Contact welcomes abolition of the two-child limit
5 mins read
Wednesday 15 April 2026
The start of the new financial year has seen several changes to the benefit system. One of these is the long-awaited removal of the “two-child limit”.
The two-child limit meant that it wasn’t possible to receive the main child element of Universal Credit for a third or subsequent child born after 6 April 2017, with some exceptions. The limit applied to Universal Credit and used to apply to Child Tax Credit as well. It has never applied to Child Benefit. It has always been possible to receive the disabled child element of Universal Credit for a third or subsequent child who receives an appropriate disability benefit, even where the main child element was not paid.
The government removed the two-child limit from 6 April 2026. All families with three or more children can now claim the main child element of £303.94pcm for all of the children they are responsible for.
What action do I need to take to get the extra payments?
If you are a Universal Credit claimant affected by the two-child limit, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will now automatically add the additional child element for each child included in your claim. Provided Universal Credit have the details of each of your children, you won’t need to take any action. Letters have been sent to claimants where Universal Credit expects to see an increase in their payments.
If you haven’t told Universal Credit about all the children you are responsible for, notify the DWP straight away. You can use the “notify of changes” section in your online Universal Credit account to add your child’s details.
When will I see an increase in my payments?
Claimants will not see the additional element, or an increase in their overall payments, until around 12 May at the earliest. The first day of a claimant’s assessment period must be within the new financial year for the changes to apply. Some claimants won’t see an increase in their payments until June.
Some examples
Nigel and Lubna have four children. Their two younger children were born in 2018 and 2020, and they haven’t been receiving the child element for them. Their assessment period is from the 10th to the 9th of each month, and they normally receive Universal Credit on the 16th. The first assessment period with a start date in the new financial year begins 10 April and ends 9 May. They will receive the additional child elements for their two younger children in the payment they receive on 16 May.
Monika has three children, and her youngest child was born in 2019. Her assessment period runs from the 3rd to the 2nd of each month, and she is normally paid on the 9th. Her first assessment period with a start date in the new financial year begins 3 May and ends 2 June. She will receive the additional child elements for her youngest child in the payment she receives on 9 June.
Will the new element affect the rest of my award of Universal Credit?
In some cases, the additional child element will have an impact on the other parts of your award. This means that some families won’t be better off overall even though they receive extra child payments.
Families who receive the transitional protection element
Claimants transferred to Universal Credit through the managed migration process and receive the transitional protection element may not see an immediate increase in their payments.
Any increase in other elements of Universal Credit reduces the amount of transitional protection you receive by the same amount.
For example, a claimant who receives a transitional protection element of £567.90, and has a third child element of £303.94 added to their award, will see their transitional protection element reduced to £263.96. Their overall Universal Credit payment will not increase.
However, families should gain in the longer term. While transitional protection erodes over time, the additional child elements will remain in place and increase with inflation.
Families subject to the benefit cap
Unfortunately the benefit cap is not being removed. This limits the total amount of benefit that some households can receive.
The cap covers a wide range of benefits and includes Child Benefit as well as Universal Credit. There are exemptions to the benefit cap though, including:
- Where someone in the household is in receipt of a disability benefit (either a child or a parent).
- Where someone in the household is working and earning above £881 per month.
This means that most families with a disabled child are exempt from the benefit cap.
However, if you are not exempt, you may not gain at all if you are already over the cap before you get an extra child payment. You may also find that any increase you get is limited by the cap, so that you don’t receive the full payment you’d otherwise get.
I have three children and my youngest child gets Disability Living Allowance (DLA). I don’t get any elements for them. Will they now get a disabled child element as well as the main child element?
You should already have been receiving the disabled child element for your youngest child in your award of Universal Credit. The two-child limit only applied to the main child element, and you will always have been eligible for the disabled child element.
As long as you gave Universal Credit the details of your youngest child, you can ask for the disabled child element to be backdated. Visit our webpage about Backdating of the disabled child addition and carer element of Universal Credit for more detailed information.