Form CB1 — Application form for Child Benefit (Ireland)

What is CB1 Child Benefit application?

Form CB1 is the Department of Social Protection's application form for Child Benefit, the monthly payment made to parents and guardians for each child who normally lives with them and is fully supported by them. It is paid for a child under 16, or under 19 if the child is in full-time education or full-time training, or has a disability and cannot support themselves.

Most families never see the CB1. If your baby is born in Ireland and you register the birth, the Child Benefit Section sends you a claim form (which also explains how to claim online at MyWelfare.ie), and if you already get Child Benefit the new baby is added automatically. The form itself says you must fill in the CB1 and send it by post, because you cannot apply online, when your child was not born in Ireland or when their birth was not registered within three months. That makes it the form for families moving to Ireland, returning emigrants, and anyone whose child joins the household later.

The CB1 is long — 14 numbered pages, nine parts and dozens of rows of letter boxes. FileIt walks you through it question by question, shows only the parts that apply to you, pre-fills your details and your family's from the People in your FileIt vault, checks things like the IBAN and each child's age, and prints every answer in capitals, one letter per box, into the Department's own official PDF. The finished form is saved in your vault. You print it, sign it by hand and post it yourself — FileIt never sends anything to the Department.

Who needs to fill out CB1 Child Benefit application?

• Parents moving to Ireland with children who were born abroad.
• Parents of a child born outside Ireland while the family lives here, for example a baby born while the family was abroad.
• Parents whose child was born in Ireland but whose birth was not registered within three months.
• Irish citizens returning from abroad with their children.
• A father or step-father the child lives with when the child does not live with their mother or step-mother — the form says Child Benefit can then be paid to him.
• A relative or other person caring for a child who is not living with or being maintained by their parents.
• EU, EEA or UK workers in Ireland whose children still live in another country, who claim with evidence such as birth certificates.

When to use CB1 Child Benefit application

• As soon as your family arrives in Ireland, or a child comes to live with you — claims should be made within 12 months.
• When a child is born abroad and you already live in Ireland.
• When a birth in Ireland was registered more than three months after the child was born.
• When you or your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant start work in Ireland and your children live with you or elsewhere in the EU, EEA or UK.
• If more than 12 months have passed, you can still apply and ask for arrears — Part 7 is where you explain why the claim is late, and the form warns that late claims may lose payment.

What you need before you start

• Your PPS number (Personal Public Service number) and your spouse's, civil partner's or cohabitant's, if they have one.
• PPS numbers for your children — the form asks you to apply for one for a child living in Ireland before applying for Child Benefit — or their equivalent number from another country (National Insurance, PESEL, CNP or ID number).
• Dates: your date of birth, when you married, started cohabiting or separated, and when you, your partner and your children moved to Ireland.
• The countries you've lived in outside Ireland, with dates and your last address in each.
• Your address for the last two years, and your Irish Residence Permit (IRP) number if you have one.
• Details of any Child Benefit or other social protection payment you or your partner get or used to get, in Ireland or abroad, with reference numbers.
• Employer names and start dates for you and your partner.
• Your bank's name, IBAN and account holder names — or the post office you'd like to collect from, or your An Post Childcare Savings Account number.
• Birth certificates for each child (verified copies of originals, with the parents' names), plus school, crèche or GP letters confirming each child lives here.
• Where relevant: a CB2 form for each child aged 16 to 18, an HRC1 habitual residence form, and Department of Justice documents.

What’s on CB1 Child Benefit application

The 2024 edition has 16 pages. FileIt asks for it in 18 parts:

1. Part 1 Your detailsApplicant
2. Part 1 continued — Your detailsApplicant
3. Part 2 Habitual residence condition — work, birth and nationalityApplicant
4. Part 2 continued — moving to Ireland and countries you've lived inApplicant
5. Part 2 continued — Country 2Applicant
6. Part 2 continued — Country 3Applicant
7. Part 2 continued — your address history and residence permissionApplicant
8. Part 3 Payment detailsApplicant
9. Part 4 Details of your children — Child 1Applicant
10. Part 4 continued — Child 2Applicant
11. Part 4 continued — Child 3Applicant
12. Part 4 continued — your householdApplicant
13. Part 4 continued — 27 Parent or guardian of children not living with youApplicant
14. Part 4 continued — 28 Social workerApplicant
15. Part 5 Your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant's detailsApplicant
16. Part 7 Late application detailsApplicant
17. Part 8 Important information and checklistApplicant
18. Part 9 DeclarationApplicant

How to fill out CB1 Child Benefit application, step by step

1 Part 1 — Your details (questions 1 to 15)

Your PPS number, title, surname, first names, birth surname, your mother's birth surname, date of birth, address with county and Eircode, phone number and email, and your civil status: single, married, separated, divorced, widowed, cohabiting, in a civil partnership, a surviving or a former civil partner.

Question 12 asks the date your status began (married, cohabiting or separated). Questions 13 to 15 ask whether you get or used to get Child Benefit anywhere, whether you have a social insurance number from another country, and whether you receive any other social protection payment or pension, with the country and reference number. The form wants capital letters, one per box — FileIt prints them that way for you.

2 Part 2 — Habitual residence condition (questions 16 to 24)

To get Child Benefit you must meet the habitual residence condition, which the form describes as a proven close link to Ireland with the intention of staying for the foreseeable future. It applies to everyone, whatever their nationality.

You say whether you're employed or self-employed and where you work and pay social insurance, your country of birth and nationality, when you and your family moved to Ireland, whether you've lived here continuously since, and each country outside Ireland you've lived in (up to three on the form, with dates and your last address). Question 23 asks for your previous address if you haven't lived at the same one for two years, and question 24 about Irish Residence Permits and any application for refugee status or leave to remain.

3 Part 3 — Payment details

Choose one way to be paid: collect from a post office of your choice (give its name, address and Eircode), into a current, deposit or savings account at a financial institution (name, IBAN, currency and account holders' names), or into an An Post Childcare Savings Account. FileIt checks that the IBAN's check digits are valid before it prints it across the two rows of boxes.

4 Part 4 — Details of your children (questions 25 to 30)

For each child who normally lives with you and is supported by you: surname, first names, date of birth, nationality, how they're related to you, whether they live with you (and when they came here) or which country they live in, and their PPS number or equivalent. The form has space for three children; use a separate sheet for more.

Question 26 counts the children living with you aged 0 to 15 and 16 to 18. Question 27 asks for the parent or guardian any child under 19 lives with if not with you, and question 28 whether any child is adopted, fostered or not your own, with the social worker's details. Questions 29 and 30 ask whether you have legal custody of and support your children.

5 Part 5 — Your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant's details (questions 31 to 43)

If you have a spouse, civil partner or cohabitant: their PPS number, title, names, birth surname, any foreign equivalent number, date of birth, nationality, and their address only if you don't live together. Then whether they get Child Benefit or another social protection payment anywhere, and whether they are employed or self-employed, where, and since when.

6 Part 6 — Events that may affect your Child Benefit

Nothing to fill in, but worth reading: you must tell the Child Benefit Section in writing about changes such as moving house, changing bank or post office, a 16 to 18 year old leaving education, a child leaving your care, you or your child leaving the State, marrying, or your partner starting work in another EU country or the UK.

7 Part 7 — Late application details

Only if you are applying more than 12 months after the birth, the child joining your household, your family moving to Ireland, or you or your partner starting work in Ireland, and you want arrears. Explain why in the box and attach any evidence that supports your reasons.

8 Part 8 — Important information and checklist

Tick what you're enclosing: Justice documents for non-EU and non-EEA nationals, school or college letters, playschool, crèche, Garda or GP letters for younger children, the HRC1 form, CB2 forms for 16 to 18 year olds, Department of Justice documents, and birth certificates for children living in another EU or EEA state or the UK without a PPS number. Only verified copies of original certificates are accepted — bring the originals to any Department of Social Protection office to have copies verified. If some documents will follow later, say which in the box provided.

9 Part 9 — Declaration

You declare the information is true and complete and that you'll report any change in circumstances. Sign in your normal handwriting (not capital letters) and date it. The 'For official department use only' section underneath is left blank.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using the CB1 when you don't need it: if your baby was born and registered in Ireland, the Department sends you a claim or adds the baby automatically.
• Leaving out children's PPS numbers without applying for them — the form asks you to get a PPS number for a child living in Ireland before you apply.
• Posting original Department of Justice documents. The form says to keep those with you and send verified copies instead.
• Sending a translation of a birth certificate on its own; translations alone are not accepted.
• Forgetting the CB2 form for each child aged 16, 17 or 18.
• Filling in more than one payment option in Part 3 — choose one.
• Skipping Part 5 when you're married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting; FileIt won't let you generate the form until it's done.
• Signing in capital letters or forgetting to sign — the declaration needs your normal handwritten signature.

After you fill it out

Print the form from your FileIt vault, check every page, and sign and date the Part 9 declaration by hand. The CB1 is a paper form with a handwritten signature.

Post it with your supporting documents to the address printed on the form: Child Benefit Section, Department of Social Protection, St. Oliver Plunkett Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, F92 T449. The form asks you to send all certificates and documents with it to avoid delay; if something will follow later, list it in Part 8 and include your full name, present address and PPS number when you send it.

Keep the filled-in copy in your FileIt vault. The form notes that Child Benefit claims are reviewed every 12 to 18 months with forms you must return, and you must report changes such as a new address or a child leaving school in writing — having the original answers to hand makes both easier.

CB1 Child Benefit application: frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Blank form (PDF), published by Department of Social Protection (DSP): https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/application-form-child-benefit-cb1.pdf
• Official instructions and guidance: https://www.gov.ie/CB
• Edition shown on this page: Edition: February 2024 (03K 02-24) (checked 2026-09-26).

FileIt is not affiliated with or endorsed by Department of Social Protection (DSP) 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 2026-09-26.

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