How to Claim a Lottery Prize in the UK

Whether you've won £1 or £100 million, learn how to claim a lottery win with this handy guide.

Please note: All National Lottery claims must be made within 180 days of the winning draw taking place. The method for claiming a lottery prize depends on how much you've won and whether you bought the winning entry online or in-store. Read on to find out how to pick up your winnings.

How to Claim an Online Lottery Win

All but the biggest prizes will be paid straight into your National Lottery player account. You should receive an email notification about the win, prompting you to log in to your National Lottery account.

Wins of up to £500 will be paid directly into your National Lottery account shortly after the draw takes place. You can then choose to withdraw the money into your bank account or use it to fund future ticket purchases.

You'll need to confirm by 11.00pm on the 180th day of the claim period that the prize should be transferred into your bank account via the debit card associated with your National Lottery account. You can do this by logging in to your account and responding to the message you receive from the National Lottery.

For any prizes from £30,000 to £50,000, you should contact the National Lottery within the claim period to arrange the payment of your prize. You'll need to call during normal opening hours. Prizes will be paid in the form of a cheque.

The biggest prizes must be claimed in person. The first thing to do is call the National Lottery to let them know you have a winning ticket. They will take some details to validate the win over the telephone, and they will then arrange an appointment for you to claim the prize in person.

Lotto's 'Match 2' winners receive a free Lucky Dip into the next draw. You can view your Lucky Dip numbers by logging in to your National Lottery account, where you can also choose whether your free Lucky Dips should be entered into Wednesday draws or Saturday draws in future.

From November 2020, any Match 2 winners in Lotto rolldown draws will also win a £5 prize. Your £5 will be automatically paid into your National Lottery account.

If you play using a Direct Debit, any prizes worth up to and including £50,000 will be paid directly into the bank or building society account the Direct Debit is taken from. Prizes over that amount will need to be claimed in person as per the details above. Don't worry, you'll still be notified by email if you win a prize.

How to Claim if You Played In-Store

If you play in-store, make sure you keep the winning ticket safe, as you'll need it to claim any prizes it wins. You can still claim if your ticket gets lost or damaged, but you only have 30 days from the date of the draw to contact the National Lottery. Go to the Lost Tickets and Damaged Tickets pages to learn more.

You can claim a prize of up to £100 at any authorised National Lottery retailer. You'll either be paid out in cash, or the money will be paid onto your debit card if the service is available.

A win of between £101 and £500 can be claimed from any authorised National Lottery retailer providing they have sufficient funds available – the prize money may also be paid onto your debit card. Alternatively, you can visit a National Lottery-affiliated Post Office to claim your prize, or you can claim by post.

Locate your nearest eligible branch on the Post Office website

Over £501 to £50,000

You can submit an online claim for prizes of this value and, following validation, the money will be paid out directly by Allwyn. Prizes of this amount can also be claimed by post. You'll need to present proof of your identity if you win more than £500. Acceptable forms of ID include:

• Passport
• Photo driving license
• UK birth certificate
• Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) Card
• HM Forces/Police Photo ID Card

Prizes of £50,000 and above can only be claimed in person. You'll need to contact the National Lottery and provide details of the winning ticket when requested to do so. The National Lottery will then check the details against their records and confirm if they match up. An appointment will then be scheduled for you to claim the prize in person – remember, you'll need to present your ticket for validation at that appointment.

You will also need to complete a Prize Claim Form and provide an acceptable form of ID. The form is quick and easy to complete - you just need to provide a few personal details, such as your name, address and contact number, as well as your bank details and preferred payment method.

How to Claim National Lottery Prizes by Post

Any prize amounts between £100 and £50,000 can be claimed by post. You'll need to send the winning ticket, plus a completed Prize Claim Form for prizes over £5,000, to:

The National Lottery
PO Box 287
Watford
WD18 9TT

Postal claims must be received by the National Lottery before the 180-day claim period expires. The National Lottery does not accept any responsibility for tickets that are lost in the post. If you wish to claim via post, you are advised to use some form of recorded delivery.

Advance Play Prize Claims

The National Lottery allows you to enter up to four weeks' worth of draws at a time. If you purchase an Advance Play entry in-store, you'll receive one ticket with all of your entries on it. You do not, however, need to wait until all the draws on your ticket have taken place before you claim; you can do so at any time up to 180 days after the winning draw.

Here's what will happen if you claim a prize won on an Advance Play ticket when some of the draws have yet to take place:

• Firstly, you will claim your prize using the methods described on this page, depending on how much you win.
• Your Advance Play ticket will be validated and retained by whoever is processing the claim – the original ticket will not be returned to you.
• An Exchange Ticket will be issued to you instead. This will be the valid ticket for the remaining draws you have entered. You will notice that any draws you entered on the original ticket that have already taken place will not be reprinted on the Exchange Ticket. This is to avoid duplicate prize claims.
• If you win another prize in any of the remaining draws, you can claim it with the Exchange Ticket. This process will be repeated if there are still further draws remaining on your ticket, until your ticket has finished.

If you play in advance online you won't notice any difference in the claim process. When you win, you'll receive a notification prompting you to log in to your account, and you must follow the steps for claiming online prizes outlined on this page.