Maternity exemption certificates - have you got yours?

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is an arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care. We deliver the maternity exemption (MATEX) certificate which entitles eligible people to free NHS prescriptions during pregnancy and for 12 months after giving birth. Too many women are missing out on this entitlement – not because they are ineligible, but because they simply do not know it exists or how to claim it. This campaign set out to change that.

MATEX applications fell during the pandemic, dropping to 450,000 in 2020/21. The NHSBSA communications team has since worked to rebuild awareness and drive uptake, targeting both pregnant women and the healthcare professionals who issue certificates. Using the GCS COM-B behaviour change model, we identified capability, opportunity and motivation barriers facing both audiences and designed a campaign around trusted channels and trusted voices. Across a £53,700 budget, we ran targeted paid social media on Facebook and Instagram, partnered with Bounty to reach approximately 600,000 mothers, displayed messaging across 3,000 GP waiting room screens and equipped 9,000 healthcare professionals with a downloadable MATEX toolkit. In February 2026 we exhibited at the London Maternity and Midwifery Festival, reaching 30,000 midwives through the event newsletter. The campaign delivered strong results, website visits increased by 343% during paid activity and MATEX applications are forecast to reach nearly 595,000 in 2025/26, 22% more than in 2020/21 and almost 3% higher than last year.