How to apply for a Best Start Grant payment

This advice applies to Scotland. See advice for See advice for England, See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Wales

You should first check that you're eligible for any of the 3 Best Start Grant payments: the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, the Early Learning Payment or the School Age Payment.

How to apply

You can apply:

online - use mygov.scot to apply online for a Best Start Grant
by phone - call 0800 182 2222, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
by post - download an application form on mygov.scot or phone Social Security Scotland and ask for one to be posted to you.

If you're a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use the contactSCOTLAND app to contact Social Security Scotland by video relay.

You can apply for more than 1 payment at the same time. For example, if you have a 4-month-old baby and a child of 2 and a half years old, you can apply for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment as well as the Early Learning Payment.

If you're applying online or by post, you only need to fill in 1 form to apply for both payments.

Scottish Child Payment

You might be able to apply for Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grant at the same time. Check if you can get Scottish Child Payment.

You won't usually need to apply for Best Start Grant Early Learning or School Age Payments if you already get Scottish Child Payment. When your child is old enough, Social Security Scotland will check if you can get an Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment. They'll do this unless you opted out of automatic checks.

Find out more about getting other benefits when you apply for Scottish Child Payment on mygov.scot.

If you missed the time limit for a Best Start Grant

If you missed the time limit for applying because you were waiting for a decision about a benefit you applied for, you might be able to make a late application. You'll need to have been awarded that benefit for at least 1 day in the application window.

If you missed the time limit because of coronavirus, you can make a late application. Social Security Scotland will check your application against your circumstances on the last day that you would normally have been eligible.

Read more about late applications for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, the Early Learning Payment or the School Age Payment.

You can get help to apply for Scottish benefits from Social Security Scotland’s local delivery service. Phone Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222 to make an appointment.

You could arrange:

a home visit
a video or phone call
a meeting in a local community centre.

A client support adviser can go through the application with you. They'll answer questions about the application and help you with any supporting information you need to provide.

You can also fill in a form to authorise someone to speak to Social Security Scotland on your behalf. This might be helpful if you feel unable to find the information you need or understand things about your application. You can download a third-party authorisation form on mygov.scot.

Get help from an advocate if you're disabled

If you’re disabled or have a health condition, you can get help from the Independent Advocacy Service with appealing a Social Security Scotland decision. The service is provided by VoiceAbility.

You can get an advocate to help you express your views, get the information you need and make decisions.

You can get an advocate by:

asking Social Security Scotland to refer you to the Independent Advocacy Service. Find out how to contact Social Security Scotland on mygov.scot
contacting VoiceAbility. Find out more on the VoiceAbility website.

You won’t be eligible for the service if you already have someone acting for you, such as an appointee or someone with a power of attorney.

Gather everything you'll need to apply

Getting all your details together will make it easier to apply.

You’ll need details of:

your National Insurance number
other benefits - the name of the other benefits that you or your partner gets
your partner - if you have a partner, you’ll need their date of birth and National Insurance number
your due date - if you’re pregnant
your children - the dates of birth of any children under 16 in your household
your bank details - the name on the account, the name of the bank, building society or credit union, the sort code, account number and the building society or credit union reference number if you have one.

Your National Insurance number

You can find your National Insurance number on a payslip or letter from HM Revenue and Customs. Call the National Insurance helpline if you can’t find it.

HM Revenue and Customs National Insurance Helpline for employees and individuals

Telephone: 0300 200 3500

Textphone: 0300 200 3519

Telephone from outside the UK: +44 191 203 7010

Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm

Saturday, 8am to 4pm

If you don’t have one, apply for a National Insurance number on GOV.UK.

If you do not have a bank account

You'll need to apply by phone or by using a paper form.

If you do not have access to a bank account, the Best Start Grant payment can be made in i-Movo vouchers. In this case, you'll need to apply on the phone or using the paper form only, not online.

Evidence you'll have to include with your application

You might not have to include any evidence with your application if Social Security Scotland can check your details from other sources. This might be the case if you've already registered for the Baby Box or you're getting Child Benefit, for example.

You might have to give some evidence depending on your circumstances. The types of evidence you might have to give include:

proof that you're pregnant - if you haven't registered for the Baby Box, such as a maternity certificate
proof that you're responsible for the child - if you do not get a benefit for the child you're applying for, such as a kinship care order
proof of residence in Scotland - if you're not on a qualifying benefit, such as a utility bill or a council tax bill
proof of housing benefit - such as a letter from a local council.

When you apply, you'll be told what evidence you need to include with your application. If you apply online or by post, the application form will tell you what you need to include. If you apply by phone, the adviser will tell you.

You can submit evidence electronically or by post. If you send your evidence through the post, you should send a copy of your evidence, not the original document.

If you've had a hard copy of the application form sent to you, it will come with a pre-paid envelope for you to use to send in your evidence. If you haven’t got a pre-paid envelope, you can phone Social Security Scotland and ask for one.

Once you've applied for a Best Start Grant payment, Social Security Scotland might contact you to ask for more evidence if they need it.

Getting someone else to apply for you

Usually if you're the person who is responsible for the child or you're pregnant, you can apply for a Best Start Grant payment. Your partner can apply as well.

For the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, if you're a parent aged 19 or under, you can choose if you want your parent or carer to apply.

If you cannot claim yourself, for example because you have a mental illness or a learning disability, you can arrange for someone else to apply for you. If you do not have a partner and you're not a parent aged 19 or under applying for the Pregnancy and Baby Payment, you can arrange for a friend or relative to do this for you.

There's a section in the application form that your friend or relative should complete to say that they're filling in the form for you.

Read our page about getting someone else to manage your affairs.

If you need more help to apply or with other issues to do with benefits, you can get advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau. Find out where to get advice.

How long will it take to get the payment

Social Security Scotland will send you a letter to let you know what they've decided (this is called a 'determination') and what you'll be paid. You should get this letter within 30 days of applying.

If you're awarded the payment

If you're going to get a Best Start Grant payment, it will be paid within 7 days of getting your Best Start Grant letter.

The money will be paid directly into your bank account if you have one. If you do not, it will be paid in the same way as you get your other benefits.

If you're going to get Best Start Foods, you will get your Best Start Foods card within 6 weeks of getting your Best Start Foods letter.

If you're paid by mistake

If you're paid by mistake and it's your fault, you'll usually have to pay back the money. Social Security Scotland might decide it was your fault if you gave them incorrect information, for example.

If Social Security Scotland made a mistake and you were paid too much money, you might not have to pay it back.

Find out how Social Security Scotland decides you have pay back an overpayment.

If Social Security Scotland made a mistake and you were not paid enough, you can ask Social Security Scotland to correct the mistake. For example, Social Security Scotland might have wrongly decided that you were not entitled to an Early Learning Payment or were only entitled to a lower rate of the Pregnancy and Baby Payment.

You do not have to formally ask Social Security Scotland to look again at the decision (called a 're-determination'). But if Social Security Scotland do not agree that they made a mistake, you'll need to ask for a re-determination.

If you're refused the payment

If Social Security Scotland decide that you're not entitled to a payment, you'll get a letter telling you the reasons for the decision.

If you do not agree with the decision, you can ask for Social Security Scotland to look at it again. This is called a 're-determination'.