Healthy Start Eligibility Calculator UK
How this calculator works
Screens common eligibility routes. Pregnant applicants under 18 can qualify without benefits. Eligible pregnancy and children aged 1–3 receive £4.25 weekly; children under one receive £8.50. Scotland uses Best Start Foods.
Use the Healthy Start Eligibility Calculator to check whether your pregnancy, children, benefits and household earnings may qualify for NHS Healthy Start. The calculator can also estimate the amount added to your Healthy Start card every four weeks.
Healthy Start operates in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has a separate Best Start Foods scheme with different age and eligibility rules.
What is NHS Healthy Start?
NHS Healthy Start helps eligible pregnant people and families with children under 4 buy specified healthy foods, milk and infant formula.
Successful applicants receive a prepaid Healthy Start card. Money is added to the card every four weeks and can be used at shops that accept Mastercard and sell qualifying products.
The scheme also provides access to free Healthy Start vitamins. The official application and current scheme information are available through the NHS Healthy Start website.
How does the Healthy Start Eligibility Calculator work?
The calculator checks pregnancy, child age, location, qualifying benefits and applicable earned-income conditions to provide an indicative result.
The estimate may consider:
- whether the applicant is more than 10 weeks pregnant
- the applicant’s age during pregnancy
- the number and ages of eligible children
- the benefits received by the household
- monthly take-home pay from employment where Universal Credit rules apply
- whether the family lives in England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland
- whether special no-recourse-to-public-funds rules may apply
The calculator does not make an application or confirm an official award. Eligibility is determined by the NHS Business Services Authority or, for Scottish applications, Social Security Scotland.
How much is Healthy Start worth?
Healthy Start provides £4.65 a week during an eligible pregnancy, £9.30 a week for each child under 1 and £4.65 a week for each child aged 1 to under 4.
| Eligible person | Weekly amount | Amount every four weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy from the 10th week | £4.65 | £18.60 |
| Child from birth to first birthday | £9.30 | £37.20 |
| Child aged 1 to under 4 | £4.65 | £18.60 |
Amounts can be combined. For example, an eligible applicant may receive money for a pregnancy and for each qualifying child already in the family.
The payment for a child normally stops after the child’s fourth birthday. Pregnancy payments begin only after the applicant reaches the qualifying stage.
Who may qualify for Healthy Start?
An applicant generally needs to be more than 10 weeks pregnant or responsible for a child under 4 and receive a qualifying means-tested benefit.
Potentially qualifying benefits include:
- Universal Credit, subject to the earned-income condition
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance in applicable pregnancy cases
- Pension Credit where the relevant child addition is included
Tax credits ended on 5 April 2025, so Child Tax Credit should not be treated as a route to a new current Healthy Start award.
Additional rules apply to immigration status, residence and responsibility for a child. Receiving a listed benefit does not establish eligibility if the pregnancy or child-age condition is not met.
What is the Universal Credit earnings limit?
A family receiving Universal Credit generally needs monthly take-home pay from employment of £408 or less to qualify for Healthy Start.
The £408 test concerns the family’s earned income from employment shown for the relevant Universal Credit assessment period. It is not the household’s total Universal Credit payment or total income from every source.
Applicants can check the figure described as take-home pay or earned income on their Universal Credit statement. Where both partners have employment earnings, the combined family figure is relevant.
| Family’s monthly take-home pay from employment | Indicative income-test result |
|---|---|
| £0 | Within the limit |
| £300 | Within the limit |
| £408 | At the limit |
| £409 | Above the limit |
| £600 | Above the limit |
Passing the £408 test does not by itself establish eligibility. The applicant must also satisfy the relevant Universal Credit, pregnancy, child, residence and application conditions.
Can someone under 18 qualify without benefits?
A pregnant person under 18 can qualify after the 10th week of pregnancy even if they do not receive a qualifying benefit.
This exception applies during the pregnancy. After the baby is born, the parent normally needs to satisfy the standard benefit and income conditions to continue receiving Healthy Start payments.
An applicant approaching their 18th birthday should apply promptly. Eligibility after turning 18 will depend on the rules applying to their benefits and household circumstances.
Illustrative Healthy Start calculation
In this illustrative example, an eligible pregnancy, one baby and one child aged 2 produce a combined Healthy Start payment of £18.60 a week.
Illustrative assumptions: the family lives in England; the applicant is more than 10 weeks pregnant; the household has an 8-month-old baby and a 2-year-old child; the family receives Universal Credit; and combined monthly take-home pay from employment is £300.
| Eligible family member | Weekly amount |
|---|---|
| Eligible pregnancy | £4.65 |
| Baby aged 8 months | £9.30 |
| Child aged 2 | £4.65 |
| Total weekly amount | £18.60 |
| Total every four weeks | £74.40 |
The amount will change when the baby reaches their first birthday, when the pregnancy ends or when the older child turns 4. Eligibility could also end if the household no longer receives a qualifying benefit or its relevant earnings rise above the limit.
What can the Healthy Start card buy?
The card can be used for specified milk, infant formula, fruit, vegetables and pulses from retailers that accept the card.
Qualifying purchases include:
- plain liquid cow’s milk
- fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables that meet the scheme conditions
- fresh, dried and tinned pulses
- infant formula based on cow’s milk and suitable from birth
The card cannot normally be used for products outside the scheme, such as follow-on formula, prepared meals, confectionery, alcohol or non-food items.
A shop does not need to register separately for Healthy Start if it accepts Mastercard and sells eligible products. The card cannot be used to withdraw cash.
Are Healthy Start vitamins included?
Eligible families can receive Healthy Start vitamins in addition to the money placed on the prepaid card.
Pregnancy vitamins generally contain folic acid and vitamins C and D. Vitamin drops for young children generally contain vitamins A, C and D.
Arrangements for collecting vitamins differ by area. Applicants should ask a midwife, health visitor, children’s centre, pharmacy or local health service where they are available.
What happens when a baby is born?
The applicant should notify Healthy Start after the birth so that the child can be added and the higher payment for a baby under 1 can begin.
The pregnancy payment does not always convert automatically into a child payment. The family may need to provide the baby’s name and date of birth.
Where eligibility during pregnancy was based only on the applicant being under 18, the household may need to satisfy the ordinary qualifying-benefit rules after the birth.
If eligibility was based on income-related Employment and Support Allowance during pregnancy, a new application may be required under another qualifying benefit after the baby is born.
Can families with no recourse to public funds qualify?
Some families who cannot claim public funds may qualify under the Healthy Start extension where they have a British child under 4 and take-home pay of £408 or less a month.
The extension generally requires the parent or guardian to have no recourse to public funds or no immigration status, be responsible for at least one British child under 4 and satisfy the financial condition.
This route does not extend to pregnancy without an eligible British child. It uses a separate application process and may require evidence of the child’s citizenship, immigration position and family earnings.
Official details are available in the Healthy Start extension guidance.
What applies in Scotland?
People living in Scotland cannot receive NHS Healthy Start and should check eligibility for Best Start Foods instead.
Best Start Foods supports eligible families during pregnancy and until a child turns 3. It is paid every four weeks onto a prepaid card.
| Best Start Foods category | Four-weekly amount |
|---|---|
| Eligible pregnancy | £22.40 |
| Child from birth to age 1 | £44.80 |
| Child aged 1 to under 3 | £22.40 |
Scottish eligibility rules and qualifying benefits differ from Healthy Start. Current information is available through the official Best Start Foods guidance.
Does Healthy Start affect other benefits?
Healthy Start payments are intended as additional food support and do not normally reduce Universal Credit or other means-tested benefits.
The card balance is restricted to qualifying Healthy Start purchases and is not ordinary earnings. Receiving Healthy Start does not prevent a family from applying for free childcare, Child Benefit or other support for which it qualifies.
Eligibility can nevertheless depend on continuing to receive a qualifying benefit. A change to Universal Credit or another passporting benefit can therefore cause Healthy Start payments to stop.
Common Healthy Start eligibility mistakes
Common mistakes include using total household income instead of Universal Credit earned income, applying Scottish rules and forgetting to add a newborn child.
- Using the full Universal Credit award as the £408 earnings figure.
- Entering gross employment pay instead of the relevant take-home-pay figure.
- Assuming Child Benefit alone qualifies the family.
- Applying before the 10th week of pregnancy.
- Assuming pregnancy eligibility continues automatically after birth.
- Leaving a newborn or another child under 4 off the application.
- Expecting payment after a child’s fourth birthday.
- Using NHS Healthy Start for a Scottish household.
- Trying to use the card for products outside the approved categories.
- Assuming the calculator submits an application.
What are the calculator’s limitations?
The calculator provides an indicative eligibility and payment estimate but cannot confirm benefit records, immigration conditions or the official start and end dates of an award.
The result may not fully account for delayed benefit information, changes between Universal Credit assessment periods, responsibility shared across households, recent births, temporary benefit awards or the separate no-recourse-to-public-funds process.
The calculator does not check a Healthy Start card balance, order a replacement card or apply for vitamins. These matters must be handled through NHS Healthy Start or the appropriate local service.
This calculator provides estimates only. Pregnancy dates, children’s ages, benefits, earned income, immigration circumstances and related reliefs differ, and the official Healthy Start decision may not match the result shown; professional welfare-rights advice may be appropriate where eligibility is uncertain.