The Inland Revenue state that you can claim as soon as your child is born. You can then save the vouchers to go towards future childcare costs.

We will be publishing a further guide on when and how to claim, including banking your allowance and claiming prepay vouchers.

You could request vouchers for a particular carer, you request a prepay voucher if you do not know who you child care provider will be or simply bank your allowance to use later on in the same tax year.