Bereavement Support Payment
A plain-English guide to the two rates and who gets each, the eligibility rules, the 3-month deadline for the full amount, and how to fill in and post the DWP claim form BSP1. United Kingdom.
This is the same official BSP1 file Department for Work and Pensions publishes on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.
Current version: February 2026 · confirmed on GOV.UK 23 August 2026
Bereavement Support Payment helps with the cost of a partner's death. The form is short; the part that matters is which rate you qualify for, and claiming in time — there is one early mistake that quietly costs people money.
Two rates — and which one you get
Bereavement Support Payment is paid as a one-off lump sum plus 18 monthly instalments. There are two rates, and which you get depends entirely on your circumstances at the time of death. The higher rate is not a universal amount — it is paid only where dependent children, Child Benefit, or pregnancy is involved.
Who gets it: If you have dependent children, get (or are entitled to) Child Benefit, or were pregnant when your partner died.
Who gets it: If you are under State Pension age and have no dependent children.
Bereavement Support Payment is tax-free, and is ignored for 12 months when your other means-tested benefits are worked out — so claiming it does not cut those benefits for the first year.
Who qualifies
Four conditions all have to be met at the time of death. They are about your relationship, your age, where you live, and the National Insurance record of the person who died.
Your husband, wife or civil partner died — or, since 9 February 2023, your cohabiting partner died and you had dependent children (or were pregnant) at the time.
You were under State Pension age at the date of death. At or above it, the routes are the State Pension and Pension Credit instead.
You normally live in the UK, or in a country that pays bereavement benefits or has a reciprocal agreement with the UK.
The person who died paid National Insurance for at least 25 weeks in any one tax year, OR died because of an accident at work or a disease caused by their work.
Cohabiting partners — children required
For years, Bereavement Support Payment was only for married couples and civil partners. That changed on 9 February 2023: a cohabiting partner can now claim — but only in specific circumstances.
You were living together as a couple and you had dependent children — or you were pregnant — at the time your partner died. The other eligibility rules (under State Pension age, the National Insurance condition) still apply.
You were cohabiting but had no dependent children (and were not pregnant) at the time of death. Without children, an unmarried partner does not qualify for BSP. Marriage and civil partnership remain the routes without children.
If you were cohabiting with dependent children and your partner died on or after 30 August 2018, you may be able to claim a backdated payment under the same reform. The rules here are detailed — check the current position on GOV.UK or with the Bereavement Service.
The deadline — 3 months for the full amount
There is no single cut-off, but there is a cost to waiting. The rate you qualify for never changes; what changes is how many of the 18 monthly payments you actually receive.
Claim within 3 months of the death and you get everything — the full lump sum and all 18 monthly payments.
Claim after 3 months and you still receive the lump sum (backdated up to 3 months), but you lose one monthly payment for each month you wait beyond the 3-month point.
After 21 months from the date of death you can no longer claim. Even a late claim within the window is worth making — a partial payment is better than none.
Four questions, then the rate
The eligibility rules come down to four things: your relationship, your age, whether you had dependent children, and the deceased's National Insurance record. Answer the four and the check shows whether BSP is likely to apply and which rate.
It is an indicator, not a decision. DWP makes the actual assessment, and edge cases — residency, separation, civil partnerships formed abroad — are best confirmed with the Bereavement Service.
Where eligibility is unclear, call DWP's Bereavement Service on 0800 151 2012 — free, no card, the right call.
Four questions, then the rate.
An indicator, not a decision. DWP makes the actual assessment.
Pick the options above — the result and the rate appear here.
Form BSP1 — six sections in plain English
Download the current BSP1 form from GOV.UK, or ask the Bereavement Service to post you one — it changes occasionally, so always start from the current version. The walkthrough below mirrors the form's structure as published; field labels may vary slightly. In some cases you can claim by phone instead of using the form.
About you
Your own details — the survivor making the claim.
Use your legal name (passport / driving licence). The address must be your current UK residence — DWP will write to you here.
Two letters, six digits, one letter — e.g. AB 12 34 56 C. Find it on a payslip, P60, an HMRC letter, or via the Personal Tax Account online. Without it the claim cannot be matched to your contribution record.
DWP confirms you were under State Pension age at the date your partner died. If you were at or above State Pension age at that point, BSP does not apply — the relevant routes are the State Pension and Pension Credit instead.
The lump sum and monthly instalments are paid by direct credit. Sort code, account number, account name. Joint accounts are accepted — the survivor's name on the account is sufficient.
About the person who died
The deceased's details. DWP cross-checks against HMRC's NI record to confirm the contribution condition.
As shown on the death certificate. If the deceased used a different name in their NI record (e.g. a maiden name held by HMRC), include that too in the 'other names' field.
Required. Find it on their last payslip, P60, HMRC correspondence, or by calling HMRC's NI helpline (0300 200 3500). Without it the claim is delayed — DWP cannot find their contribution record.
Exact date as on the death certificate. The country of death matters where the deceased was outside the UK at the time (residency rules apply for some claims).
Brief — 'natural causes', 'cancer', 'accident at work'. If the death was caused by an accident at work or a disease caused by work, there is an alternative eligibility route that does not require the standard 25-weeks National Insurance test. Tick the relevant box if so.
Your relationship with the person who died
BSP is paid to surviving spouses, civil partners, or — since 9 February 2023 — cohabiting partners who had dependent children (or were pregnant) at the time of death.
Three boxes. If married or in a civil partnership, attach a copy (not the original) of the marriage or civil partnership certificate. If cohabiting, you qualify only where you also had dependent children (or were pregnant) at the time of death — the post-9 February 2023 rule — and you'll need to demonstrate the relationship through utility bills, joint bank statements, or council tax records in both names.
The date on the certificate. There is no minimum length-of-relationship requirement for BSP — even a marriage shortly before death can qualify.
Legal separation does not in itself disqualify, but a finalised divorce or dissolution does. DWP may ask for the date of separation. If you and the deceased were separated but the marriage had not legally ended at the date of death, the surviving-spouse status is generally preserved.
If so, BSP entitlement ends from that date. DWP cross-checks against the General Register Office and HMRC tax records, and repayment of overpaid BSP can be enforced as a civil debt.
Your children
If you had dependent children at the time of death (or were pregnant), you qualify for the higher rate — and, if cohabiting, you qualify at all.
Include all children in your household for whom you get Child Benefit (or would be entitled to claim it). Step-children, adopted children, and children in formal kinship arrangements all count.
Child Benefit eligibility is the standard test for the higher rate. If you have opted out of Child Benefit (e.g. because of the High Income Child Benefit Charge), tick 'entitled to but not claiming' — you remain eligible for the higher rate.
If you were pregnant when your partner died, the higher rate can apply — and a cohabiting partner can qualify at all on this basis, even with no other dependent children. Tick the box and give the expected date.
A child remains a 'dependent child' for BSP up to age 20 if in full-time non-advanced education (school, sixth form, college up to A-level / equivalent). University / degree-level study does not count.
Anything else they should know
Free-text section for anything that doesn't fit a box. Most claims need nothing here — but a few do.
If you lived outside the UK at the time of the claim (or when the death occurred), explain briefly. BSP rules differ by country — generally you remain eligible if you live in a country that pays bereavement benefits or with which the UK has a reciprocal agreement.
Class 2 National Insurance contributions count for BSP, the same as employee Class 1. If the deceased worked abroad for part of their life, mention it — foreign contributions may count under reciprocal agreements.
If a marriage certificate, birth certificate, or proof of cohabiting can't be produced quickly, explain why. DWP can process a claim on the information it can verify, with evidence following later. Don't hold the form back over one missing certificate — the 3-month deadline keeps running.
Declaration and signature
The legal commitment. Wrong information here can be prosecuted.
That the information is true to the best of your knowledge, and that you'll tell DWP if anything changes — you remarry, you start cohabiting, a child leaves education, you move abroad. The duty to notify continues throughout the 18-month payment period.
Wet-ink signature; printed name; today's date. The form cannot be processed unsigned.
Post it to the address printed on the BSP1 form (a Freepost / DWP Bereavement Service address — no stamp needed). Because addresses change, always use the one on the current form from GOV.UK. In some cases you can claim by phone instead.
Fill it in, field by field
Every BSP1 box explained in plain English, with the source record that fills it in for members. Your answers save to this device only — no account, no signup. Section 1 is fully live; Sections 2–5 are in active build.
About you (the claimant)
You are the surviving spouse, civil partner, or (since Feb 2025) cohabiting partner with dependent children. Most fields fill in from portal record P-05 if you have a Valoren account.
What to enclose with the form
Send photocopies — DWP cannot return original documents, and the originals are needed elsewhere (the bank, probate, other notifications). Enclose only what applies to your claim.
Post the completed, signed form to the Freepost DWP Bereavement Service address printed on the BSP1 itself — a Freepost address, so no stamp is needed. Because the address can change, always use the one on the current form from GOV.UK rather than copying it from anywhere else.
0800 151 2012 to request a form, claim by phone, or ask how to complete a section. They can clarify the process — the right call when you're stuck or eligibility is unclear.
BSP1 is one form among several.
The bereavement reference covers the rest.
Registration, the bank, probate, the insurer, the pension provider — each has its own form, deadline and tone. The free Bereavement First Steps page walks the first weeks in calm, phased order.