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Access Universal Credit
Learn if you can apply for benefits and how to start.
Introduction to 'Access Universal Credit'
If you need help with your living costs, you might be able to claim Universal Credit (UC).
In this lesson, we’ll help you work out if you can apply for UC and help you to get started online. We’ll also share tips and tools to help you with your claim.
What you'll learn
- What Universal Credit is and how it can help.
- How to find out if someone is eligible.
- Tools and resources that may help.
- How to apply online.
How long it takes
12 minutes
What is Universal Credit?
Chapter 1
How long it takes
2 minutes
What does Universal Credit do?
If you have low or no income, Universal Credit may be able to help. It replaces other benefits and tax credits by bringing them into one place. With it, you get a monthly payment to help with the cost of living. If you’re in Scotland or Northern Ireland, this may be twice a month.
Universal Credit replaces these benefits:
Child tax credit
To help pay for the costs of any children you’re responsible for.
Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA)
To help with costs when you’re unemployed and looking for work.
Income-based Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
To help with living costs while you can't work. This may be due to a disability or health condition that affects how much you can work.
Housing Benefit
To help pay for rent.
Income support
If the money you earn doesn’t cover your living costs.
Working Tax Credit
To support with day-to-day expenses.
Be aware
If you’re getting any of these benefits, you don’t need to apply for UC unless your circumstances change or you get a ‘Migration Notice’ letter that tells you to claim it.
When you claim Universal Credit, you’ll stop getting these benefits.
Claim all your benefits in one place
Universal Credit means you can claim for these benefits in one place. The amount paid can vary from person to person. This depends on your life and employment status, so they might ask for lots of information to get your benefits. It helps the government understand your circumstances and what support they can offer you.
Why claim?
There are lots of reasons why you might claim. You might not be able to work. Maybe you’re recently unemployed or your wage just doesn’t cover your bills. Whatever your reason, if you’re struggling to pay for the day-to-day costs of living, you should consider applying for UC.
In the next chapter, we’ll help you check if you can apply and how to do this. First, let’s look at what you can get with this benefit.
What do you get?
You’ll get one payment for all the benefits you can claim for. They’ll pay you either monthly or twice a month.
How much you get will depend on your income and your situation. You’ll usually get a standard allowance, plus any extra amounts if, for example, you have children or a disability. They check this every month and it can change over time.
Find out more about the standard amounts and added amounts.
Check you can apply
Chapter 2
How long it takes
1 minute
How to see if you can apply
Is this you?
- You’re out of work or have low income.
- You live in the UK.
- You’re over the age of 18 (some 16 and 17 year olds are also eligible).
- You’re under the state pension age (generally this is 65 or older, but it depends on your date of birth).
- You have £16,000 or less in money, savings and investments.
Idea
Don’t know your state pension age? This page will help you work it out.
If this sounds like you
You may be able to apply for Universal Credit. If you’re unsure, there are free calculators that can help you check what you can claim for. You can find them here.
Even if you don’t answer yes to all those questions, you may still be able to claim.
There may be other factors that impact your application for Universal Credit, even if you meet the criteria. Later in this lesson, we’ll give you some useful tools and resources to check in more detail.
Idea
Do you have the Lloyds banking app? Our Benefits Calculator may help you work out whether you’re able to apply for this and other benefits.
You’ll find it in the Cost of Living Support section.
Applying online
Chapter 3
How long it takes
5 minutes
Who is applying?
For Universal Credit, you can either apply by yourself or with a partner. This will change how you apply. It also changes the standard allowance you may be able to get. Your standard allowance will be higher if you apply with a partner as they calculate you both together. You’ll also be paid in one joint payment to a single bank account.
If you’re worried about getting access to this money or your share of it, you can phone the UC helpline on 0800 328 5644.
In Northern Ireland, you can ask for this money to go into two accounts.
How to apply
Now we’re going to take you through how to apply, step by step. Select each step to find out more
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To work out how much they can give you, the Government needs quite a bit of information. It’s a good idea to get the right documents and information ready before you start.
You’ll need:
Your contact details
This is the first thing they'll ask for:
- Email address
- Phone number
- Postcode
Your National Insurance number
Find this on your online tax account or the Government website. It’s also on old documents like a P60, a payslip or letters about tax, pensions or benefits.
Details of your bank, building society or Credit Union account
You'll need this to receive your benefit payment. Applying with your partner? You'll just need one account. Our banking lessons can help you set up an account.
Details of your current living situation
This includes type, how much you pay and who your landlord is, if you have one.
Details of any savings or investments you have
This helps them work out if you can get UC, and how much you'll receive. If you're applying with someone else, list both of your savings.
Details of any income
This includes money you get from work (wages/salary or profits if you're self-employed) plus other regular income like private pensions.
Details of any other benefits you receive
They'll also as how much you receive from each of these benefits. Some of these may reduce what you can claim, but not all of them do.
The cost of child support
If you're asking for help with the cost of supporting children, you'll need to say how much you pay for childcare. You may also need the details of your childcare provider if you have one.
Details of health conditions or disabilities
You may need to provide a 'fit note' as evidence for your fitness to work. You can ask your doctor for this. Other proof might include appointment letters or prescriptions.
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If you think you can claim, go to the gov.uk website and set up an account. You can do this by clicking here. Once you create your account, you have 28 days to submit your form.
Need help with this?
Call their helpline on 0800 328 5644.
If you're applying with a partner, both of you need to set up an account. You'll then receive a code to link your accounts together.
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When you log into your account, you'll see something called a to-do list. This is a list of questions you need to answer before you can submit.
If you need to change any of your answers, you can do this at the end, but you'll need to finish your to-do first.
You should have everything you need to complete this if you've done Step 1. Again, if you need any support with your claim, you can phone the helpline on 0800 328 5644.
Finally, if you're applying with a partner, remember to link your account first. Until you do this, you might not be able to answer all the questions on your to-do list.
Be aware
You have 28 days from creating your account to submit your claim.
Plus, if you don't use the site for 30 minutes, you may need to log back in again.
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It’s important that your answers on your to-do list are correct. Before you submit, it’s best to check them one last time and update anything that doesn’t seem right.
If your details aren’t right:
They might wrongly reject your claim.
You could get less than you’re allowed.
You could get more than you’re allowed.
You’ll need to pay this extra money back.
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Life and income can change quickly. If anything changes after you've submitted your claim, log into your account as soon as possible and update it.
Any information that isn't right could mean your payments stop or go down, so always remember to update your account.
There may also be details you didn't have when you submitted your claim. For example, you might have been waiting for a fit note. So you'll need to update your account once you have the new details or documents.
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Verifying your identity just means you need to prove you are who you say you are. You can find out how to do this on the Govenment website.
If you can't do this, you can still prove who you are in person, in the next and final step of the process.
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If it’s right for your circumstances, the final step will be a phone call or appointment with a Jobcentre work coach. The work coach can help you verify your identity if you couldn’t do this online.
Before you go to this interview, you might need to do some further tasks. So it’s a good idea to check your to-do list online before your appointment. In the ‘prepare for your appointment’ section, write down the answers to the questions the work coach will need. Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll get a phone number to help you book.
In your interview, you’ll create a commitment with your work coach. This will be to do things like look and apply for jobs. It also includes admin commitments like paying rent or reporting changes in your circumstances.
After you apply
Chapter 4
How long it takes
2 minutes
How long it takes to get Universal Credit
It can take up to 5 weeks to get your first payment after you submit your claim. If you’re successful, your first payment date will always be 1 month (4 weeks) after you submit. Sometimes, it takes up to a week longer to appear in your bank account.
This is why it’s best to apply as soon as you can. Even if you can’t claim yet, but you think your situation might change. It’s easier to cancel your claim than to start from scratch when you need money fast. Bear in mind you have 28 days to submit your claim once you create an account.
If you need financial help before the first payment, you can apply for an advance online on through your work coach. You’ll need to pay this back.
How they pay you
Your payment will go into the bank, building society or credit union account you told them about. You’ll get one payment each month. If you’re applying in Scotland or Northern Ireland, this may be two payments.
This amount may include money to help pay for your housing. If so, you need to give this to your landlord. You might not get this type of help. This could be because you can’t claim for housing support. Or your payment might go straight to your landlord. Either way, they’ll make this clear to you.
Remember
If you need help with applying at any point, you can phone 0800 328 5644 or textphone 0800 328 1344.
What if you don't agree with their decision?
Think there’s a mistake with the amount they say you’ll get? You can ask them to look at it again. You can also ask for this if they’ve refused your claim.
You can:
Write a message in your UC journal.
Fill in a form.
Write a letter and send it to the address on the top of your decision letter.
Call the number on your decision letter.
Need help with this? The Citizens Advice website has advice on how to do it.
You can also get help on the Turn2Us website and their ‘chatbot’ which lets you ask questions and find out more information.
Tools and resources
Chapter 5
How long it takes
2 minutes
Help and support
Applying for benefits can seem hard, especially if you haven’t done anything like this before.
Here are some ideas and links to help you.
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Here are some links that can help:
Go to the source – Need help to get started? Go to the UK Government’s website on Universal Credit. Find it here.
Apply online – If you’re ready to start your application, you can do it here.
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The first place to go for help is the Universal Credit helpline. You can call it by phoning 0800 328 5644.
If you speak Welsh, the number is 0800 328 1744.
The textphone number is 0800 328 1344.
If you can't hear or speak on the phone
You can use the free service, Relay UK to type what you want to say.
Simply call 18001, followed by the number you want to call.
If you use British Sign Language
There is a Video relay you can use. It will call the Claim helpline directly from your device, so only use the link when you’re ready.
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Five weeks can be a long time when you’re waiting for financial support.
If you need help while you wait, you can apply for an advance.
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Ask your local council if they have a 'welfare assistance scheme' that can help you. If you don't know your local council, search by your postcode.
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Citizen’s Advice can give help from local services and trained volunteers. Call them on 03444 113 111.
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Many local councils have free in-person digital skills training. Call them, see their website or visit your local library for details. Some organisations like AbilityNet and the National Careers Service also have free training sessions.
If you need help setting started, our Digital Helpline can help. Free to use, just call us on 0345 222 0333. It’s open Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm.
You can use this service if you live in the UK or Channel Islands and you’re over 18 (or supervised by a parent or guardian if under 18).
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Call MoneyHelper on 0800 011 3797 or visit their website.
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You may be able to get food from local food banks.
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If you have low or no income and you want to apply for benefits that don't ask about savings, you can apply for the 'new style' Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) or the 'new style' Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).
These two benefits don't take into account your partner's income either.
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The Government has a full list of extra support you can get.
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There is different support for people in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Find out more here:
Want to learn more?
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Lloyds Bank Academy is committed to providing information in a way that is accessible and useful for our users. This information, however, is not in any way intended to amount to authority or advice on which reliance should be placed. You should seek professional advice as appropriate and required. Any sites, products or services named in this module are just examples of what's available. Lloyds Bank does not endorse the services they provide. The information in this module was last updated on 3rd March 2026.