Carer’s Allowance Application: What You’ll Need Before You Start
Before you apply — check you qualify
- • Care for someone for at least 35 hours a week
- • Don’t earn more than £204 a week after certain deductions (from 6 April 2026)
- • The person you care for receives a qualifying disability benefit (PIP daily living component, Attendance Allowance, or Armed Forces Independence Payment)
- • You’re 16 or over
- • Not in full-time education
- • Meet UK residence and immigration conditions
What you’ll need
Your own details: National Insurance number, date of birth, bank account details.
Employment details if relevant: recent payslips or a P45 if you’ve recently left work.
Details about the person you care for: full name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, and which disability benefit they receive.
How to apply
Apply online through GOV.UK, or by post using form DS700 (or DS700(SP) if you receive State Pension). Only one person can claim Carer’s Allowance for the same care recipient.
What happens after you apply
You’ll receive a decision from the Carer’s Allowance Unit. If approved, you can choose to be paid weekly in advance or every 4 weeks, and you’ll automatically receive National Insurance credits toward your State Pension.
A few things worth knowing
- • It’s taxable and can affect other benefits
- • If earnings go even £1 over the limit, you lose the full payment, not a reduced amount
- • You must report any change in circumstances that could affect your payment
Keeping your application organized
Gathering all of this — your ID details, the care recipient’s benefit information, payslips — is exactly the kind of paperwork that’s easy to lose track of. FeatherKeep keeps these details, along with your care hours and related expenses, organized in one place.