Get help applying for Universal Credit

This advice applies to England

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Our Help to Claim service

Our Help to Claim service can support you in the early stages of your Universal Credit claim, from the application, through to your first payment.

Help to Claim is a dedicated service from Citizens Advice. It’s free, independent and confidential. Our trained advisers can help with things like how to gather evidence for your application or how to prepare for your work coach appointment.

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 national Help to Claim phone service:

England: 0800 144 8 444

Wales: 08000 241 220

Scotland: 0800 023 2581

Advisers are available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Call the Wales number if you’d like to speak to an Welsh language adviser.

Talk to us online

Chat lets you talk to a trained adviser online about your Universal Credit application process. Chat is usually available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. It’s not available on public holidays. If no advisers are available, the chat box won’t appear.

Talk to an adviser

If you want to chat to an adviser about any other issue, you can talk to us on our main chat page.

To connect you to the right adviser, we’ll ask you for a few details, including your postcode. Read our privacy policy to find out how we store and use your personal information.

Some ‘ad blocker’ software can stop chat working. If you use an ad blocker, make sure to add ‘citizensadvice.org.uk’ as a trusted site.

Find your nearest Citizens Advice

Enter your postcode or town to get contact details and opening hours for your nearest Citizens Advice.

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Complain about the Help to Claim service

You can use our complaints procedure if you want to complain about our Help to Claim service.