To claim help with childcare costs you will need to use registered and approved childcare.

Your childcare provider will need to be registered by one of the following:

• Ofsted in England - but there are different registration arrangements and these are explained below
• the Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales
• the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care
• a Health and Social Services Board or Trust in Northern Ireland

Ofsted registered childcare providers will need to be registered as follows:

• if your child is under 5, the childcare provider must be registered on the Early Years Register
• if your child is aged 5 to 7, the provider must be registered on the compulsory part of the General Childcare Register
• if your child is aged 8 or over, the provider must be registered on the voluntary part of the General Childcare Register

There will be some providers in England who do not need to register on the Early Years Register or the compulsory part of the General Childcare Register. For example, activity-based childcare such as sports clubs, or nannies because they provide care in the child's own home. They must register on the voluntary part of the General Childcare Register if they want to be eligible childcare providers for tax credits.

You should check that your provider is registered on the correct Childcare Register.

If your child is looked after by a relative

You can't usually claim tax credits for childcare provided by relatives even if they are registered or approved. A relative could be your child's parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister or step-parent.

The exception to this rule is when your child is cared for by a relative who is either:

• a registered or approved childminder caring for your child outside of the child's own home
• a childcare provider, approved under a Home Child Care Providers Scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, caring for your child outside of the child's own home and they also care for at least one other child who is not related to them

Childcare provided by a school in England

You can claim tax credits to help with the costs of childcare provided by a school if any of the following applies:

• your child is 3 or 4 years old and the care is provided by or under the direction of the school's governing body. This can either be on the school premises or on other premises that are included in any Ofsted inspection of the whole school
• your child is aged 5 to 15, or is 16 and disabled, and the care is provided outside of school hours by or under the direction of the school's governing body. The care must either be on the school's premises or on other premises, for example a village hall, included in any Ofsted inspection of the whole school
• your child's school uses an external childcare provider, as long as they are registered on the Early Years Register if your child is under 5 years old, on the compulsory part of General Childcare Register if your child is aged between 5 and 7, or on the voluntary part of the General Childcare Register if your child is aged 8 years old or more. You should check that the childcare provider is on the correct Register

How to find out if your childcare provider is registered or approved

You should ask to see their registration or approval certificate.
There is more information about registered and approved childcare in the leaflet 'Help with the costs of childcare'.