Can we apply for PMMVY after the baby is born?

It is designed for registration during pregnancy. Applying late risks losing earlier tranches, so ask at the Anganwadi what you can still claim.

Is there a fee to apply for PMMVY?

No. It is free and processed at Anganwadi centres. Anyone charging a processing fee is running a scam.

PMMVY Scheme 2026: Eligibility, Amount, Documents and How to Apply

Aug 26

4 min read

In short

The PMMVY scheme pays 5,000 rupees for a first child, in instalments, and 6,000 rupees in one instalment for a second child if that child is a girl. You apply at your nearest Anganwadi centre, or through an ASHA or ANM worker. It is free at every stage.

The commonest reason applications fail: the bank account must be in the mother's name, Aadhaar-seeded and DBT-enabled. A normal account is not automatically DBT-enabled, so ask your bank before you apply.

On this page: what it is, how much, who qualifies, documents, how to apply, why applications fail, what it stacks with.

What the PMMVY scheme is

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana is a central maternity benefit programme. It is a direct cash transfer to pregnant women and lactating mothers, meant to partly offset wage loss and to encourage antenatal care and immunisation.

It runs through the ICDS and Anganwadi network, and payments arrive by direct benefit transfer into the mother's account. It is not a loan, it is not insurance, and there is nothing to repay.

How much the PMMVY scheme pays

Situation	Amount	How it is paid
First child	5,000 rupees	In instalments, tied to antenatal registration and immunisation milestones
Second child, if a girl	6,000 rupees	Single instalment after birth registration and early immunisation
Second child, if a boy	Not covered
Third child onwards	Not covered

Confirm the current instalment structure at your Anganwadi. Tranche amounts and conditions have been revised more than once, and this is the detail most likely to be out of date on any website, including this one.

Who qualifies

Pregnant women and lactating mothers, 19 years or older at the time of the last menstrual period
First living child, or a second child if that child is a girl
Not in regular employment with central or state government or a PSU, and not already receiving equivalent paid maternity benefits

Eligibility categories have widened across revisions. Take your documents to the Anganwadi and let them assess, rather than ruling yourself out from a website.

On miscarriage or stillbirth. Provisions exist that allow a woman who has had a miscarriage or stillbirth to be considered in a subsequent pregnancy. Ask about this specifically, because it is poorly communicated.

Documents to keep ready

Document	Note
Mother's Aadhaar	Mandatory, and it must be linked to the bank account
Husband's Aadhaar	Usually required
Bank or post office passbook	Account in the mother's name, Aadhaar-seeded, DBT-enabled
MCP card	Mother and Child Protection card, from your Anganwadi
Proof of pregnancy registration	With the LMP date recorded
Birth certificate and immunisation record	For later instalments

How to apply for the PMMVY scheme

Register the pregnancy at your Anganwadi or an approved health facility as early as you can, and collect the MCP card.
Ask for the PMMVY form. Your ASHA or ANM worker will often fill it with you.
Submit it with copies of the documents above. Keep the originals.
Get an acknowledgement with your beneficiary ID. Do not leave without it, because it is how you follow up.
Report each milestone at the Anganwadi so the next tranche is released.
Track the payment against your beneficiary ID, or watch for a DBT credit in your passbook.

Cost: nothing. No agent, no middleman, no fee at any stage. Anyone offering to get it approved faster for money is running a scam, and it is worth reporting to your CDPO office.

Why applications get rejected

Bank account not in the mother's name. By far the biggest. Joint accounts and husband's accounts get rejected.
Account not Aadhaar-seeded or not DBT-enabled. The application is accepted and the money simply never arrives.
Name mismatch across Aadhaar, bank and application. Even a middle name or an initial causes failure.
Late pregnancy registration, missing the window for the first tranche.
Immunisation not recorded on the MCP card, which blocks later tranches.
No acknowledgement kept, so nobody can trace the application when it stalls.

Every one of these is preventable in ten minutes before you apply.

What the PMMVY scheme stacks with

This is the part almost nobody is told. These are separate programmes and they generally stack.

Scheme	What it is	Stacks?
Janani Suraksha Yojana	Cash incentive for institutional delivery	Yes
State girl-child or maternity schemes	Varies by state	Usually
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana	Savings account for a girl under 10	A different thing entirely, open it too
Ayushman Bharat	Health cover if eligible	Separate

The most useful question to ask at your district welfare office, in these words: which state schemes am I eligible for in addition to PMMVY and JSY? Phrased that way, the answer improves a great deal.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to deliver in a government hospital?

No. PMMVY is not conditional on where you deliver. Janani Suraksha Yojana is the scheme tied to institutional delivery.

Our second child is a boy. Do we get anything?

Not under PMMVY, which covers a second child only if she is a girl. Check your state scheme separately, because several are structured differently.

Can we apply after the baby is born?

It is designed for registration during pregnancy, and applying late risks losing earlier tranches. Go to the Anganwadi and ask what you can still claim rather than assuming you have lost all of it.