Get your child's DLA claim ready
Sorted gathers your details and a what-to-have-ready checklist, then links you straight to the official claim.
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children is money for a disabled or ill child under 16 who needs more looking after — or has more difficulty getting about — than other children their age. It has two parts: a care component (up to £114.60 a week) and a mobility component (up to £80.00 a week), so the most a child can get is £194.60 a week. It's tax-free, it's not means-tested, it doesn't depend on National Insurance, and it can be paid on top of other benefits — and it often unlocks extra help too. In Scotland it's Child Disability Payment instead.
DLA for children is the UK's disability benefit for under-16s. It recognises that a disabled or ill child can cost a family far more — in time, care and getting around — than raising a child without those needs, and it puts money behind that without asking about your income or savings.
Three things make it different from most benefits:
It's made up of two components — care and mobility — and a child can be awarded one or both. DLA is usually paid every 4 weeks, on a Tuesday, straight into your bank account.
Rates rose with CPI inflation from 6 April 2026. The care component has three rates and the mobility component has two:
| Rate | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Lowest — help for some of the day | £30.30 |
| Middle — frequent help or supervision day or night | £76.70 |
| Highest — help or supervision day and night | £114.60 |
| Rate | Weekly |
|---|---|
| Lower — can walk but needs help/supervision outdoors (from age 5) | £30.30 |
| Higher — can't walk, or only a short distance, or is blind/severely sight impaired (from age 3) | £80.00 |
A child can get one or both components. At the top of both that's up to £194.60 a week — around £10,119 a year, tax-free. The amount depends entirely on the level of looking after and the level of help getting about the child needs — not on your finances.
You can usually claim DLA for a child if all of these apply:
The child must usually have had these difficulties for at least 3 months and be expected to have them for at least another 6 months. The condition's label doesn't decide the award — the amount of extra help, supervision and prompting the child needs does.
There are also UK residence rules based on the child's age — broadly, a child under 6 months must have lived in Great Britain at least 13 weeks; a child aged 6 months to 3 years for at least 26 of the last 156 weeks; and a child over 3 for at least 6 of the last 12 months (different rules apply for armed-forces families, children abroad in the EU/EEA, refugees and end-of-life claims).
If your child lives in Northern Ireland, there's a separate DLA for children claimed through nidirect. The DWP DLA covered on this page is for children living in England or Wales.
If your child moves from Scotland to England or Wales, Social Security Scotland will tell you when Child Disability Payment stops — apply for DLA as soon as the child moves, or your payments could be affected.
Getting DLA for a child often opens doors to more support — this is the part families miss most:
Not sure what else you could claim? Run our free benefits check — for families with a disabled child, several streams of support often go unclaimed at once.
For the wider picture — the over-65 equivalent of DLA care needs is Attendance Allowance, and adults under State Pension age claim PIP.
DLA for children stops at 16. Most young people are then invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) instead:
Getting a confusing letter about your child's DLA or the move to PIP? Upload it and we'll explain it in plain English.
Print the DLA (Disability Living Allowance) for children claim form from GOV.UK, or call the helpline (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm; Relay UK 18001 then 0800 121 4600) and ask for a paper form. Return it within 6 weeks to keep the earliest start date — DLA cannot be backdated. In Scotland, apply for Child Disability Payment at mygov.scot instead.
Disagree with the decision? Ask for a mandatory reconsideration within one month — and free, expert help with both claims and appeals is available from Citizens Advice and the disabled-children charities listed below.
It has two parts. The care component pays £30.30 (lowest), £76.70 (middle) or £114.60 (highest) a week; the mobility component pays £30.30 (lower) or £80.00 (higher). A child can get one or both, so the most is £194.60 a week — around £10,119 a year, tax-free, paid on top of other benefits. These rates apply from 6 April 2026.
A child under 16, living in England or Wales, who because of a disability or health condition needs much more looking after than other children their age, or has difficulty getting about. They must usually have had these difficulties for 3 months and expect them to last another 6 (waived if nearing the end of life). It's not means-tested — your income, savings and work don't count. The mobility component starts at age 5 (lower) or age 3 (higher), and at 16 the child claims PIP.
Yes — in Scotland it's Child Disability Payment, run by Social Security Scotland (apply at mygov.scot/child-disability-payment), not DLA from DWP. The two components and rates broadly mirror DLA. Northern Ireland has its own DLA for children via nidirect. The DWP DLA on this page is for children in England or Wales.
DLA for children stops at 16 and the young person is usually invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) instead. DWP writes to you before the 16th birthday, and DLA carries on until the PIP claim is decided so there's no gap. PIP is assessed differently, so the result can change. In Scotland the move is from Child Disability Payment to Adult Disability Payment.
Often yes. If you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for a child who gets the middle or highest care rate of DLA, you may be able to claim Carer's Allowance — £86.45 a week in 2026/27 — on top of the child's DLA. It has an earnings limit and can affect other benefits, so run a full benefits check first, because a child's DLA can also unlock disabled-child additions in Universal Credit.
Sources: Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children · GOV.UK (overview, eligibility, rates, how to claim, when your child turns 16, end-of-life special rules: under-16 rule, care and mobility components, 3-month/6-month qualifying period, mobility age limits of 5 and 3, UK residence rules, not means-tested, no NI requirement, can't be backdated, DLA1 Child claim form, Disability Living Allowance helpline 0800 121 4600, paid every 4 weeks, move to PIP at 16, Carer's Allowance link). DWP Benefit and Pension Rates 2026/2027 (updated 16 February 2026: DLA care £30.30 / £76.70 / £114.60, mobility £30.30 (lower) / £80.00 (higher) from 6 April 2026; Carer's Allowance £86.45; Attendance Allowance £76.70 / £114.60). Scotland · Child Disability Payment, Social Security Scotland · mygov.scot/child-disability-payment. Northern Ireland · DLA for children via nidirect. Free claim help · Citizens Advice. Not affiliated with DWP, Social Security Scotland or GOV.UK. Last reviewed: 8 June 2026.
DLA for children is tax-free, ignores your income and savings, and often unlocks Carer's Allowance and Universal Credit disabled-child additions on top. One scan cross-checks DLA, Carer's Allowance, help with health costs and more — in plain English.