Free school meals eligibility: who qualifies on Universal Credit
In England, school pupils whose family gets Universal Credit can now get free school meals with no income limit. Rules for Wales, Scotland and NI.
The short answer
In England, if you get Universal Credit your child can get free school meals at a state-funded school, whatever you earn. That has been the law since 17 August 2026, for the 2026 to 2027 school year onwards (Education Act 1996 s.512ZB(4D)). The old £7,400 a year earnings limit no longer decides who gets a meal, but it still decides which of two categories your child is in. You must apply: nothing happens automatically.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are different. Wales gives every primary pupil a free meal, Scotland every child in P1 to P5; for older children both still use an earnings test, as does Northern Ireland for every child. Pick your nation below.
Choose a nation and school year.
England: any Universal Credit award now qualifies
Section 32 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 added subsection (4D) to section 512ZB of the Education Act 1996. A pupil is eligible if they are a registered pupil at a maintained school or pupil referral unit in England and "they or their parent is in receipt of universal credit", with no earnings condition. It came into force on 17 August 2026 (SI 2026/803 reg 4). The Department for Education says the duty applies to maintained schools, academies and free schools, including school-based nurseries and maintained nursery schools (DfE guidance, updated 7 October 2026). Nursery pupils must be in full-time education, or if part time, be at school both before and after lunch. DfE also says it intends to lay further regulations extending the new duty to maintained nursery schools, so check with a nursery school directly.
Eligibility is not automatic. A claim has to be made by the pupil, a parent or another responsible adult, and the school or council has to verify it. Apply through your council's website (gov.uk: apply for free school meals). Other routes listed by DfE and gov.uk: support under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and the guarantee element of Pension Credit. Families with no recourse to public funds may also qualify: ask the school or council.
Targeted and expanded free school meals
Every eligible child gets the same meal, but schools now record one of two categories, and only one carries the wider entitlements (DfE summary):
| Entitlement | Targeted | Expanded |
|---|---|---|
| Free meal | Yes | Yes |
| Pupil premium for the school | Yes | No |
| Holiday Activities and Food programme | Yes | No |
| Extended rights to home-to-school travel | Yes | No |
| Free school milk (where the school provides milk) | Yes | No |
| Counts towards "Ever 6" disadvantage funding | Yes | No |
Targeted covers Universal Credit households with earnings of £7,400 a year or less, and households on asylum support. DfE says households on income-related ESA or the guarantee element of Pension Credit, and families with no recourse to public funds, may also be eligible for targeted free school meals. The earnings test is in regulation 4 of SI 2018/148, which is still in force: net earned income as Universal Credit counts it (for an employee, pay after Income Tax, National Insurance and pension contributions) of no more than £616.67 in the assessment period before you apply; if that fails, no more than £1,233.34 across the two most recent periods; if that fails, no more than £1,850 across the three most recent. For a couple, it is your combined earnings. Only complete assessment periods count (DfE Annex B). Expanded covers every other Universal Credit household.
Transitional protection has ended
From 1 April 2018, children who became eligible kept free meals even if the family's earnings later rose above the limit. DfE says that protection ended at the end of the 2025 to 2026 school year, and households must now meet the criteria on their current circumstances, checked each year. A child who lost free meals when protection ended still counts in the school's Ever 6 funding. If you get Universal Credit, a child who lost protected free meals qualifies again under section 512ZB(4D), but only once you apply.
Infants: reception, year 1 and year 2
Every child in reception, year 1 and year 2 at a government-funded school gets a free lunch, whatever the family earns (universal infant free school meals; s.512ZB(4A) for maintained schools). gov.uk still asks you to tell the council if you get a qualifying benefit, because the school could get extra funding, and DfE adds that a targeted child brings the wider entitlements in the table above.
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Wales
All primary school children at a state-funded (maintained) school in Wales can get a free school meal. In secondary school, a child can get one if you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related ESA, asylum support, the guarantee element of Pension Credit, or Universal Credit with household earnings of less than £7,400 a year after tax, not counting benefits. From September 2026 the Welsh Government is expanding free school meals to secondary pupils in Universal Credit households with no income limit, starting with years 7 and 8: those pupils "may be eligible", and your local authority says when you can apply. Even with a universal primary meal, checking eligibility can open the School Essentials Grant of up to £200 (gov.wales, updated 11 September 2026). The council where the school is, not where you live, assesses eligibility.
Scotland
All children in P1 to P5 at a council-run or Scottish Government-funded school get free lunches in term time, whatever your income, and so do children at council-run or funded special schools of any age. In P6 and P7 a child qualifies if you get Scottish Child Payment, or Universal Credit with monthly earned income of not more than £995, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based JSA, income-based ESA or asylum support. In secondary school the same list applies without Scottish Child Payment. A 16 to 18 year old who gets one of these benefits in their own right can claim. If you get a qualifying benefit, apply even for children in P1 to P5: it is what lets you apply for help in the school holidays (mygov.scot). Independent schools and home education are not covered.
Northern Ireland
There is no universal free school meal in Northern Ireland. A child at school or full-time pre-school qualifies if you get income-related ESA, asylum support, the guarantee element of State Pension Credit, or Universal Credit with household net earnings (after tax) of not over £15,900 a year, the threshold for the 2026 to 2027 school year (up from £15,390 in 2025 to 2026). A child with a statement of special educational needs who is designated to need a special diet also qualifies, as does a young person who gets Universal Credit in their own right (nidirect). Apply through the Education Authority.
Related help for families
- Not sure what Universal Credit you would get? Try our Universal Credit calculator, and see how earnings reduce Universal Credit.
- Claiming for a third child? Read our guide to the two-child limit in Universal Credit.
- Child Benefit is separate from free school meals: how to claim Child Benefit.
- In England, your council can help with food and other essentials through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, and may offer food vouchers to families in the school holidays (gov.uk). For bills, see help with energy bills this winter.
Frequently asked questions
Am I eligible for free school meals if I get Universal Credit?
In England, yes: since the start of the 2026 to 2027 school year every pupil at a state-funded school whose household gets Universal Credit can get free school meals, whatever your earnings. You still have to apply. Nursery children qualify only if they attend full time, or both before and after lunch, and the new Universal Credit rule does not yet cover maintained nursery schools. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules and most still use an earnings limit for older children.
Is there still a £7,400 income limit for free school meals in England?
Not for the meal itself. The £7,400 a year test stopped deciding who gets a meal at the start of the 2026 to 2027 school year. It still decides whether a child counts as "targeted" FSM, which brings pupil premium funding for the school, the Holiday Activities and Food programme, free school milk where the school provides milk, and extended home-to-school travel rights. Above it, a child gets "expanded" FSM: the meal only.
What changed for free school meals in September 2026?
In England, the law changed on 17 August 2026 so that any Universal Credit award qualifies, and transitional protection ended at the end of the 2025 to 2026 school year. Children who kept free meals only because of that protection now need to meet the current criteria. In Wales, from September 2026 pupils in years 7 and 8 on Universal Credit above £7,400 a year may be eligible.
Which children get free school meals whatever their parents earn?
In England, every child in reception, year 1 and year 2 at a state-funded school. In Wales, every primary school child at a maintained school. In Scotland, every child in P1 to P5 at a council-run or Scottish Government-funded school, and children at council-run or funded special schools. Northern Ireland has no universal scheme.
What is the earnings limit for free school meals in Scotland?
From P6 upwards, Universal Credit qualifies if your monthly earned income is not more than £995, per mygov.scot. In P6 and P7, Scottish Child Payment also qualifies on its own. Children in P1 to P5 at schools run by their local council or funded by the Scottish Government get free lunches whatever your income.
Is there a free school meals income limit in Northern Ireland?
Not for every child. If you get Universal Credit, your household's net earnings (after tax) must not be over £15,900 a year for the 2026 to 2027 school year, up from £15,390. Income-related ESA, asylum support and the guarantee element of State Pension Credit also qualify.