Did extending childcare-leave benefits get stricter from 2025? The documents and the pitfalls

In short: Childcare-leave benefits run in principle until the day before the child turns one, and can be extended to 18 months and then to two years if there is a reason such as being unable to enter a nursery (Employment Insurance Act). The amendment in force 1 April 2025 made the review of this extension stricter. On top of the existing "notice of non-admission (notice of pending admission)," you now must submit a copy of the nursery application filed with the municipality and a declaration form on the extension reason that the employee fills in, and Hello Work checks whether the family "wished to use a nursery for a prompt return to work." Applying only to unlicensed nurseries, or filing on or after the child's first birthday — an application seen as aimed at losing the lottery — may fall outside the extension. This article sets out, from a shakai hoken roumushi's viewpoint, the changes, the documents, the timing, the substance test, and the division of roles.

This page is for HR and labour staff who handle childcare-leave-benefit extensions, and for those who must explain them to an employee planning to extend. Because the municipality decides admission and Hello Work decides payment, confirm finally with each window. For the wider picture on the childcare/family-care leave side, see What must a company do under the 2025 childcare and family-care leave law amendment?.

What changed in extending childcare-leave benefits from April 2025?

Childcare-leave benefits are in principle paid for leave until the day before the child turns one. Where there is a reason such as being unable to enter a nursery, the period can be extended to 18 months, and further to two years. What changed on 1 April 2025 is that the check on whether to allow this extension became stricter.

Category	Content
Principal period	Leave until the day before the child turns one
Extension cap	Up to 18 months, and, if requirements are met, further to two years
Main extension reason	Applied for a nursery (a licensed nursery, etc.) but could not enter, etc.
April 2025 change	Added documents, and a substantive check that the application aimed at a prompt return

It is more accurate to see it not as the benefit amount or scheme changing, but as the method of checking the reason "could not enter a nursery" becoming stricter. The benefit during shorter hours is a separate scheme, set out in When and how much does the childcare shorter-hours benefit pay?; support after birth is in How much does the post-birth leave support benefit pay for dual earners?.

How far must you prove you "could not get into a nursery"?

Extension has always needed the municipality's "notice that a nursery cannot be used" (notice of pending admission, notice of non-admission, etc.). From April 2025 a document showing the content of the application is also required.

Document	Position
Notice of pending admission (non-admission) issued by the municipality	Required as before. Shows that, as a result of selection, admission was not possible
Copy of the nursery application filed with the municipality	Added from April 2025. Shows when, to which nursery, and for what admission date the application was made
Declaration form for certifying the extension reason	Added from April 2025. A new form on which the employee declares the state of the application

In other words, not only the result "could not enter," but the content of the application — that the person applied in earnest to return promptly — is now checked. If you keep the old feeling that attaching only the notice of non-admission will pass, the extension may be refused for missing documents.

What is not seen as a genuine nursery application?

Hello Work checks, from the copy of the application and so on, whether it aimed at a prompt return to work. The following cases may fall outside the extension.

Case	Relation to extension
Applied only to an unlicensed nursery, not including a licensed one	Hard to recognise as aiming at a prompt return; may be outside
The application to the nursery was filed on or after the child's first birthday	The application is late; may be outside
The desired admission date was set later than the day after the child turns one (18 months at re-extension)	Return intent is hard to confirm; may be outside
Without reasonable grounds, applied only to a nursery that is markedly hard to commute to	Hard to recognise as a genuine application
After being briefed by the municipality, did not file an application at all	No fact of applying; not an extension reason

Each is a check to prevent an "aim to lose the lottery" — applying in a hard-to-enter form from the start, in order to extend the benefit. Conversely, the basics for receiving an extension are to include licensed nurseries within a commutable range, set the day after the child turns one as the desired admission date, and apply on or before that day. Because the municipality decides admission, confirm the content of the application early at the municipal window.

What documents does the extension need, and when do you submit them?

The extension is done at Hello Work, in principle together with the benefit claim for the current payment unit period. It is smoother to obtain the documents from the municipality in advance.

Stage	What to do
Notice of leave / initial benefit claim	Claim the childcare-leave benefit until the child turns one, as usual, every two months
When unable to enter at age one	Set the day after the child turns one as the desired admission date, and apply to a nursery on or before that day
Extension claim	Attach the notice of non-admission, the copy of the application and the declaration form, and file the benefit claim for the extension
Re-extension from 18 months to 2 years	If still unable to enter at 18 months, claim the extension again with the same documents

The extension needs the reason to be checked afresh at 18 months and at two years. If the timing of the application slips, you cannot even stand at the entrance to the extension, so the step of finishing the application "before the first (or 18-month) birthday" matters. Confirm the forms and specific attachments with the latest guidance of the Hello Work with jurisdiction over your workplace.

How do the benefit (a shakai hoken roumushi) and admission (the municipality) divide?

The extension of childcare-leave benefits divides among separate windows for the labour procedure, the nursery-admission decision and tax. Mistaking the party stalls the procedure.

What to do	Who handles it
Claiming childcare-leave benefits and the extension, supporting the declaration form, arranging work rules and childcare-leave rules, designing the return to work	A Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant) (this office)
Receiving the nursery application, deciding admission, issuing the notice of non-admission	The municipality (childcare section)
Deciding payment or non-payment of the benefit	Hello Work (Public Employment Security Office)
Payroll tax, year-end adjustment (the childcare-leave benefit itself is tax-exempt)	A tax accountant (filed with the tax office)

This office is limited to information and procedures on labour and employment insurance. The municipality decides nursery admission, and Hello Work decides payment or non-payment. We guide you to a tax accountant (filed with the tax office) for payroll tax and year-end adjustment, on the premise that each is carried out by an independent business entity and contracted separately. We do not accept everything under one contract, and this office does not accept referral fees. The final judgment on whether a given extension is allowed is made by Hello Work.

What can 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 do for you?

四葉社会保険労務士事務所 in Kohinata, Bunkyo Ward, handles, for a workplace dealing with childcare-leave-benefit extensions, the benefit claim including the extension portion, support for the extension-reason declaration form, organising the required documents such as the notice of non-admission and the copy of the application, the labour design of childcare leave and return, and arranging work rules and childcare/family-care leave rules. We also help with materials to explain to employees and with the steps at each of the one-year, 18-month and two-year points. The initial consultation is free. For how fees are thought about, see the fee schedule; the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

We guide you to the municipality (childcare section) for nursery admission, and to a tax accountant (filed with the tax office; an independent business entity, contracted separately) for payroll tax and year-end adjustment. This office does not accept referral fees.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Specifically, what changed in the childcare-benefit extension from April 2025?
A. The check on whether to allow the extension became stricter. On top of the existing notice of non-admission, you must submit a copy of the nursery application filed with the municipality and a declaration form the employee fills in, and Hello Work checks whether it was "an application aiming at a prompt return to work" (amendment to the Employment Insurance Act enforcement ordinance, in force 1 April 2025). The benefit amount and the extension cap (18 months, two years) themselves did not change.

Q. If I applied only to an unlicensed nursery, is the extension allowed?
A. It became harder to allow. Because it is checked whether the application aims at a prompt return, applying only to an unlicensed nursery without including a licensed one, or filing on or after the child's first birthday, may fall outside the extension. The basics are to include licensed nurseries within a commutable range, set the day after the child turns one as the desired admission date, and apply on or before that day.

Q. By when should the nursery application for the extension be finished?
A. As a guide, set the day after the child turns one (18 months for re-extension) as the desired admission date, and apply to the municipality before that birthday. If the application slips, you may fail to meet the extension requirement in the first place. Confirm the specific deadline and forms with the Hello Work with jurisdiction over your workplace and with your municipality.

Q. Does a shakai hoken roumushi decide whether the extension is allowed?
A. No. The municipality decides nursery admission, and Hello Work decides payment/non-payment and whether to allow the extension. What a shakai hoken roumushi handles is the labour procedure and design — supporting the benefit claim and the declaration form, organising the documents, and arranging work rules and childcare-leave rules. The final judgment on whether a given extension is allowed is not made by us.

Sources for this article

• Employment Insurance Act (Act No. 116 of 1974), childcare-leave benefits (in principle until the day before the child turns one; extendable to 18 months and two years for reasons such as being unable to enter a nursery) / confirmed against the e-Gov law text (referenced September 2026)
• The amendment to the Employment Insurance Act enforcement ordinance (a 2024 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Ordinance; in force 1 April 2025) tightening the certification of the childcare-leave-benefit extension (adding the copy of the application and the extension-reason declaration form, and checking the application aiming at a prompt return) / confirmed against the Ministry's "changes to the childcare-leave-benefit extension procedure" guidance (referenced September 2026)
• The cases that may fall outside the extension (applying only to an unlicensed nursery; filing on or after the first birthday; the desired admission date being later than the day after the child turns one, etc.) are confirmed against Ministry guidance (referenced September 2026); the individual judgment is made by Hello Work
• Receiving the nursery application, deciding admission and issuing the notice of non-admission are done by the municipality (childcare section). Confirmed against public guidance, including that the childcare-leave benefit is tax-exempt under the Income Tax Act (referenced September 2026)

This article does not go so far as to decide whom you should consult. Claiming and extending childcare-leave benefits, supporting the declaration form, arranging work rules and childcare/family-care leave rules, and designing the return to work are the work of a shakai hoken roumushi. Deciding nursery admission is the municipality's; deciding payment/non-payment of the benefit is Hello Work's; payroll tax and year-end adjustment are a tax accountant's (filed with the tax office). Shakai hoken roumushi work and these are each carried out by an independent business entity and contracted separately. This office does not accept referral fees. The final judgment on whether a given extension is allowed is made by Hello Work. The cost of consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所 is on the fee schedule, and the questions we are asked most often are on the FAQ page.

This article is general information. Judgments that fit your particular circumstances are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi (Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant), Gyoseishoshi (Certified Administrative Procedures Legal Specialist), Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).