Child Trust Fund: how to find one and what happens at 18

What is a Child Trust Fund?

A Child Trust Fund is a long-term tax-free savings account for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. gov.uk says there is no tax to pay on its income or on any profit it makes, and that it does not affect any benefits. The money belongs to the child, who can only take it out at 18.

The scheme closed in 2011, so a new Child Trust Fund cannot be opened, and gov.uk says a Junior ISA can be opened instead. An existing account carries on until the money is taken out or moved. HMRC says the accounts are not held by the government but by banks, building societies and other savings providers. See Junior ISAs for the replacement scheme.

Child Trust Funds, at a glance

Children born between

2002 and 2011

1 September 2002 to 2 January 2011

Most that can be paid in each year

£9,000

Counted from the child's birthday, not the tax year

Young person can take over the account

At 16

The money can be taken out from 18

Opening a new Child Trust Fund

Not possible

The scheme closed in 2011

Who has a Child Trust Fund?

The accounts were set up for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. HMRC says that where a parent or guardian was not able to set up an account, the government opened one on the child’s behalf. HMRC’s statistics notes refer to 6.3 million accounts opened, a figure published in 2012. The oldest children on the scheme turned 18 in September 2020, which is when accounts began to mature.

The government also paid money in. HMRC describes an initial government deposit of at least £250. The amounts are set in regulation 7 of the Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004 and varied with a child’s date of birth and circumstances. The initial payment ranged from £250 to £277 for most children and was £500 or more for a child in local authority care, but it fell to £50, or £100 for a child in care, for children who became eligible from August 2010.

Some children in lower income families also received a supplementary payment. gov.uk says payments made by the government do not count towards the yearly limit, apart from payments made by a local council to a child in care. gov.uk has a separate page on accounts for children in care, which says who manages them and when the child can take over.

How do you find a lost Child Trust Fund?

gov.uk says to contact the provider directly if you know who the account is with, and that a parent or guardian may know. Otherwise HMRC has a free tool that finds the provider where the account was originally opened. It will not say how much is in the account, and it cannot find a Junior ISA. The table shows who can use it and what gov.uk says they need. To trace an adult ISA instead, see how to find a lost ISA.

The form has to be completed in one go, because it cannot be saved and returned to. HMRC’s form gives the option to submit the request online or to print and post it. HMRC replies by letter with the provider’s details. gov.uk says this usually arrives within 3 weeks of HMRC getting an online request, and that postal requests take longer. If there is no response within 6 weeks, gov.uk says you can write to HMRC and include the reference number if you have one.

gov.uk adds that other free services can also find a provider, and its page links to one. HMRC also publishes a list of approved Child Trust Fund providers. It shows which are still active and, for those that are not, where their accounts were transferred.

Can you still pay into a Child Trust Fund?

Yes, into an existing one. gov.uk says anyone can pay money into a Child Trust Fund account, and that the most that can go in is £9,000 a year. The year starts on the child’s birthday and ends the day before their next birthday, so it is not the tax year. A limit left unused cannot be carried over to the next year, and no more money can be added once the account matures at 18.

gov.uk says that for stakeholder accounts money can be added by cheque, standing order or direct debit, and that for savings or share accounts the provider says how.

gov.uk gives the Junior ISA limit as £9,000 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, counted by tax year. It also says the £100 limit on interest from money given by a parent does not apply to money in a Child Trust Fund. See Personal Savings Allowance.

What changes at 16 and 18?

The rules change at 16 and again at 18. The table sets out what gov.uk says at each stage.

The registered contact is the only person who can tell the provider how to invest the fund and run the account, change personal details, change the type of account (for example from cash to stocks and shares) or move the account to another provider. gov.uk says these responsibilities last until the child turns 18 or takes control of their own account. If a child is terminally ill, gov.uk says the registered contact can take money out early after telling HMRC on its terminal illness early access form.

What happens when a Child Trust Fund matures at 18?

On the 18th birthday the Child Trust Fund matures. gov.uk says the young person automatically takes over the account and no more money can be added. They can either take out the money or transfer it to an adult ISA, and the Child Trust Fund then closes. HMRC describes the choices as withdrawing the money, leaving it where it is or re-investing it.

If the young person does nothing, gov.uk says the money stays in an account that no one else has access to until they withdraw or transfer it. A Junior ISA works differently at 18: see what happens to a Junior ISA at 18.

The Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004 say what the provider does on the 18th birthday when it has no instructions. It must move the investments into a protected account with it. At the provider’s option that is either a matured CTF account, which carries on under the same terms and conditions with no more payments in, or a Cash ISA or Stocks and Shares ISA on the same terms. HMRC’s statistics show both outcomes: matured accounts continuing as Child Trust Funds, and matured accounts that providers transferred to ISAs automatically. HMRC says the rules keep the savings tax protected while the account waits for instructions.

If the young person lacks the mental capacity to manage the account when it matures, gov.uk says a parent, close friend or relative needs to apply to the Court of Protection for a financial deputyship order. In Scotland the application goes to the Office of the Public Guardian in Scotland, and in Northern Ireland to the Office of Care and Protection.

Can a Child Trust Fund move to a Junior ISA?

Yes, before the child turns 18. gov.uk says a Child Trust Fund account can be transferred to a Junior ISA, and that the Junior ISA provider is the one to contact to arrange it. A child cannot have a Child Trust Fund as well as a Junior ISA, so gov.uk says that when a Junior ISA is opened the provider is asked to transfer the trust fund into it.

HMRC’s guidance for ISA managers sets out how a transfer works:

• the whole Child Trust Fund is transferred and then closed, because part transfers cannot be made
• it can move into a cash or a Stocks and Shares Junior ISA, as investments, as cash or as a mix, depending on the terms of the two accounts
• the request comes from the registered contact, who can be the young person once they have taken over the account at 16
• a Junior ISA provider does not have to accept a transfer in of a Child Trust Fund
• the provider carries out the transfer as soon as it is requested, allowing a reasonable business period of no more than 30 days, once any cancellation period offered by the Junior ISA provider has ended

Once the transfer is made, HMRC’s guidance says the child can use the full Junior ISA limit for that tax year, whatever was paid into the Child Trust Fund in it. The Junior ISA limit is £9,000 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

12 of the 20 platforms we track offer a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA. Whether a particular provider accepts a Child Trust Fund transfer is for that provider to say. You can compare platform fees for the platforms, and see Junior ISAs for the rules and cash rates.

Can a Child Trust Fund move into an adult ISA?

Yes, from 18. gov.uk says a young person can take out the money or transfer it to an adult ISA. HMRC’s guidance for ISA managers says the holder of a matured Child Trust Fund can instruct their Child Trust Fund provider or another ISA manager to transfer the investments into a Cash ISA, a Stocks and Shares ISA, an Innovative Finance ISA or a Lifetime ISA. The holder does not have to live in the UK to do this.

A transfer made this way is disregarded for the overall ISA subscription limit, which is the £20,000 allowance for 2026/27, so it does not use that allowance. A transfer into a Lifetime ISA is subject to the Lifetime ISA payment limit instead. Investments can be transferred in kind, which HMRC calls in specie, into a Stocks and Shares ISA. See how the ISA allowance works.

The Cash ISA limit stays £20,000, after the Budget on 28 October 2026 cancelled a planned cut to £12,000 for savers aged 64 or under. See the Cash ISA limit.

How many matured Child Trust Funds are unclaimed?

HMRC’s figures show around 827,000 matured accounts still continuing as Child Trust Funds at 5 April 2026. HMRC’s press release of 23 September 2026 describes them as yet to be claimed and gives their average market value as £2,310.

Matured Child Trust Funds, HMRC figures to 5 April 2026

Matured accounts continuing as Child Trust Funds

Around 827,000

HMRC's press release calls them yet to be claimed

Their average market value

£2,310

A value on one date, not a return

Accounts matured since September 2020

Around 3.78 million

Between September 2020 and April 2026

Claimed or moved into an ISA

Around 2.96 million

Includes accounts providers transferred automatically

The figures come from HMRC’s Annual savings statistics, published on 16 September 2026, which also put the number of open Child Trust Funds at around 2.9 million. They are averages and values on one date, not returns, and an individual account can be worth more or less than the average. In April 2026 the Treasury and HMRC said HMRC would write to 21 year olds whose accounts remain unclaimed. HMRC’s next statistics are due in September 2027.

Is the money at risk?

Capital is at risk if the account holds investments, which depends on the type of account. gov.uk describes stakeholder, savings and share accounts, and says the registered contact can change the type of account, for example from cash to stocks and shares. The Child Trust Funds Regulations 2004 list the investments an account can hold, including shares, company and government securities, units in funds and cash deposits. A stakeholder account must have exposure to shares, and an account that HMRC opened for a child had to be a stakeholder account. Since 6 April 2026, cryptoasset exchange traded notes cannot be held in a Child Trust Fund, though any held before that date can stay.

The risk does not stop at 18. A matured account that is left in place continues on the same terms and conditions, so the value of any investments in it can keep changing until the money is taken out or moved. See what a Stocks and Shares ISA is for how the same risk applies once the money is in an ISA.