The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has updated the Maternity Allowance claim form (MA1) and its accompanying notes. The Test Period tables, which are crucial for claims, have also been extended and now cover the period from August 2025 to December 2027.
Claimants are required to include their Test Period dates on the form. This period is defined as the 66 weeks prior to the week the baby is expected to be born. A Test Period calculator is available to help determine these dates.
The form cannot be completed using a mobile phone or tablet; users must use a desktop or laptop computer, or print and complete it by hand. If using a computer, a PDF reader is necessary to open and fill in the form, and data can be saved if a recent version of a PDF reader is used and the form is saved to the computer.