Moving to Universal Credit if you've got a migration notice

Universal Credit is replacing older benefits. These are called ‘legacy benefits’. Legacy benefits are:

• Housing Benefit

• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)

• Income Support

• Child Tax Credit

• Working Tax Credit

If you get one of these legacy benefits, you’ll need to move to Universal Credit if you get a letter telling you to claim by a certain date. This is called a 'migration notice'.

You should claim Universal Credit by the date on the letter to keep getting financial support.

Most people claiming these benefits should have got a migration notice by now. This is because legacy benefits will end for most people in July 2026.

Check you’ve received a migration notice

If the letter gives a deadline for you to claim Universal Credit, it’s a ‘migration notice’. The deadline on your letter is your ‘deadline day’.

If your letter doesn’t have a deadline, it’s not a migration notice. You don’t have to claim Universal Credit unless you want to - even if the letter says you’ll have to claim Universal Credit in future. You won’t be able to go back to your old benefits after you claim. Check if you should move to Universal Credit.

Contact the DWP if you haven’t received a migration notice

Most legacy benefits will stop in July 2026. Most people getting legacy benefits should have received a migration notice by now.

Contact the DWP if you haven't received a migration notice. The DWP might eventually contact you, but it’s a good idea to speak to them as soon as you can. This is so you can move to Universal Credit without a gap in payments.

Universal Credit migration notice helpline

Telephone: 0800 169 0328

Relay UK - if you can't hear or speak on the phone, you can type what you want to say: 18001 then 0800 169 0328

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.

Access a live interpreter on the Video Relay Service if you use British Sign Language (BSL).

You can find out how to use video relay on YouTube.

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm

Calls are free from mobiles and landlines.

Claim Universal Credit by your deadline

You must claim Universal Credit by the deadline on the letter to keep getting financial support.

Your deadline day should be at least a few months after the date the notice was sent. It might be much sooner. This is because legacy benefits will end for most people in July 2026.

If you claim Universal Credit before the deadline, the DWP might pay you extra to make sure you’re not worse off than on your legacy benefit. This is called ‘transitional protection’. You can only get transitional protection if you have a migration notice. 

If you can’t claim by the deadline

If the deadline day hasn’t passed yet, you can ask the DWP to extend it. You can only ask for this before the original deadline in the letter. If the DWP agree, they’ll send you a new deadline day. 

If the deadline day has passed, you can still get transitional protection if you claim Universal Credit up to a month after the deadline. The end of the month is called the ‘final deadline’.

If you claim after the final deadline, you can still get Universal Credit - but you can’t get transitional protection.

If you need help moving on to Universal Credit, you can talk to an adviser.

If you're worried you'll be worse off on Universal Credit

If you’d get less on Universal Credit than your old benefits, you might get transitional protection. This means that you’ll get an extra amount to make up the difference - called a ‘transitional element’.

The transitional element will reduce over time. When some other parts of your Universal Credit payment increase, your transitional element will decrease by the same amount - so you’ll eventually just get what you normally would on Universal Credit. This doesn't apply to the childcare element - it won't affect your transitional element.

Transitional protection also means you might be able to get Universal Credit when you wouldn’t usually be entitled to it. If you:

• are a full-time student who wouldn’t usually get Universal Credit, you can usually get it until the end of your course

• got tax credits and have over £16,000 in savings or investments, you can get Universal Credit for up to a year - this is a type of transitional protection called a ‘transitional capital disregard’

• have reached State Pension age and get a migration notice, you can claim Universal Credit

Start your claim

If you claim Universal Credit, you’ll usually get one payment each month and you usually have to manage your claim online. 

It will usually take 5 weeks to get your first Universal Credit payment - but it could take longer. 

If you won’t have enough money to live on while you wait for your first Universal Credit payment, you can ask for an advance payment. The advance payment is a loan - you’ll have to pay it back.

When your legacy benefits will stop

Your old benefits might stop before your Universal Credit starts. When they stop depends on which benefits you get, and when you claim Universal Credit.

If you claim before the deadline from the DWP:

• tax credits stop the day before you claim Universal Credit

• Housing Benefit, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Income Support stop 2 weeks after you claim Universal Credit

If you claim Universal Credit after the deadline from the DWP:

• tax credits stop the day before the deadline from the DWP

• Housing Benefit, income-based JSA, income-related ESA and Income Support stop 2 weeks after the deadline from the DWP

You’ll only get the extra 2 week payments if you’re still eligible for the benefit. You won’t need to pay back the extra payments and they won’t affect how much Universal Credit you’ll get.

If you get any contribution-based ESA

Before moving to Universal Credit you might be getting contribution-based ESA and income-related ESA at the same time. You'll keep getting a separate payment for your contribution-based ESA once you move. Your Universal Credit payment will be reduced by the same amount to reflect this. For example, if you keep getting £100 in ESA payments, your Universal Credit will be reduced by £100.

When your Universal Credit will start

When your Universal Credit starts also depends on when you claim.

If you claim before the deadline from the DWP, your Universal Credit award starts from the day you claim. 

If you claim after the deadline from the DWP, but within a month of the deadline, your Universal Credit award starts from the original deadline day.

You’ll usually have to apply for Universal Credit online on GOV.UK. If you can't apply online, there are other ways to apply. Get started with your Universal Credit application.