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How to claim the Funeral Expenses Payment from the DWP

The Funeral Expenses Payment is a DWP benefit that few families know about: it covers burial or cremation fees in full and up to £1,000 towards other funeral costs, and is available to anyone on a qualifying means-tested benefit who arranged the funeral.

It has to be claimed within 6 months of the funeral — not 6 months of the death.

This walkthrough explains who qualifies, what documents you need, and how to make the claim online, by phone, or using the paper SF200.

✓ Official source checked 24 September 2026 · GOV.UK last revised this form 20 April 2026SF200 on GOV.UK
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United KingdomInformational, not legal or financial adviceOfficial source: GOV.UK
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This is the same official SF200 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on GOV.UK — the link below fetches the current version live from GOV.UK the moment you click it, so it can never go out of date.

The button gives you Funeral Expenses Payment claim form (adult). If that is not your situation, the other official versions are listed underneath.

Current version: April 2026 · confirmed on GOV.UK 24 September 2026

This walkthrough takes SF200 field by field, in plain English. Most of the form is straightforward; the hard part is the deadline and who qualifies — the claim must be made within 6 months of the funeral (not the death), the window never moves, and you must be on a qualifying means-tested benefit on the day you claim.

The deadline runs from the funeral — and it never moves
The 6-month claim deadline runs from the date of the funeral, not the date of death, and is absolute — the DWP has no discretion to extend it.

Families who discover the payment months after the funeral, or who delay because they are waiting for probate to complete, often find themselves outside the window with no route of appeal.
The form, in summary

The SF200 form, in summary.

Valoren
SF2008 pages36 fields guided
With Valoren20 minutes
Without Valoren45–60 minutes
longer if you need to gather funeral invoices and benefit award letters
Deadline
6 monthsfrom date of funeral
— no extensions
Who Files
Funeral arrangeron qualifying
benefit at claim
£
Fee
FreeDWP pays up to
eligible amount
Filed with DWP
Legal basisStatute

The Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) is a means-tested DWP benefit that helps people on qualifying benefits meet the cost of a funeral.

It covers the full cost of a burial fee or cremation fee, necessary travel costs, the cost of moving the body within the UK if applicable, and up to £1,000 towards other funeral expenses.

The payment is recoverable from the estate if there are sufficient assets. It does not need to be repaid by the claimant personally.

If the deceased had a prepaid funeral plan, the DWP will deduct that value first.

Section by section

The form, section by section.

At a glance

Funeral Expenses Payment (SF200)

Who files
Funeral arranger
on qualifying benefit at claim
Filed with
DWP
Deadline
6 months
from date of funeral — no extensions
Fee
Free
DWP pays up to eligible amount
Who can claim — qualifying benefits and relationships
  • Qualifying benefits
  • Relationship to the deceased
  • If someone else also qualifies
  • Estates with assets
What the payment covers
  • Costs covered in full
  • Other funeral expenses — up to £1,000
  • What is deducted first
  • Prepaid funeral plans
The funeral — what details you need
  • Type of funeral
  • Date and place
  • The funeral director
Funeral costs and other payments received
  • Itemised invoice
  • The estate's assets
  • Other contributions
How to claim — online, phone, or paper SF200
  • Online claim
  • Telephone claim
  • Paper SF200
  • Supporting documents to include
Before you start, you’ll need:
  • Who Files — The person who arranged and is responsible for paying for the funeral, provided they are receiving a qualifying means-tested benefit at the time of the claim
  • 8 pages · 36 fields guided
Section 1

Who can claim — qualifying benefits and relationships

Two conditions must both be met: you must have been responsible for arranging the funeral, and you must be receiving at least one qualifying means-tested benefit on the date of the claim (not just on the date of the funeral).

Qualifying benefits

Universal Credit; Pension Credit; Income Support; income-based Jobseeker's Allowance; income-related Employment and Support Allowance; Housing Benefit; Child Tax Credit (unless you are also entitled to Working Tax Credit).

Working Tax Credit alone does not qualify.

Contribution-based or 'new-style' JSA and ESA do not qualify — only the income-based versions.

Relationship to the deceased

You do not need to be the next of kin or the executor.

The DWP will pay if you are: the partner of the deceased (married, civil partner, or cohabiting); a close relative or close friend who arranged the funeral when no partner or close relative was able to or responsible; the parent of a baby who was stillborn or died as a child.

If a closer relative exists but did not arrange the funeral, DWP may ask why.

If someone else also qualifies

Only one person can receive the payment per funeral.

If there is a closer relative who is also on qualifying benefits, the DWP will normally pay that person instead.

If there is disagreement, the DWP may decline to pay until the matter is resolved.

Estates with assets

The DWP will ask about the deceased's estate.

If there are assets that could reasonably pay for the funeral, the DWP will deduct that amount from the payment — or decline to pay at all if the estate is large enough.

Money in a joint account that passes to the surviving spouse by survivorship counts as an estate asset for this purpose.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · SF200
Section 2

What the payment covers

The Funeral Expenses Payment is structured in two parts: certain costs that are covered in full, and 'other expenses' that are capped at £1,000.

Costs covered in full

The burial fee charged by the local authority or burial authority (or the cremation fee, whichever applies); necessary documentation costs such as the death certificate (one copy); travel costs within the UK to arrange or attend the funeral (reasonable costs — not necessarily first class); the cost of transporting the body within the UK (if the body has to be moved more than 50 miles for the funeral).

Other funeral expenses — up to £1,000

Everything else — coffin, funeral director's fee, flowers, order of service, hearse, additional transport, wake costs, memorial — is capped at £1,000 in total.

If the funeral cost £4,000 and the burial fee is £600, the FEP might cover £600 (burial) + £1,000 (other expenses) = £1,600, leaving a gap of £2,400.

What is deducted first

Before calculating the payment, DWP deducts: any money from the deceased's estate (including insurance policies, prepaid funeral plans, and savings); any contribution from a charity or third party; the funeral director's discount if any.

The FEP covers only the shortfall.

Prepaid funeral plans

If the deceased had a prepaid funeral plan, the DWP will deduct the full value of that plan from the Funeral Expenses Payment.

If the plan covered all costs, the payment will be nil.

It is worth confirming with the funeral director exactly what the plan covered before you claim.

The Funeral Expenses Payment is structured in two parts: certain costs that are covered in full, and 'other expenses' that are capped at £1,000.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · SF200
Section 3

The funeral — what details you need

Section 3 of the SF200 asks about the funeral itself: the type, date, location, and who arranged it. Have the funeral director's invoice to hand before you start.

Type of funeral

Burial or cremation — and whether it was a private funeral arranged through a funeral director, or a local authority funeral (sometimes called a 'public health funeral' or 'council funeral').

The DWP calculates eligible costs differently depending on the type.

Date and place

The date of the funeral (this starts the 6-month clock).

The name and address of the crematorium or burial ground.

If the funeral was abroad, different rules apply — you may not be eligible, or eligible only for a proportion of the costs.

The funeral director

Name, address, and contact details.

The DWP may pay the funeral director directly (if the invoice is unpaid) or reimburse you (if you have already paid).

If the funeral director has not yet been paid, note this — it affects how DWP processes the claim.

Section 3 of the SF200 asks about the funeral itself: the type, date, location, and who arranged it. Have the funeral director's invoice to hand before you start.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · SF200
Section 4

Funeral costs and other payments received

This section requires an itemised breakdown of the funeral costs and details of any money already received toward the funeral from the estate, insurance, or third parties.

Have the invoice and any correspondence about the estate's assets ready.

Itemised invoice

The DWP needs the total funeral cost broken down into: funeral director's fees; burial or cremation fee; any other specific items.

If you only have a combined invoice, ask the funeral director to break it down — DWP needs to separate the burial/cremation fee from other costs.

The estate's assets

You must declare any assets the deceased left that could be used to pay for the funeral: savings and bank accounts (in the deceased's sole name); life insurance or endowment policies that have paid out; premium bonds; any other lump sums.

Joint accounts and assets that passed by survivorship do count.

The DWP will deduct these from the eligible amount.

Other contributions

Any money received from family members, friends, charities, or employers toward the funeral cost must be declared.

Only the remaining unpaid amount is eligible for the Funeral Expenses Payment.

This section requires an itemised breakdown of the funeral costs and details of any money already received toward the funeral from the estate, insurance, or third parties.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · SF200
Section 5

How to claim — online, phone, or paper SF200

The SF200 paper form still exists but DWP now prefers online and telephone claims. All three routes lead to the same assessment. The 6-month deadline applies regardless of which route you use.

Online claim

Claim at gov.uk/funeral-payments.

You will need your National Insurance number, details of the qualifying benefit you receive, the deceased's name and date of death, the date of the funeral, and the funeral director's details.

The online form takes approximately 25 minutes.

You will need to upload or post supporting documents separately.

Telephone claim

Call the Bereavement Service helpline on 0800 151 2012 (freephone, Monday–Friday 8am–6pm).

An adviser will take you through the same questions over the phone and can post you a claim form if you prefer paper.

This route is useful if you find online forms difficult.

Paper SF200

Download from gov.uk or request from your local Jobcentre Plus.

The paper form is identical in content to the online version.

Post the completed form with supporting documents to the address on the form.

Allow extra time for postal delivery within the 6-month window.

Supporting documents to include

A copy of the death certificate; the funeral invoice; evidence of the qualifying benefit (your most recent award letter or Universal Credit screenshot); evidence of any payments toward the funeral already made.

Do not send originals — send certified copies (or the DWP will return them).

The SF200 paper form still exists but DWP now prefers online and telephone claims. All three routes lead to the same assessment. The 6-month deadline applies regardless of which route you use.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) · SF200

Many people file SF200 themselves — that is what this walkthrough is for. If the estate behind it has stopped being simple — inheritance tax to pay, a trust, foreign assets, a dispute — Signum, Valoren’s own specialist desk, can take it on, and we say so plainly: it starts with a free intake, and if you do not need us, we will tell you. Prefer an independent adviser? STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation both keep public member directories, and neither pays Valoren a referral fee.

FAQ

SF200 questions, answered.

It is a means-tested Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefit that helps with the cost of a funeral.

It covers the burial or cremation fee in full, certain necessary travel and documentation costs, and up to £1,000 towards other funeral expenses such as the coffin, funeral director's fee and flowers.

It is not a loan you repay personally, though it is recoverable from the deceased's estate if there are assets to meet it.

Benefit amounts can change, so check current figures on gov.uk before you claim.

The person who arranged the funeral and is responsible for paying for it — you do not need to be the next of kin or the executor.

You must be receiving at least one qualifying means-tested benefit (such as Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance) on the date you make the claim.

Working Tax Credit on its own does not qualify, and only one person can be paid per funeral.

The claim must be made within 6 months of the date of the funeral — not the date of death.

This window is absolute: under the Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005, the DWP has no discretion to extend it, even if you only learned about the payment late or were waiting for probate.

Claim as soon as the funeral has taken place.

No. Applying is free, and if the claim succeeds the DWP pays up to the eligible amount either to you or directly to the funeral director.

The amount is reduced first by any estate assets, insurance payouts, prepaid funeral plan, or third-party contributions, so the payment covers only the remaining shortfall.

A copy of the death certificate, the funeral director's itemised invoice (with the burial or cremation fee shown separately from other costs), evidence of the qualifying benefit you receive (a recent award letter or Universal Credit screenshot), details of any prepaid funeral plan or insurance policy, and a note of any estate assets.

Send certified copies rather than originals.

It helps to check current figures on gov.uk before you claim, as benefit amounts can change.

Missing the 6-month window because families assume the clock starts at the death, or delay while probate is sorted out.

The deadline runs from the date of the funeral and cannot be extended.

A close second is assuming a prepaid funeral plan or insurance payout has no effect — the DWP deducts those in full first, which can reduce the payment to nil.

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Where this fits

SF200 is one form. The file behind it is the rest.

Forms are easier when the records are ready.

For SF200, that means the death certificate, the funeral director's itemised invoice (split into the burial or cremation fee and everything else), evidence of the qualifying benefit you receive, details of any prepaid funeral plan, and a note of any estate assets or insurance payouts the DWP will deduct first.

When you're ready — not before — our £179 Executor's First Hour walks you through registering the death, notifying banks and pensions, and getting probate started, in the right order. The free checklist above covers the essentials; this is for when you'd rather have a hand to hold. Executor's First Hour — £179

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)36 fieldsFree to apply — the DWP pays up to the eligible amount directly to the claimant or the funeral director20 minutes with Valoren
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