# NHS Low Income Scheme: HC2, HC3 and help with costs https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/ Publisher: Med Easy Source material checked: 2026-10-20 Editorial information; no registered-clinician review is claimed. General UK healthcare information. Country-specific rules and provider examples retain the limits stated in the text. Fees are dated examples, not live quotes. ## Short answer The NHS Low Income Scheme can help with eligible NHS health costs after an assessment of your circumstances. HC2 provides full help within the scheme; HC3 specifies limited help and does not give free prescriptions. Check the relevant country’s application route, gather the requested financial evidence and preserve the correct receipts if you have already paid. A low income can affect much more than prescription costs. The NHS Low Income Scheme may help with NHS dental care, sight tests, glasses, eligible treatment travel and other charges. The application assesses your circumstances and may award full or partial help. ## Key points - Look beyond prescriptions when identifying the costs you need help with. Eligible dental, optical and treatment-travel expenses may be relevant, but ordinary private healthcare purchases are a different category. - Read the award itself, including contribution amounts and validity dates. The words “low income” do not establish an exemption until the applicable entitlement has been confirmed. - Keep applications and refund claims organised separately. A successful application does not replace the correct receipt, claim form or deadline for a payment already made. ## Start with the costs you actually face List the NHS costs coming up: a dental appointment, a sight test, travel for referred treatment or prescriptions. The scheme also covers help with NHS wigs and fabric supports. It is not a reimbursement scheme for any private healthcare purchase. NHSBSA explains the costs within the scheme . This broader view matters if one small charge looks manageable but several appointments fall in the same month. Keep each cost separate, including what you have already paid. An application decision and a refund request are related tasks, but they need their own records. Before applying, check whether an existing exemption or qualifying benefit already gives you the relevant help. Do not assume every benefit has the same effect, or that help with prescriptions automatically settles a separate dental charge. Section link: https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#start-with-the-costs-you-actually-face - [NHSBSA explains the costs within the scheme](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme) ## HC2 and HC3 mean different things An HC2 certificate provides full help within the scheme: free NHS prescriptions, dental care and sight tests, plus specified help with glasses or lenses, travel and appliances. “Full help” does not mean any frame, journey or privately chosen service will be paid in full. Read the HC2 entitlement details . An HC3 certificate sets out the amount you must contribute towards eligible costs. It does not entitle you to free NHS prescriptions. Read the relevant line on the certificate before claiming, rather than relying on the name of the scheme. Check how HC3 support works . Take the certificate to the provider and ask it to explain the calculation for your planned care. If the explanation is unclear, ask for the treatment or item and your contribution to be written down. Keep the certificate’s validity dates with those records. Section link: https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#hc2-and-hc3-mean-different-things - [Read the HC2 entitlement details](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc2-certificates-full-help-health-costs) - [Check how HC3 support works](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc3-certificates-limited-help-health-costs) ## Get the evidence ready without guessing eligibility NHSBSA assesses income against your needs and asks for financial evidence. Savings rules and application routes apply; some people who cannot use the online form can still apply another way. Check the official application page for your circumstances and country rather than treating the online form’s limits as the full scheme rules. Use the NHSBSA application guidance . Gather the income information requested for you and your partner, where relevant. Collect the requested savings and housing-cost evidence. Use the student or self-employed guidance if it applies. Keep copies of what you send and the submission date. Record any later evidence request and its deadline. If earnings vary, explain that using the evidence NHSBSA requests. Do not edit a figure to make it fit a typical month. The assessor needs a coherent picture of the circumstances being assessed. Section link: https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#get-the-evidence-ready-without-guessing-eligibility - [Use the NHSBSA application guidance](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme) ## Already paid? Preserve the correct refund evidence NHSBSA says refund claims normally need to be made within three months of payment. Different HC5 forms cover dental, optical and other eligible costs, and the correct version depends on the country. Check refund forms and deadlines . Prescription refunds use a separate NHS receipt form, FP57, which must be requested when you pay; it cannot be issued later. Read NHSBSA’s receipt guidance . A bank statement is useful for your own records but should not be assumed to replace the required NHS form. For each payment, note the date, provider, reason and receipt type. Ask which form is needed at the time, especially while an application is being considered. That is easier than reconstructing several appointments after the decision arrives. Section link: https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#already-paid-preserve-the-correct-refund-evidence - [Check refund forms and deadlines](https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-03885/en-us) - [Read NHSBSA’s receipt guidance](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/HC12%20%28V22%29%2004.2025.pdf) ## Use the award carefully and keep the right links Check the expiry date before claiming and read NHSBSA’s renewal instructions. If you think the assessment is wrong, use its review process and explain which information needs reconsidering. The decision should be understood before it is used to claim an exemption. This guide focuses on navigating costs, with England as its main context. Routes differ across the UK; see the four-nations guide . Read our separate prescription cost guide for charges and prepayment, or finding NHS dental care for booking. More starting points are in Find care . Section link: https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#use-the-award-carefully-and-keep-the-right-links - [the four-nations guide](https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/uk-healthcare-four-nations/) - [prescription cost guide](https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-prescription-costs/) - [finding NHS dental care](https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/finding-nhs-dental-care/) - [Find care](https://www.med-easy.co.uk/find-care/) ## Questions to ask - Which of my upcoming costs are eligible NHS expenses, and which belong to a separate private purchase? - Have I checked whether an existing entitlement already provides the relevant help before making a new application? - Do I have the income, savings and housing-cost evidence requested for my circumstances and application route? - If I have paid already, have I obtained the correct receipt and checked the country-specific refund form and deadline? - When a decision arrives, have I read the certificate’s contribution amounts, covered costs and expiry date before claiming help? ## Frequently asked questions ### Does an HC3 certificate make NHS prescriptions free? No. An HC3 certificate sets out limited help with eligible costs and does not provide free NHS prescriptions. Read the contribution information for the relevant expense. If prescription costs remain difficult, check the appropriate exemption and prepayment routes separately instead of assuming the certificate covers every NHS charge in the same way. https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#faq-1 ### Can I claim back a private consultation through the scheme? The Low Income Scheme concerns specified NHS health costs, not any private appointment or medicine purchase. Identify the funding route and type of expense before applying for a refund. If you are unsure, use the official guidance for that cost rather than treating a private invoice as an NHS receipt. https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#faq-2 ### What should I keep if I pay while waiting for a decision? Check the required evidence at the time of payment. Prescription refunds require an FP57 receipt issued when you pay; other eligible costs use the relevant refund process and forms. Keep dates and receipts together and check the normal three-month claim deadline. A bank statement alone may not meet the required evidence. https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-low-income-scheme/#faq-3 ## Sources - [NHSBSA: NHS Low Income Scheme](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme) — NHS or public authority - [NHSBSA: HC2 certificates for full help](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc2-certificates-full-help-health-costs) — NHS or public authority - [NHSBSA: HC3 certificates for limited help](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-low-income-scheme/hc3-certificates-limited-help-health-costs) — NHS or public authority - [NHSBSA: refunds for NHS health costs](https://faq.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/knowledgebase/article/KA-03885/en-us) — NHS or public authority - [NHSBSA: help with health costs and refund receipts](https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/HC12%20%28V22%29%2004.2025.pdf) — NHS or public authority ## Related guides - https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/nhs-prescription-costs/ - https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/finding-nhs-dental-care/ - https://www.med-easy.co.uk/guides/uk-healthcare-four-nations/