How to Fill Out and Submit the Maternity Allowance Claim Form (MA1)

The MA1 Maternity Allowance claim form is a paper form from the Department for Work and Pensions that you complete once you have been pregnant for 26 weeks, then post to the DWP along with your original MAT B1 certificate.¹ There is no online submission route. You can download and print the form from GOV.UK, fill it in on screen and then print, or request a paper copy in the post if you cannot print at home.

Before you start writing anything on the form, do two things: check you actually qualify, and pull together the documents and dates you will need to answer every question accurately.

Check You Are Using the Right Form

MA1 is for people who have been working but do not get Statutory Maternity Pay from an employer. You qualify for up to 39 weeks of payments if you have been employed or registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, and those 26 weeks do not have to run back to back.² Employed claimants also need average gross earnings of at least £30 a week in 13 of those weeks.³

A shorter 14-week entitlement exists if you have done unpaid work for your spouse’s or civil partner’s business for at least 26 weeks in the test period and have not worked elsewhere. The same MA1 form covers that route.²

One boundary worth knowing: Maternity Allowance is not counted as a public fund for immigration purposes, so a No Recourse to Public Funds condition on your visa does not stop you claiming it if you meet the work and earnings tests.

What to Gather Before You Fill It In

Have all of this in front of you when you sit down with the form:

Your MAT B1 certificate, issued free by your midwife or doctor no more than 20 weeks before your due date. The original goes in the post with your form; photocopies are not accepted.⁴
Your National Insurance number, taken from a payslip, P60, or HMRC letter.
An employment history for the last 66 weeks: every employer’s name and the start and end dates you worked for each.¹
Your payslips or P60 covering that period, for the earnings section.
Your bank or building society sort code and account number.
An SMP1 form if an employer refused you Statutory Maternity Pay. They should have given you one explaining why; send it with your MA1.

If you are self-employed, check that your Class 2 National Insurance contributions are up to date with HMRC before you claim. The number of weeks you have paid Class 2 contributions in the 66 weeks before your due date directly affects your weekly rate.⁵

Work Out Your Test Period First

The form asks for the start and end dates of your test period, so calculate them before you begin filling anything in. The test period is the 66 weeks before the week your baby is due.⁶ Count back 66 weeks from the Saturday before your due date. GOV.UK has a test period calculator that does the arithmetic for you.

Wrong test period dates are one of the most common reasons a claim gets delayed, so check them twice. Inside that window, the DWP uses your 13 highest-earning weeks to work out your weekly rate if you are employed. Those weeks do not need to be consecutive, which is why it helps to have every payslip from the period to hand rather than just recent ones.

Filling In the Form Section by Section

Download the MA1 from GOV.UK, or ask for a paper copy by post if you cannot print.¹ The form takes you through personal details, your test period dates, your employment history, and your earnings.

Copy names and dates exactly as they appear on your payslips and MAT B1. The expected week of childbirth on your MAT B1 is the reference point for everything else in your claim, and a small mismatch between what you write and what the certificate shows can prompt a query that puts the whole file on hold.

The earnings section is the longest part. For each employer during the test period, record the weeks you worked and your gross pay. Work from your actual payslips rather than estimates. Where you had a gap between jobs, leave that period blank rather than entering zeros, which can confuse the calculation.

You will also pick your payment start date on the form. Payments can begin any time from 11 weeks before your due date up to the day after the baby is born, so choose a date that fits when you plan to stop working.¹

Sign and date the declaration at the end. An unsigned form gets sent back.

Sending the Form In

Post the completed MA1 to the address printed on the form, together with your original MAT B1 and any supporting documents such as an SMP1.¹ Use tracked or signed-for delivery. The MAT B1 is not easily replaced, and if it goes missing in the post you will be chasing your midwife for a duplicate while your claim sits untouched.

Staple or clip the form pages, the MAT B1, and any payslips or SMP1 together so nothing separates in a large mail-handling centre.

When to Send It

You can submit the MA1 as soon as you have been pregnant for 26 weeks, and there is no reason to hold off. Late claims can only be backdated by up to three months, so waiting until after the birth can cost you weeks of payments you were entitled to. Filing at 26 weeks also gives the DWP time to process the claim before payments need to start.

After You Submit

The DWP aims to decide within 20 working days.¹ You will get a letter confirming your weekly rate, your start date, and how long payments will run for. If something is missing or unclear, the DWP will contact you by phone or post first, which adds to the wait.

Once approved, payments go into your bank account every two or four weeks in arrears, at up to £194.32 a week for up to 39 weeks.⁵

Report any change in circumstances promptly, including returning to work earlier than planned, a new job, or a change of address. Send changes by post to:

DWP Maternity Allowance
Mail Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 2GL⁷

Overpayments built up through unreported changes will be recovered later, usually by deductions.

If Your Claim Is Refused

You can ask for a mandatory reconsideration, which puts your case in front of a different DWP decision-maker who reviews it from scratch. The request normally has to be made within one month of the decision date, though the DWP can accept a late request if you have a good reason such as a hospital stay.⁸ If the reconsideration still goes against you, the letter you receive will explain how to appeal to an independent tribunal.

Before you start a formal challenge, check the refusal letter carefully. If it points to a missing document or a wrong date, sending in the correction is usually faster than a reconsideration.

1
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance – How to Claim
2
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance – Eligibility
3
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance Claim Form MA1 – Easy Read
4
GOV.UK. Maternity Certificate Form MAT B1 Guidance on Completion
5
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance – What You’ll Get
6
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance Claim Form
7
GOV.UK. Maternity Allowance – Report a Change of Circumstances
8
GOV.UK. Challenge a Benefit Decision (Mandatory Reconsideration)