Moving to Universal Credit if you've got a migration notice

You’ll have to move to Universal Credit when you get a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) telling you to claim by a certain date - this is a 'migration notice'.

If you get a migration notice, you should claim Universal Credit by the date on the letter to keep getting financial support.

If you haven’t had a migration notice, you might still choose to move to Universal Credit if:

• you’ll be better off on Universal Credit compared to your legacy benefits

• one of your legacy benefits has stopped because your situation has changed - for example, if you’ve separated from a partner or moved to a different council area

Check if you should move to Universal Credit from a legacy benefit.

Check you’ve received a migration notice

If the letter gives a deadline for you to claim Universal Credit, it’s a ‘migration notice’. The deadline on your letter is your ‘deadline day’.

If your letter doesn’t have a deadline, it’s not a migration notice. You don’t have to claim Universal Credit unless you want to - even if the letter says you’ll have to claim Universal Credit in future. You won’t be able to go back to your old benefits after you claim. Check if you should move to Universal Credit.

If you get tax credits

If you get Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits, you should have been sent a migration notice. This is because tax credits are ending on 5 April 2025. If you haven’t received a notice, you can talk to an adviser.

If you’re told your tax credits are ending and you’re over State Pension age

If you’ve reached State Pension age and get Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits, you might get a ‘tax credit closure notice’. This is a letter from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) or the DWP telling you that your tax credits will end. The letter isn't a migration notice - it won't say you need to move onto Universal Credit.

You might be able to apply for Pension Credit instead if you’re not already getting it. Check if you can get Pension Credit.

Claim Universal Credit by your deadline

You must claim Universal Credit by the deadline on the letter to keep getting financial support. Your deadline day should usually be at least 3 months after the date the notice was sent. 

If you claim Universal Credit before the deadline, the DWP might pay you extra to make sure you’re not worse off than on your legacy benefit. This is called ‘transitional protection’. You can only get transitional protection if you have a migration notice. 

If you get tax credits, your deadline day will be no later than 6 April 2025, even if that’s less than 3 months from the date on your notice. This is because tax credits are ending on 5 April 2025.

If you can’t claim by the deadline

If the deadline day hasn’t passed yet, you can ask the DWP to extend it. You can only ask for this before the original deadline in the letter. If the DWP agree, they’ll send you a new deadline day. 

If the deadline day has passed, you can still get transitional protection if you claim Universal Credit up to a month after the deadline. The end of the month is called the ‘final deadline’.

If you claim after the final deadline, you can still get Universal Credit - but you can’t get transitional protection.

If you need help moving on to Universal Credit, you can talk to an adviser.

If you're worried you'll be worse off on Universal Credit

If you’d get less on Universal Credit than your old benefits, you’ll might get transitional protection. This means that you’ll get an extra amount to make up the difference - called a ‘transitional element’.

The transitional element will reduce over time. When some other parts of your Universal Credit payment increase, your transitional element will decrease by the same amount - so you’ll eventually just get what you normally would on Universal Credit. This doesn't apply to the childcare element - it won't affect your transitional element.

• are a full-time student who wouldn’t usually get Universal Credit, you can usually get it until the end of your course

• get tax credits and have over £16,000 in savings or investments, you can get Universal Credit for up to a year - this is a type of transitional protection called a ‘transitional capital disregard’

• have reached State Pension age and get a migration notice, you can claim Universal Credit

Start your claim

If you claim Universal Credit, you’ll usually get one payment each month and you usually have to manage your claim online. 

It will usually take 5 weeks to get your first Universal Credit payment - but it could take longer. 

If you won’t have enough money to live on while you wait for your first Universal Credit payment, you can ask for an advance payment. The advance payment is a loan - you’ll have to pay it back.

When your legacy benefits will stop

Your old benefits might stop before your Universal Credit starts. When they stop depends on which benefits you get, and when you claim Universal Credit.

If you claim before the deadline from the DWP:

• tax credits stop the day before you claim Universal Credit

• Housing Benefit, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Income Support stop 2 weeks after you claim Universal Credit

If you claim Universal Credit after the deadline from the DWP:

• tax credits stop the day before the deadline from the DWP

• Housing Benefit, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Income Support stop 2 weeks after the deadline from the DWP

You’ll only get the extra 2 week payments if you’re still eligible for the benefit. You won’t need to pay back the extra payments and they won’t affect how much Universal Credit you’ll get.

When your Universal Credit will start

When your Universal Credit starts also depends on when you claim.

If you claim before the deadline from the DWP, your Universal Credit award starts from the day you claim. 

If you claim after the deadline from the DWP, but within a month of the deadline, your Universal Credit award starts from the original deadline day.

You’ll usually have to apply for Universal Credit online on GOV.UK. Get started with your Universal Credit application.