Your Carer's Allowance questionnaire

This one is quicker — around 15 minutes. Carer's Allowance works differently from other benefits: it's not about describing difficulties, it's about whether you meet the rules. So these questions are mostly facts and figures.

The 35 hours includes far more than people think. It's not just hands-on care. Count time spent: helping with washing, dressing, meals, medication; shopping and cooking for them; laundry and housework because of their condition; taking them to appointments; sorting their money, letters and forms; keeping an eye on them for safety; being woken in the night; and time you spend just being there in case they need you. Most carers do far more than 35 hours and don't realise it.

Please read — Carer's Allowance can affect other money. If the person you care for gets a Severe Disability Premium, your claim can stop it, leaving the household worse off overall. There's also a strict weekly earnings limit, and going even £1 over means losing the whole payment. We check both of these before submitting anything — if claiming would leave you worse off, we'll tell you honestly and you won't be charged.

About you (the carer)

Full name Date of birth National Insurance number Address including postcode Phone number Email Your relationship to the person you care for

The person you care for

Important: they must already receive a qualifying benefit — Attendance Allowance, PIP daily living, DLA middle or higher rate care, Constant Attendance Allowance, or Armed Forces Independence Payment. If they don't have one yet, we should sort theirs first — tell us and we'll advise.

Their full name Their date of birth Their National Insurance number (if known) Their address (if different from yours) Which benefit do they receive? When did you start caring for them? Do they know you're claiming? (The DWP will write to them)

The care you provide

Tick everything you do. Be generous with yourself — carers habitually undercount, and this is the heart of the claim.

Roughly how many hours a week do you spend caring, counting everything above? Describe a typical day of caring, in your own words Does anyone else claim Carer's Allowance for this person?

Only one person can claim Carer's Allowance for the same person, even if you share the caring.

Your work and earnings

This is where claims most often fail. There's a strict weekly earnings limit after tax, National Insurance and half of any pension contributions. Earn £1 over and you get nothing for that week. Some costs can be deducted — including care costs for the person you look after while you work — so give us the full picture and we'll do the sums.

Are you working? If working, your take-home pay per week (after tax and National Insurance) Do you pay into a pension? If so, how much? Do you pay anyone to care for the person while you work? Are you in full-time education (21+ hours a week of supervised study)?

Full-time students can't get Carer's Allowance, however much caring they do.

Your other benefits and breaks

Which benefits do you currently receive?

If you get the State Pension at or above the Carer's Allowance rate, you may not be paid Carer's Allowance — but claiming can still increase other benefits through the "underlying entitlement" rules. We'll check this for you.

Have you had any breaks from caring in the last 6 months? (holidays, hospital stays — yours or theirs) Do you want to backdate your claim?

Carer's Allowance can usually be backdated up to 3 months — that's real money, so it's worth telling us when your caring really began.

Anything else?

Send your answers

We'll check your earnings against the limit, check whether claiming could reduce anyone's other benefits, and be in touch — usually within one working day. If claiming would leave the household worse off, we'll say so, and you won't be charged.

Would rather talk it through? Send what you've done and we'll do the rest together.