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Access to Work claim returned: common reasons and fixes
Last checked 25 October 2026 against GOV.UK and the sources below. General information, not advice. AwardMatch is independent and not affiliated with DWP or Access to Work.
A returned claim means more weeks without the money, often while the support worker is waiting to be paid. Most returns come down to a handful of fixable problems. Here they are, with what to check before you resend.
Reasons people report claims coming back
Access to Work doesn’t publish a list of return reasons. The ones below come from Graeae’s 2026 claims guidance, checklist and visual guide, which pass on what Access to Work has told its members, and from GOV.UK.
| The claim doesn’t match the award | Graeae: “make sure your claim exactly matches the award you have been given, or else they will return it.” Check the hourly rate, the hours per week or month, and that every date is inside the award period. |
|---|---|
| Support worker details missing | Invoices need the worker’s full name, UTR, address, phone and email. A missing UTR is easy to overlook. |
| Not enough detail about the support | Each session needs its date, hours, amount and a description: “a full breakdown of the support provided”. |
| More than one month on one claim | Graeae reports that adding months to a claim slows it down. Make one claim per calendar month. |
| Support older than nine months | Graeae reports that Access to Work only pays for support in the nine months before the claim. See the nine-month limit. |
| Taxi receipts missing details | Company name and address, date and time, full pick-up and drop-off addresses with postcodes, and the cost. App-booked rides need the driver’s details. See taxi receipts. |
| Invoices or receipts not attached | GOV.UK: “You need to include any invoices or receipts requested in the claims form.” Copies are fine. |
Check before you send
Each return costs weeks. RNID’s 2026 survey found 37% of respondents waited four months or more for an Access to Work decision, so a returned claim can mean a long gap. A few minutes’ checking before you submit is worth it:
- Put the award letter next to the invoice. Rate, hours and dates should match line for line.
- Add up each week’s hours (Monday to Sunday), not just the month’s total.
- Look for sessions that overlap, or that were already claimed last month.
- Check the worker’s name, UTR, address, phone and email are all on the invoice.
- Make sure every session has a short description of the support.
- Attach every invoice and receipt the claim asks for.
AwardMatch runs these checks automatically on each month’s invoice, and marks the PDF as a draft until they pass. When a claim does come back, mark it as returned with the reason, and its sessions are freed to fix and claim again.
Questions
What should I do first when a claim is returned?
Read the reason given, fix that one thing, and check the rest of the claim against the list on this page before resending. If the reason isn’t clear, call the Access to Work helpline on 0800 121 7479 and ask exactly what needs changing.
Do I have to start a new claim?
Follow what the returned claim or letter says. Either way, keep the same sessions together for the same month, and check none of them has passed the nine-month limit while the claim was away.
Can AwardMatch tell me why my claim was returned?
No. Only Access to Work can. AwardMatch records the reason you were given, frees that month’s sessions so you can fix them, and checks the corrected invoice against the award before you resend it.
Make every month’s claim match the award. AwardMatch keeps a log of each session with sign-off on the day, checks the month against the award’s hours, rate and dates, and makes the invoice PDF. It runs in your browser and your records stay on your device. Free for one award.
Open AwardMatchSources
- Graeae: Access to Work campaign, claims process
- Graeae: Access to Work claims checklist (January 2026, PDF)
- Graeae: Access to Work claims visual guide (May 2026, PDF)
- GOV.UK: Access to Work, claiming money from your grant
- RNID: Access to Work experiences report (2026, PDF)
More guides
- Access to Work invoice template (free)
- Access to Work support worker invoice: what to include
- The nine-month limit on Access to Work claims
- Access to Work taxi receipts: what they need to show
This guide is general information, checked on 25 October 2026. It isn’t advice, and the claims process changes: check GOV.UK or call the Access to Work helpline (0800 121 7479) about your own claim. AwardMatch is independent and not affiliated with DWP or Access to Work.