How to Fill Out and Submit a UB40 Form in the UK

The UB40 card is no longer part of the UK benefits system. To claim unemployment benefit in the UK today, you apply online through GOV.UK for one of two payments administered by the Department for Work and Pensions: New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance, Universal Credit, or both together. There is no paper attendance card to collect and no form called a UB40 to fill in. Your claim lives in an online account, and a work coach at your local Jobcentre Plus tracks it from there.

Which Benefit Fits Your Situation

New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance is contribution-based. You qualify on the strength of your National Insurance record, and neither your savings nor a partner’s income affects the amount. It pays a flat weekly rate for up to 182 days, roughly six months, and then stops whether or not you’ve found work.1GOV.UK. New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance

Universal Credit is income-based and covers a wider range of circumstances: living costs, housing, childcare, and support if you have a health condition or disability. It has no fixed end date, but it is means-tested, so your household income and savings directly affect how much you receive.2GOV.UK. Universal Credit: Eligibility

If you meet the criteria for both, you can claim both. Your New Style JSA payment is then deducted from your Universal Credit, so the combined amount isn’t necessarily more than UC on its own.3nidirect. New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance The reason to bother is that New Style JSA protects your National Insurance record, which counts toward your State Pension later.

Who Qualifies

New Style JSA

You need to have worked as an employee and paid enough Class 1 National Insurance contributions in the last two to three tax years.1GOV.UK. New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance You must be 18 or over and under State Pension age, not working 16 or more hours per week, and available to start work immediately.4GOV.UK. Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Self-employed work doesn’t count toward the contribution requirement, because it produces Class 2 or Class 4 contributions rather than Class 1.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit is broader. You need to be 18 or over (with limited exceptions for 16- and 17-year-olds in specific situations such as pregnancy or caring for a child) and under State Pension age.2GOV.UK. Universal Credit: Eligibility There’s no minimum work history. You can claim whether you’re unemployed, working part-time, self-employed, or unable to work because of a health condition.

Savings matter. If you have money or investments above £16,000, you’re normally excluded from Universal Credit altogether. Savings between £6,000 and £16,000 reduce your monthly payment by £4.35 for every £250 (or part of £250) above the £6,000 threshold. Below £6,000, savings don’t affect your award at all.5GOV.UK. Universal Credit: Money, Savings and Investments

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

Gather these before you sit down, because the online form will time out if you leave it idle:

  • Your National Insurance number.
  • Bank or building society account number and sort code for payments.
  • Employment history. For New Style JSA, the last six months of employer details and dates. For Universal Credit, recent payslips and earnings information.6GOV.UK. Apply for New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
  • Housing costs if you’re claiming UC: rent amount, landlord details, or mortgage information.
  • Total value of any savings and investments, including bank accounts, ISAs, shares, or property you rent out.
  • Two identity documents for online verification. You can use any two of a valid UK passport, UK driving licence, a recent Self Assessment tax return, or a credit reference such as a phone contract or credit card.7GOV.UK. How to Verify Your Identity for Universal Credit
  • Pension statement letters if you receive a private or workplace pension.
  • Names and dates of birth of any dependents.

P45 and P60 forms from previous employers help confirm your earnings and tax history, though they aren’t always strictly required to submit the claim.8GOV.UK. Your P45, P60 and P11D Form

Applying Online

New Style JSA

The application runs through the DWP’s online service on GOV.UK. It asks for your National Insurance number, bank details, and employment details for the previous six months, including employer contact information and the dates you worked.6GOV.UK. Apply for New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Once you submit, you’ll be invited to an interview at your nearest Jobcentre Plus.

Universal Credit

Universal Credit claims also start on GOV.UK, where you create an online account. You then have 28 days from creating the account to complete and submit your claim, or you’ll have to start over. Your claim is dated from the day you submit it, not the day the account was opened, so don’t leave it sitting.9GOV.UK. Universal Credit: How to Claim

If you live with a partner, you both create separate accounts and then link them. You cannot make a single claim on your own if you’re part of a couple.9GOV.UK. Universal Credit: How to Claim

The form walks you through housing, earnings, health conditions, childcare costs, and savings. After submitting, you verify your identity online using two of the accepted documents. If the digital check fails, you’ll be asked to verify in person at your Jobcentre.

The Jobcentre Interview and Claimant Commitment

After you submit either claim, you’ll be called in for an interview at your local Jobcentre Plus. Attendance is mandatory. Miss it without a good reason and your claim stalls.10GOV.UK. Jobseeker’s Allowance Your JSA Interview

The core of the meeting is agreeing your Claimant Commitment with your work coach. This is the document that sets out what you’ll do to look for or prepare for work: job goals, registering with recruitment agencies, preparing a CV, applying for suggested vacancies, and attending training. If you’re expected to search for work full-time, the standard expectation is 35 hours of work-search activity per week.11GOV.UK. Universal Credit and Your Claimant Commitment The commitment is reviewed and updated as your circumstances change. If you have a health condition, caring responsibilities, or young children, your work-search requirements will be reduced or removed.

How Much You Get and When

For 2026/27, New Style JSA pays £75.65 per week if you’re under 25 and £95.55 per week if you’re 25 or over. The rates are flat and unaffected by savings or a partner’s earnings.12GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027 Payments run for a maximum of 182 days.1GOV.UK. New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance

The Universal Credit standard allowance for 2026/27 is:

  • Single, under 25: £338.58 per month.
  • Single, 25 or over: £424.90 per month.
  • Couple, both under 25: £528.34 per month.
  • Couple, one or both 25 or over: £666.97 per month.

Additional elements can be added on top for housing costs, children, childcare, health conditions, and caring responsibilities.12GOV.UK. Benefit and Pension Rates 2026 to 2027

Your first Universal Credit payment usually arrives about five weeks after you submit your claim. The first month is an assessment period during which DWP evaluates your circumstances, and payment follows roughly seven days after it ends.13GOV.UK. Universal Credit: How You’re Paid After that, you’re paid monthly on the same date.

Advance Payments During the Five-Week Wait

Five weeks without income is a long stretch. If you’re in financial hardship while you wait, you can request an advance payment. It can cover up to your full estimated first monthly payment and is interest-free. You repay it through automatic deductions from your future Universal Credit over a period of up to 24 months.14nidirect. Universal Credit: Advance Payments

Request the advance through your online account or at your Jobcentre appointment. Most people receive it within a few days. The repayments will trim your regular UC amount for up to two years, so borrow only what you actually need to cover the gap.

What Happens If You Don’t Comply

If you fail to meet the conditions in your Claimant Commitment without good reason, your benefit can be reduced or stopped. This is a sanction. Universal Credit sanctions fall into four levels:15GOV.UK. Universal Credit Sanctions Statistics: Background Information and Methodology

  • Lowest level: missing a work-focused interview. The sanction lasts until you attend one.
  • Low level: failing to complete a required activity such as a training course. Lasts until you complete it, plus a further 7 to 28 days depending on how many times you’ve been sanctioned in the past 12 months.
  • Medium level: failing to be available for work or attend a job interview. 28 days for a first offence, 91 days for a second within 12 months.
  • High level: refusing a job offer or leaving a job voluntarily without good reason. 91 days for a first offence, 182 days for a second within 12 months.

JSA sanctions follow a similar structure.10GOV.UK. Jobseeker’s Allowance Your JSA Interview A high-level sanction can leave you without payments for six months. If something changes and you can’t meet a requirement, tell your work coach before the deadline rather than after.

Tax Treatment

New Style JSA counts as taxable income. HMRC treats it as social security income and includes it when calculating your Income Tax liability for the year.16GOV.UK. Social Security Benefits: How Much Jobseeker’s Allowance Is Taxable Most people claiming JSA while out of work won’t earn enough in the tax year to exceed their Personal Allowance, but it matters if you go back to work partway through the year and your combined income pushes you over the threshold.

Universal Credit is exempt from Income Tax.17GOV.UK. Income Tax Status of Universal Credit You don’t report it on a Self Assessment return, and it won’t affect your tax code.

Challenging a Decision

If your claim is refused or you disagree with the amount awarded, the first step is a mandatory reconsideration. You have one month from the date on the decision letter to request one. For Universal Credit, you can submit the request through your online account by writing a message headed “Request for revision” and explaining what you think is wrong. Alternatively, you can use the CRMR1 form or call the DWP using the number on your decision letter.18Citizens Advice. Challenging a Benefit Decision – Mandatory Reconsideration

Include your full name, National Insurance number, and a clear explanation of what you believe DWP got wrong. If you need to collect supporting evidence such as payslips or a GP letter, let them know and aim to send it within a month of your reconsideration request.

If the mandatory reconsideration doesn’t change the decision, you can appeal to an independent tribunal. Submit an SSCS1 appeal form to HM Courts and Tribunals Service within one month of receiving the mandatory reconsideration notice. Tribunal hearings can take several months to schedule, so start gathering evidence early. If the tribunal finds in your favour, any payments you were owed are backdated to when you should have received them.