The Voucher | The Basics
The Child Trust Fund voucher is your key to opening a CTF account for your child. The voucher represents money from the government for your child, and it can only be used to open a CTF account. Once you open the account the provider will pass the details to the Inland Revenue so that the payment can go into your child's CTF account.
How to get the Voucher
All you have to do to get a voucher is claim Child Benefit for your child. Once Child Benefit has been awarded, a CTF voucher will be sent out to you automatically as long as your child is eligible.
If you have registered for Child Benefit you should automatically be sent a voucher within about a month. If you haven't received your voucher yet you can call HMRC on 0845-3021470.
Voucher validity
The details on the voucher, such as your child's date of birth and name, will be taken from the Child Benefit records.
The voucher will also include a unique reference number that identifies your child. You should note this down somewhere safe, as it will help identify your child's account if you have any questions at a later date.
The voucher is very important because the CTF account can't be opened without it. Even if you open the account over the phone or the Internet you will have to send the voucher to the provider before any money can go into the account.
The sooner you use the voucher to open an account, the sooner your child's money has the chance to grow.
If you don't open an account before the voucher expires after a year (the expiry date is printed on the voucher to remind you), the Inland Revenue will open a stakeholder CTF account for your child. You will be sent the details of the account and financial provider that has been selected.
