Child Benefit and the Universal Credit ‘2-child Limit’ - a warning from Citizens Advice.

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01 September 2025

Citizens Advice front line staff have recently identified several clients who, because of a confusion between what Child Benefit is and what the Universal Credit ‘2-child limit’ is, have not been claiming benefits for which they have been entitled. They have lost income and fallen into financial difficulty by not claiming Child Benefit for a third child.

Below are some quick tips on separating them and signposting to expert free advice, online and in-person, that can tell you more. Don’t let a lack of understanding of these key ‘benefits’ leave you with less money in your pocket than you are entitled to.

At its simplest, almost anyone (with ‘recourse to public funds’) who looks after a child under 16 can apply for Child Benefit. Most parents (or equivalent) can apply for Child Benefit for children (‘qualifying young people’) between the ages of 16-19 also, if those young adults remain in Further Education. This is not true of every parent and every child.

For more information about Child Benefit - who can get it, how to apply, and understanding when and how its paid - go to https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit/eligibility or visit the Citizens Advice website at https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/child-benefit/ . Or just call your local Citizens Advice on 0808 2505715. For more information about Child Benefit for children over 16, specifically, go to https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-16-19 .

What is true for Child Benefit is that it doesn’t matter how many children you have. If other entitlement rules are met, you can receive Child Benefit for all your eligible children.

This is not true for the Universal Credit ‘2-child limit’. Additional payments, to the Standard Rate of Universal Credit (UC), are made to any claimant of UC depending on things like disability, age, the number of children in the family, and housing costs. But restrictions can be placed on how much.

In 2017, the ‘UC 2-child limit’ was introduced. This stopped additional payments being made for families claiming UC who, while claiming, had a third or more child(ren). For new UC claimants, the 2 payments limit began as soon as they made the UC claim. In other words, most UC claimants with children will not be given any additional ‘child element’ payments for their third child.

There are some exceptions to this rule and it is important to know what they are. For more information on the UC ‘2-child limit’ - who it applies to and what exceptions there are - go to https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-families-with-more-than-2-children-information-for-claimants . Or just call your local Citizens Advice on 0808 2505715.

Don’t be confused between the ‘UC 2-child limit’ and Child Benefit. Do make sure you claim what you are entitled to. The rules for both can get confusing but don’t be confused between each one; they are very different things. Please share this information with anyone who may benefit from it.

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