How long does an installer have to redeem the Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher?

The scheme is installer-led. An MCS certified installer applies for the voucher on your behalf, discounts the grant from your invoice, and redeems the voucher after the work is commissioned; Ofgem then pays the installer⁴. You are not the one chasing the redemption, but the money only reaches your invoice if the installer acts inside the window.

Explaining the voucher and who can use it

The voucher is the document that fixes the grant value your installer can claim. Any voucher issued will receive the grant value stated on it when it is submitted for redemption, and vouchers remain redeemable on those terms regardless of later changes to grant levels⁷. The installer holds the voucher and submits the redemption application; the property owner benefits through the reduced upfront cost on the invoice⁴.

Ofgem publishes the number of vouchers redeemed in its regular reports, so the redemption stage is tracked publicly¹. In the quarter from August to October 2025 there were 8,233 voucher redemption applications⁸. If Ofgem decides to revoke a voucher, it will notify the installer within 14 days of the decision, and revocation is a reviewable decision¹.

Applying in two steps: getting and redeeming the voucher

The grant application runs in two stages. First, the installer submits a voucher application and Ofgem issues the voucher. Second, following commissioning of the installation, the installer submits a voucher redemption application, and once Ofgem has established that the remaining eligibility requirements have been met, the grant payment is made¹⁰.

Payment is not instant but it is fast. Across Scheme Year 3, Ofgem processed and paid 96% of voucher redemption applications within 10 working days of receiving them¹². Payments run on a weekly schedule, with a maximum gap of five working days between approving a redemption application and sending payment for most applications; after a public holiday, payments move to the following working day⁷.

How long vouchers last: 3 months for air source, 6 months for ground source

The validity period depends on the technology. Vouchers for air source heat pumps and biomass boilers are valid for 3 months². Vouchers for ground source heat pumps are valid for 6 months¹. The longer window for ground source reflects the longer installation times those systems involve, with ground works and, in some cases, shared ground loops.

The grant value is stated on the voucher. A ground source heat pump carries a voucher value of £7,500, and a ground source heat pump in an off-gas grid property replacing an oil or LPG heating system carries a voucher value of £9,000¹.

Applying for commissioning within 120 days

A second deadline sits behind the voucher itself. Installers may apply for a voucher after the installation has been commissioned, provided the application is properly made within 120 days of the commissioning date¹. The rule works in both directions: a heating system must be commissioned no more than 120 days prior to the voucher application being properly made¹⁵, and systems must have been commissioned on or after 1 April 2022 to be eligible⁷.

For a household, this means the commissioning date matters even when the voucher application has not yet been made. An installation commissioned more than 120 days before the application is submitted falls outside the scheme¹⁵.

When the scheme opens and closes

The scheme opened for applications on 23 May 2022¹⁷, with vouchers issued from that date on eligible technologies installed from 1 April 2022¹⁸. It is currently open in England and Wales¹⁹ and is scheduled to close at 11:59pm on 30 December 2029⁶. The scheme covers heat pump installations across England and Wales; it does not run in Scotland or Northern Ireland²⁰.

Consequences of an expired voucher or exhausted budget

Vouchers are issued on a first come, first served basis, to applicants who meet the eligibility requirements, until the budget cap for the financial year is reached²¹. Expiry is common enough to be tracked in Ofgem's own reporting: in Scheme Year 2, 2,128 vouchers expired before they were redeemed²², and in Scheme Year 3 a further 3,638 expired²³. Around 10% of air source heat pump and biomass boiler vouchers issued between November 2023 and January 2024 expired, in line with previous quarters²⁴.

If a voucher is revoked rather than expired, the installer is notified within 14 days of the decision⁹ and can request a review, which must be received within 28 days of the date of the notice of the decision being reviewed³.

Other eligibility rules alongside the deadline

Meeting the deadline is necessary but not sufficient. The remaining eligibility requirements must still be satisfied at the redemption stage before the grant payment is made¹⁰. From 28 April 2026, properties are no longer required to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate to apply, but where an EPC exists the certificate number must be provided²⁵. Only one grant is available per property⁵. Funding from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and ECO cannot be blended for the same measure or included within an ECO4 project²⁷.

What the deadline means for households

The voucher deadline is the point at which a household's grant is secured or lost. The scheme paid just over 80,000 grants worth £560 million between May 2022 and March 2026²⁹, and every one of those passed through a voucher that was redeemed inside its validity window. A household that tracks the issue date, knows whether its voucher runs for 3 or 6 months, and confirms the commissioning date is within 120 days of any retrospective application is protecting the £7,500 that comes off the invoice⁵.

The dependence that remains is on the installer's administration and on Ofgem's processing. The household does not submit the redemption application; it relies on the installer to act in time and on Ofgem to process and pay, which it does within 10 working days for 96% of applications¹². For complaints about Ofgem's administration of the scheme, the contact point is feedback@ofgem.gov.uk¹⁴.