How to find lost Child Trust Funds for free

Almost all children born in the UK between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were given an investment voucher worth between £50 and £750.

Your parents or guardians were asked to open a type of account called a Child Trust Fund, to invest the money in. If they didn’t do that, the government will have opened one for you.

Children in care will have had an account opened for them by the government.

These accounts have been earning interest over time and could be worth anything between a few hundred pounds and over £2,000, depending on your personal circumstances. 

If the bank or building society where your Child Trust Fund is held knows your details, you should get a letter around your 18th birthday to tell you how you can access it. Read the section below to find out how to track down your CTF if you didn’t get a letter.  

The money in your account is yours to manage once you’re 16, and you can withdraw from it after you turn 18.  

Even if you’ve lost contact with your parents, or have been in care, you still have the right to claim this money.  

You can find out more about your options in our guide to Child Trust Funds.

Tracking down a Child Trust Fund is free, and there are two tools you can use to find the details you need to manage or withdraw from your account.  

If you’re over 16, you can use HMRC’s Child Trust FundOpens in a new window tool to request your CTF details. You will need to know your National Insurance (NI) number.  

Your National Insurance number should be sent to you in the post just before you turn 16. If you’ve lost it, you can request a new one in the post with this formOpens in a new window If you’ve never had one, there’s information on GOV.UK about how to applyOpens in a new window for one.  

HMRC aim to give you a response within 3 weeks.  

Alternatively, you can use the form on The Share Foundation’s siteOpens in a new window You don’t need your National Insurance number, but it’s helpful if you do have it.  

You can also enter in any other details that might be helpful to track it down, like where you lived when you were born, or the names of carers.  

After you’ve found the details for your CTF, it’s up to you if you want to take all of the money out, withdraw some of the money, or move it to a different type of savings account.  

Our guide to supporting yourself financially has lots of extra information for helping you decide whether you save or invest and how to deal with your income and bills as a young person.

Once you’ve tracked down how to access your Child Trust Fund, which could take a few weeks, it usually only takes 3-5 days to receive the money in your bank account after you ask to withdraw it.  

After you withdraw all the money from your CTF, it will be closed.  

Learn more about different types of savings accounts.