Form CH2 — Child Benefit claim form

What is CH2 Child Benefit claim?

Form CH2 is HM Revenue & Customs' Child Benefit claim form. You use it to start Child Benefit for a child you are responsible for — most often a newborn, but also a child who has come to live with you, an adopted child or a stepchild. The form covers two children; for a third or more you add the 'Additional children' form CH2 (CS).

Claiming matters even if you don't want the money. HMRC points out on the form that claiming protects your State Pension, because you get National Insurance credits until your child turns 12, and helps your child get their National Insurance number automatically at 16. If you or your partner earn more than the High Income Child Benefit Charge threshold, the form lets you claim but choose not to be paid. Child Benefit can only be backdated up to 3 months, so the form urges you not to delay.

HMRC says claiming online or through the HMRC app is quickest. If you need or prefer the paper route, FileIt guides you through every CH2 question, routes you past the ones that don't apply, pre-fills your details and your children's from the People in your FileIt vault, and prints your answers in capitals into HMRC's official PDF — including the CH3 address label for getting your documents back. The finished form is saved in your vault; you print it, sign it by hand and post it yourself.

Who needs to fill out CH2 Child Benefit claim?

• New parents who can't or don't want to claim online and need to claim Child Benefit for a baby.
• Someone who has become responsible for a child — a grandparent, other relative or friend the child now lives with.
• Adoptive parents and step-parents claiming for a child who lives with them.
• Families with an income over £60,000 who want to protect the non-earning parent's State Pension record without necessarily taking the payments (thresholds as printed on the 04/26 edition).
• Parents who have lived or worked abroad, or who have a partner working abroad, and need to give HMRC those details on paper.
• Anyone who already gets Child Benefit for one child and is claiming for another child.

When to use CH2 Child Benefit claim

• After a birth: register the birth first, then claim straight away — the form warns that a claim for a newborn can be delayed if the birth isn't registered.
• When a child comes to live with you, for example through adoption, a new partner's children, or a family arrangement.
• Don't wait for documents: Child Benefit can only be backdated up to 3 months, so send the claim and follow up with any missing documents.
• You only claim once per child. After that you report changes of circumstances rather than filling in the CH2 again.
• If either partner's income goes over £60,000 in any year, check each year whether the High Income Child Benefit Charge applies.

What you need before you start

• Your National Insurance number, and your partner's if you have one.
• Your full name, any previous surnames including a maiden name, date of birth, address and (if you've moved in the last 12 months) your previous address.
• Your nationality, and details of any time living or working abroad, immigration status or benefits from another country.
• Your partner's name, date of birth, nationality and employment status, if you live with a partner.
• Each child's full name, sex and date of birth, and whether their birth was registered in England, Wales or Scotland.
• The birth certificate's 9-digit system number, or district number, year and entry number, where applicable.
• Original documents if needed: a birth certificate for births registered in Northern Ireland or abroad, an overseas adoption certificate, and the passport or travel documents for a child born outside the UK.
• Details of any other person who has claimed Child Benefit for the child.
• Your bank or building society account details — name of holder, sort code, account number and roll number if any.

What’s on CH2 Child Benefit claim

The 2026 edition has 9 pages. FileIt asks for it in 10 parts:

1. 1 About youClaimant
2. 1 About you — where you've lived and your statusClaimant
3. 2 About your partnerClaimant
4. 3 Children you want to claim forClaimant
5. 3 Child 1Claimant
6. 3 Child 2Claimant
7. 4 Higher income earners and 5 How you want to be paidClaimant
8. 6 Bank detailsClaimant
9. DeclarationClaimant
10. Address label (CH3) for returning your documentsClaimant

How to fill out CH2 Child Benefit claim, step by step

1 1 About you

Questions 1 to 13 cover your National Insurance number, name, any other surnames you've used, date of birth, address and whether you've lived there for more than 12 months. You're asked for a phone number (HMRC may call, but their number may not show) and your nationality as shown on your passport.

Questions 12 and 13 ask whether you've claimed Child Benefit before and whether you currently claim it; if you do, you give details of the eldest child you're entitled to it for. Write everything exactly as on your official documents; FileIt prints it in capitals as the form asks.

2 1 About you — where you've lived and your status

Question 14 asks whether you've always lived in the UK, lived in the UK and abroad, or never lived in the UK. Questions 15 to 20 are only for people who have lived abroad: whether you usually live in the UK, when you arrived, whether you are or recently were subject to immigration control, and your work status in the UK.

Questions 21 to 23 cover work or benefits from another country, HM Forces or civil service posts abroad, and your marital or civil partnership status. You count as single for Child Benefit unless you live with a partner.

3 2 About your partner

Only if you're married, in a civil partnership or living with a partner. Give their name, date of birth, National Insurance number, nationality and UK work status, and say whether they are in HM Forces or a civil servant abroad, or have worked or received benefits in another country in the last 3 months.

Question 31 asks whether your partner is entitled to Child Benefit or waiting to hear, and if so for which child.

4 3 Children you want to claim for

Say how many children you're claiming for on this form (including any on the CH2 (CS) extra pages) and which documents you're sending. Don't include children you already get Child Benefit for.

For each child you give their name, sex and date of birth, and whether the birth was registered in England, Wales or Scotland. If it was, you don't send a birth certificate — HMRC checks the birth information — but you can give the certificate's system number or district, year and entry number. You also say whether the child is your birth child, adopted child or stepchild, whether anyone has claimed for them before, whether they live with you in the UK, and when they came to live with you.

5 4 Higher income earners

Question 62 is only for households where you or your partner has an individual Adjusted Net Income over £60,000 a year (figures as printed on the 04/26 edition). Between £60,000 and £80,000 the higher earner pays a tax charge smaller than the Child Benefit; above £80,000 the charge equals the Child Benefit.

You can answer 'No' — you don't want to be paid but want to protect your State Pension — or 'Yes', accepting that a tax charge may be due. If neither of you earns over £60,000, leave question 62 blank. The form notes that the charge can be paid through Self Assessment or, since summer 2025, through a PAYE tax code.

6 5 How you want to be paid

Child Benefit is normally paid every 4 weeks into a bank or building society account. Question 63 asks whether you want weekly payments, and question 64 lists who can get them — for example a single parent, or someone who (or whose partner) receives Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit.

Question 65: if you already get Child Benefit, HMRC uses the same account and you skip the bank details.

7 6 Bank details

Give the account holder's name (yours, someone else's, or joint), the bank or building society, the 6-digit sort code and the account number (UK accounts have 8 digits), plus a building society roll number if there is one. If you don't have a suitable account, tick question 71 instead and leave the rest blank.

8 Declaration

Tick the first box if you are sending original documents (not photocopies), and tick the second to declare that your information is correct and complete and that you'll report changes. Then sign and date. The form is signed by hand on paper — FileIt leaves the signature box for your pen.

9 Address label (CH3)

If you're sending documents you want back, the last page has a CH3 address label. FileIt prints your name and address on it, splitting the postcode into the boxes as the form shows. Cut it out and include it with your claim.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Delaying the claim while you wait for documents — Child Benefit can only be backdated up to 3 months.
• Sending a birth certificate for a birth registered in England, Wales or Scotland. HMRC checks those itself; only send certificates for births registered in Northern Ireland or abroad.
• Sending photocopies. HMRC asks for originals and normally returns them within 4 weeks.
• Not claiming at all because your income is over £60,000. You can claim and choose not to be paid, which protects your State Pension and helps your child get their NI number at 16.
• Answering question 62 when neither partner earns over £60,000 — leave it blank.
• Using a nickname or leaving out a previous surname, which can slow down identity checks.
• Claiming for a newborn before registering the birth, which can delay the decision.
• Forgetting the CH2 (CS) pages when claiming for three or more children.

After you fill it out

Print the completed form, sign and date the declaration by hand, and put it in an envelope with any original documents and the CH3 label. If you don't have a pre-addressed envelope, the form gives the address: Child Benefit Office (GB), Washington, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE88 1ZD. You'll need a stamp. FileIt doesn't post or submit the claim for you.

HMRC reviews the claim, writes to tell you whether you can get Child Benefit and how much, and normally returns your documents within 4 weeks. If you didn't send all the documents needed, the decision may be delayed, but payments can still be backdated to when HMRC received your claim.

Keep the completed CH2, and later HMRC's award letter, in your FileIt vault under the child's or your own folder. Report changes of circumstances — such as a move, a new partner or a child leaving education — to HMRC rather than filling in a new CH2, and if your income rises above £60,000, check whether the High Income Child Benefit Charge applies each year.

CH2 Child Benefit claim: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69aea4fec78869bf8eb8a527/CH2_online_form.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69aeb563bde9c3f213c899ca/CH2_Notes.pdf
• Edition shown on this page: HMRC 04/26 (checked 2026-09-25).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or any government. This page explains the form in general terms and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Always read the official instructions, and check that you are using the edition the recipient accepts. Page last reviewed 2026-09-25.

Related forms

All United Kingdom forms · Every form FileIt can fill