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Guidance

Maternity certificate (MAT B1): guidance for health professionals

Guidance for healthcare professionals who issue form MAT B1 to verify a pregnancy and confirm the expected week of confinement.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published:
23 October 2012
Last updated:
11 April 2025
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  1. Updated guidance on MATB1 for patients living abroad.

  2. Updated Maternity certificate (form MAT B1) – guidance on completion. You can no longer add special characters.

  3. Updated Section 1 of 'Maternity certificate (MAT B1): guidance for health professionals' to add Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) to the list of benefits the MAT B1 enables a pregnant woman to claim. Updated section 4 of 'Benefits available during pregnancy – background information' to remove the requirement for health care advice to be given by a health professional and add that parents must provide certified evidence of the pregnancy or birth(s) from a medical practitioner. Medical practitioners may be asked to provide a MAT B1, or alternative certified evidence to confirm the pregnancy or birth(s).

  4. Updated 'Benefits available during pregnancy – background information' with information about Universal Credit.

  5. First published.

Documents

Maternity certificate (form MAT B1) – guidance on completion

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Benefits available during pregnancy – background information

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Details

This guidance is for doctors or registered midwives who issue maternity certificates (form MAT B1) to pregnant women to verify the pregnancy and confirm the expected week of confinement.

Information for claimants

Financial help when having a baby

Calculate your leave and pay when you have a child

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