Contact us about a Universal Credit application
This advice applies to England. See advice for See advice for Northern Ireland, See advice for Scotland, See advice for Wales
Our Help to Claim advisers can help you with the early stages of your Universal Credit claim. You can talk to them on the phone, online over chat or using our British Sign Language (BSL) service.
Our advisers can help you:
work out if you can get Universal Credit
fill in the Universal Credit application
prepare for your first Jobcentre appointment
check your first payment is correct
You can read our online advice on Universal Credit at any time.
Call our national phone line
You can contact an adviser through our free Help to Claim phone service. Advisers are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday:
England: 0800 144 8 444
Scotland: 0800 023 2581
Wales: 08000 241 220
Call the Wales number if you’d like to speak to a Welsh language adviser.
Ask for a translator if you need to get advice in a different language.
Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say:
Relay UK (England): 18001 then 0800 144 8 444
Relay UK (Wales): 18001 then 08000 241 220
You can use Relay UK with an app or a textphone. There’s no extra charge to use it. Find out how to use Relay UK on the Relay UK website.
Chat to us online
You can also chat with an adviser online about your Universal Credit application. Chat is usually available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It's not available on public holidays.
You can start a chat by clicking the ‘Talk to an adviser’ button. It will be at the bottom of your screen if an adviser is available.
If there isn’t a button, this means our advisers are busy helping other people. When chat isn’t available you can try again later or call our phone line.
Use our British Sign Language service
You can also make a BSL call using Video Relay Service on your computer, tablet or mobile phone.
If you’re unhappy with the service you’ve received
You can use our complaints procedure if you want to complain about our Help to Claim service.
Read our behaviour policy
Our staff have the right to do their jobs without being treated badly - find out how we deal with unacceptable behaviour.
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