professional has said you are nearing the end of life, you will not need a claimant commitment and you will not get a sanction. You will continue getting any other benefits you already receive, such as Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Carer's Allowance.

If you live with your partner, you will both need to claim Universal Credit. You must make a joint claim for your household, even if your partner is not eligible. How much you can get will depend on your partner's income and savings, as well as your own.

• You will both need to create accounts, and you will link them together when you claim
• You will each have your own claimant commitment
• If you both claim Universal Credit, you will get one payment each month for your household

You can ask to have your Universal Credit paid differently if you need help managing a single monthly payment. This is called an alternative payment arrangement. It could mean your rent is paid directly to your landlord, you receive payments twice a month, or you arrange to get a separate payment from your partner. You are more likely to get one if you have experience of domestic abuse, among other things.