The disabled child element (disabled child addition) is extra Universal Credit paid for each child who gets DLA or PIP: £164.79 a month at the lower rate, or £514.71 at the higher rate (2025-26). It is added on top of your award for a child who gets a qualifying disability benefit, and it is not means-tested on its own. Disability Living Allowance for children (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are the benefits in question; in Scotland the equivalents are Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment.
The two rates and what triggers each
Which rate you get depends on which disability benefit the child holds and at what level, not on a diagnosis. The lower addition is paid where the child gets any rate of DLA care or mobility, or any rate of PIP. The higher addition is paid where the child gets the highest rate of the DLA care component, the enhanced rate of the PIP daily living component, or is registered blind or severely sight impaired.
| Rate (2025-26) | Amount per month | Child must get |
|---|---|---|
| Lower addition | £164.79 | Any rate of DLA, or any rate of PIP |
| Higher addition | £514.71 | Highest rate DLA care, enhanced PIP daily living, or registered blind / severely sight impaired |
These figures are set in the rates table in the Universal Credit Regulations and uprate every April, so always check the current-year amount on GOV.UK before you rely on a number.
It sits outside the two-child limit
Here is the part most explanations leave out. The disabled child addition is paid for each qualifying child and is exempt from the two-child limit. That matters because the standard child element is normally only paid for your first two children. The addition is different: it is paid for a third or later child even where you cannot get the standard child element for that child. So a disabled third child can still attract the addition.
You usually have to report it to get it
The addition is not always added automatically when a child's DLA or PIP is awarded. Families have been underpaid because nobody told Universal Credit about the benefit. You should:
- report the child's DLA or PIP award through your Universal Credit journal, or by calling the helpline;
- give the benefit name, the rate, and the date the award started;
- ask for the addition to be backdated if it was missed when the disability benefit was first awarded.
Backdating of a missed addition can sometimes be requested, so if you think you have gone without it for months it is worth asking. Contact, a charity for families with disabled children, has more on backdating the addition. For the wider picture, see what benefits you can claim as a parent of a SEND child, how to claim DLA and what rate of DLA you might get.
Where the law comes from
Related
This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.