Access to Work for Self-Employed People and Freelancers

Access to Work for self-employed people is a government grant in England, Scotland and Wales that pays towards the support a disabled person needs to do their job. It is not paid back. There is a turnover test, and new businesses and freelancers have their own evidence rules. Self-employed applicants pay no cost share, so the grant can cover the whole approved cost of equipment or software.

Access to Work for self-employed people: who qualifies

You need a physical or mental health condition or disability that means you need support to do your job or to get to and from work. You also need to be 16 or over and live and work in England, Scotland or Wales. The gov.uk eligibility rules list ADHD, dyslexia, autism and mental health conditions as examples, and say you do not need a diagnosis to apply. Northern Ireland runs its own scheme, Access to Work (NI).

For Access to Work purposes, self-employment means running a business on your own account or in partnership, working for an employer on a self-employed basis, or running a franchise on a self-employed basis, and having a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) from HMRC. The Access to Work factsheet for customers says you can apply even if you pay no National Insurance, for example because the business is making a loss or you have reached State Pension age. The grant does not cover the costs of starting a business.

The turnover test

gov.uk says a self-employed applicant must have an annual turnover of at least £6,500. DWP’s Access to Work staff guide, used by case managers, sets the minimum at the National Insurance Lower Earnings Limit and gives £6,708 for 2026 to 2027, a little higher than the public page’s figure. The test is turnover, the money coming into the business, not profit. It is there to show the business is viable.

The evidence you will be asked for

• Your UTR, the ten-digit number HMRC issues for Self Assessment. The application asks for it.
• Accounts, for an established business.
• A business plan of a standard a bank or other lender would accept, for a new business.
• A UTR and a CV, for people such as performers who may not think of themselves as running a business. The CV shows the pattern of paid work.

Access to Work for self-employed people requires more paperwork than an employee’s application, where an employer confirms the job. Have it ready before you start. The case manager agrees a deadline with you, allowing extra time if your condition requires it. Your application can be closed if the documents never arrive.

New businesses and the test-trading period

A new business does not have to meet the turnover test straight away. The staff guide allows an initial 3-year period of test trading, and tells case managers that, subject to the other criteria, a new business should normally get a 3-year award. Renewal depends on the accounts:

• The award is reviewed after year 3, when the first two years’ accounts are available.
• If turnover reached the threshold within those first two years, the award can be renewed for 3 years.
• If it did not, but the business has made progress and is likely to reach it in year 3, a further 12-month award can be made.
• If turnover still falls short at that point, the award is not renewed.

An established business that dips below the threshold between annual reviews can get one further year; if it falls short again, the award ends. Someone whose self-employed award ends because the business failed the viability test cannot get another self-employed award for 5 years, unless the new business is a different type of business.

Freelancers, contractors and gig work

Many freelancers and contractors take a series of contracts rather than running a business with a plan and accounts. The staff guide adapts Access to Work for self-employed people who work this way. Instead of a business plan, you show:

• your UTR, to confirm you are registered with HMRC as self-employed;
• evidence of each period of paid work, with start and end dates, such as a contract, invoices, receipts or an email from the client;
• that your rate of pay is at least the National Minimum Wage. Freelancers and contractors on this route do not have to meet the turnover test, but they do have to meet this.

A flexible application gives you one award for up to 3 years, covering several periods of work without a new application each time. You can only claim while you are working; between contracts the award is dormant. You can record the award in a workplace adjustment passport and choose whether to share it with prospective employers. Someone running a business or enterprise, rather than taking freelance or contract work, follows the standard self-employed route above.

Company directors and your own limited company

Company directors can apply, and must show the company is registered with Companies House; the business still has to pass the viability test. How you are paid matters. If you draw a salary from your own company through PAYE and pay Class 1 National Insurance, Access to Work treats you as employed, not self-employed, and your company pays a cost share if it has 50 or more staff. Sole traders and partners who pay Class 4 contributions are self-employed.

Self-employed applicants pay no cost share

For employees at an employer with 50 or more staff, equipment and software are shared: the employer pays a threshold that depends on its size, then 20% of the cost up to £10,000. Employers with fewer than 50 staff pay nothing. The employers’ factsheet states that cost share does not apply to self-employed applicants either, so Access to Work for self-employed people can pay up to the whole approved cost.

Take a software licence costing £130 a year. A self-employed applicant can have all £130 met if it is approved, as can an employee whose employer has fewer than 50 staff. An employee whose employer has 50 or more staff would see the employer pay all £130, because the cost is under its threshold. Our cost-share calculator works out any other figure.

There is no set amount for a grant; it covers the support you need, up to £69,260 a year for awards from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Costs Access to Work will not cover

• Starting the business: standard equipment, fact-finding, courses and seminars, and costs while the business is being formed.
• Standard equipment and standard business costs: what the business would need whoever ran it, such as an ordinary laptop. The staff guide says this rule applies to self-employed and employed people alike, and where a solution mixes standard and extra items, only the extra items are paid for.
• Anything bought before the decision. Wait for the decision letter.

Support Access to Work can pay for when you work for yourself

Access to Work for self-employed people offers the same support as for employees: specialist equipment and assistive software, support workers such as a job coach, the cost of travelling to work if you cannot use public transport, adaptations to a vehicle, physical changes to the workplace, and the Mental Health Support Service. Your workplace can include your home if you work from there, and a grant does not affect any other benefits you get.

Assistive technology

If you know what equipment or software helps, say so. The staff guide tells case managers not to refer people who know what they need for a workplace assessment. You will be asked for an indicative cost, and three quotes if support costs more than £1,000. Check that the technology works with your devices before buying. If you are unsure what would help, an assessment is arranged.

Support workers

The staff guide gives this example: a self-employed person with autism or ADHD who finds it hard to organise and prioritise work and asks for someone to keep them on track. A support worker who takes over the paperwork and tells the person what to do and when is doing part of the job for them. Access to Work counts this as replacement support and limits it to 20% of contracted hours. One who reads over an email the person has drafted, at their request, is helping them do the job themselves. This counts as enabling support and has no such cap.

Applying and claiming as a self-employed person

You apply online at gov.uk or on the Access to Work helpline, 0800 121 7479, with your UTR, your contact details, the address you work from and a description of how your condition affects the work and what might help.

DWP told Parliament that from April to July 2026 applications took an average of 125.6 days from first contact to a decision, and in June 2026 it said self-employed applications were taking longer because of high demand and their extra complexity. Priority goes to people starting work within four weeks and to renewals. Apply as early as you can.

Once support is approved, you buy it yourself and claim the money back, within 9 months of the cost. If paying first is a problem, ask the supplier for a pro forma invoice: the staff guide lists self-employed people among those for whom Access to Work can pay the supplier directly. Awards run for up to 3 years with at least an annual review, and when you renew, you send accounts or tax returns so the case manager can check the turnover.

Memory, attention and organisation when the business is you

When you work for yourself, there is no manager setting deadlines or colleague taking minutes. If your condition affects memory, attention or organisation, this lack of structure can make work hard. You might forget a task agreed on a call, a quote promised by Friday, or a follow-up that relies on remembering what the client said last month.

Describe those moments in the application. Keep a log for a week or two. Note each time something was forgotten or late, what you were doing and what would have helped. This gives the case manager more detail than a general description. Our guide to Access to Work and memory problems covers this evidence, and our reasonable adjustments guide for ADHD lists adjustments by need; many also work as habits or tools when you are your own boss. For ADHD in particular, our article on assistive technology for ADHD describes tools for planning and follow-through.

Where Recallify fits

We built Recallify to help with everyday memory tasks. You record a client call, meeting or passing thought. Recallify transcribes it, summarises it and pulls out tasks, then reminds you when each is due. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android. Our co-founder Dr Sarah Rudebeck is a senior clinical neuropsychologist, and Recallify is the subject of a feasibility study in brain injury self-management funded by the NIHR.

Recallify AT is the licence for work and study, from £130 a year with no VAT added, on our Recallify AT price list; we can send a written quote for an application. Access to Work decides every award and pays towards the most cost-effective option that meets the need, so whether a particular product is funded is a decision for the case manager, not for us.

Next steps

If a condition is making your self-employed work harder, gather your UTR and accounts or business plan. Keep a short log of where work goes wrong and apply early. Read the full Access to Work guide for grant limits, application steps and timescales. Access to Work for self-employed people requires no cost share and is not paid back, so for many sole traders and freelancers it is the only help with these costs on offer.

Recallify is designed as an everyday support tool and is not a medical device. It does not provide diagnosis or clinical decision support, and is intended to complement, not replace, professional medical care. This article is general information about Access to Work, checked against gov.uk and DWP’s staff guide on 2 October 2026; it is not advice on a particular case.