When you make a new claim for Universal Credit you will normally receive your first payment 7 days after the end of your first assessment period. You will then be paid monthly on the same date, unless your payment date falls on a weekend or Bank Holiday.

You can apply for an advance payment of your Universal Credit if you are in financial hardship while you wait for your first payment, for example, if you can’t afford to pay your rent or buy food.

You will need to pay back your advance a bit at a time from your future Universal Credit payments, or by other means if you no longer get Universal Credit, for example, from your wages or other benefit you may be getting.

If you are already receiving Universal Credit you may also be able to get ana advanceBudgeting in an emergencyAdvance to help pay for unexpectedemergency household costs, for example, buying a new cooker or for help getting a job or staying in work.

How to apply for a Universal Credit advance

You can apply for a Universal Credit advance:

• before you get your first payment
• if you are already being paid Universal Credit and have told us of a change in your circumstances that means you will be paid more Universal Credit but have not yet been paid the increased amount

To apply for a Universal Credit advance you can:

• speak to your Jobcentre Plus work coach
• apply through your online account
• call the Universal Credit helpline

Applying through your online account

Choose the ‘apply for an advance’ section to apply for an advance online through your account .

You can only apply for an advance online if you are within your first Universal Credit assessment period and you have had an interview at the jobcentre. If you have passed your first assessment period you will need to apply by calling the helpline.

When you apply for an advance online, the amount you can get will be shown on screen.

If you are part of a couple you will also be asked if your partner agrees to the advance.

Applying through your work coach or the Universal Credit helpline

If you apply for an advance by speaking to your work coach or calling the Universal Credit helpline, you (and your partner if you have one) will need to:

• explain why you need an advance
• provide bank account details where the advance should be paid (talk to your work coach if you cannot open an account)
• have had your identity checked at a jobcentre

When you’ll get a decision

You’ll get a quick decision on your advance application. You’ll usually be told the outcome on the same day.

How much you can get

You may be able to get up to 100% of your estimated Universal Credit payment.

You will need to repay an advance from future Universal Credit payments or by other means if you no longer get Universal Credit, such as from wages or other benefits you may be getting.

Cost of repayments

If you apply for an advance online you will be shown on screen the repayment amounts for different repayment periods.

If you apply by phone, the Universal Credit helpline adviser assesses whether you can afford to repay the advance. If they agree to the advance, they will tell you over the phone:

• how much you can have
• the monthly repayment amounts
• when the first repayment is due

How the advance is repaid

Deductions are made from your monthly Universal Credit payment. The first deduction is made on the day you get your first payment. You must usually pay back the advance within:

• 24 months if you apply for the advance on or after 12 April 2021 because you’ve made a new claim for Universal Credit
• 12 months if you applied for the advance before 12 April 2021 because you made a new claim for Universal Credit
• 6 months if you apply for the advance because of a change of circumstances

You can ask for your repayments to be delayed if you cannot afford them. Repayments can be delayed for:

• 3 months if the advance is for a new claim
• 1 month if the advance is for a change of circumstances

This is only allowed in exceptional circumstances.

If you are refused an advance

You might be refused an advance if you:

• have not had your identity checked at the Jobcentre
• have enough money to last until your payment of Universal Credit
• live with parents, relatives or friends
• have any final earnings or redundancy payments
• have any accessible savings

You can ask for the decision to be reconsidered but you do not have a right to appeal.

If you no longer get Universal Credit and have not paid back your advance

You will need to continue to pay back your advance, even if you stop getting Universal Credit.

If you move from Universal Credit to another benefit the deductions will usually continue from your payments until the advance is paid off.

If you move off benefits you will receive a letter telling you how much you owe. The letter will ask you to contact DWP Debt Management Contact Centre to arrange your repayments. It is important that you do not ignore this letter.

If you don’t make payment arrangements, the DWP can recover the amount you owe by either:

• contacting your employer (where you have one) to arrange for deductions to be made from your earnings
• asking an independent debt collection agency to collect this money on our behalf (you should deal directly with the independent debt collector to arrange repayment)

If you no longer get Universal Credit and cannot pay back your advance

You can contact the DWP Debt Management contact centre if you can’t afford to pay back the amount you owe.

They can help you come to an affordable arrangement to pay back your advance as well as providing:

• support with setting up monthly repayments by Direct Debit
• paying-in slips for cheque or cash payments

Get ana advanceBudgeting in an emergencyAdvance

You might be able to get a Budgeting Advance to help with:

• emergency household costs such as replacing a broken cooker
• getting a job or staying in work
• funeral costs

A Budgeting Advance is a loan, and you’ll need to repay it through your regular Universal Credit payments – your payments will be lower until you pay it back.

If you no longer get Universal Credit you will need to repay by other means, such as from wages or other benefit you may be getting.

You’ll be told how much your payments will be reduced by.

What you’ll get

FindThe outsmallest moreamount aboutyou gettingcan anborrow advanceis £100. You can get up to:

• £348 if you’re single
• £464 if you’re part of a couple
• £812 if you have children

How much you can get depends on whether you:

• can pay the loan back
• have any savings over £1,000 (we will reduce the loan amount we offer to you by £1 for every £1 you have in ansavings emergency.over the £1000 threshold)

How the Budgeting Advance is repaid

Deductions are made from your single monthly Universal Credit payment. The first deduction is made on the day you get your next payment.