Asignación Universal por Hijo (AUH)
AUH is Argentina's flagship non-contributory child cash transfer, run by the national social security agency ANSES and funded by the national government. It pays a monthly stipend to unemployed, informally-employed, domestic-worker, or 'monotributista social' parents/guardians for each child under 18 (no age cap if the child has a disability), conditional on health checkups, vaccination, and school attendance. Created by decree in 2009, it has grown into one of the largest conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America, reaching roughly 4.1 million children as of late 2025.
Government-run, Non-contributory, Conditional Cash Transfer, Universal Child Benefit, Latin America, ANSES, Argentina, National Scale
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- ANSES (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social)
- City
- Buenos Aires
- State / Province
- Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
- Country
- Argentina
Contact
- Phone
- 130 (ANSES national helpline, toll-free within Argentina)
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Active
- Application status
- Rolling
- Number of recipients
- 4,119,752
- Funding type
- Government
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 216 months
- Ongoing / unconditional
- Yes
- Distribution Type
- Direct Deposit (bank account via ANSES 'medio de cobro único'), Debit/ATM Card
- Benefit details
ANSES pays 80% of the monthly amount directly, withholding the remaining 20% until the parent presents the 'Libreta AUH' (an annual form signed by health and education providers) certifying compliance with vaccination, medical checkups, and school attendance; the accumulated 20% is then paid out in a lump sum. The peso amount is indexed monthly under a wage/price 'movilidad' formula and varies by region (higher in some southern/Patagonian zones) and is substantially higher for children with disabilities, who also face no age limit. As of July 2026 the gross monthly amount was about ARS 148,049 per child (ARS 118,439 net after the 20% withholding), and about ARS 471,914 for a child with a disability (June 2026 figure).
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Available to the unemployed mother, father, or legal guardian, or to those in informal/unregistered work, domestic (household) employment ('Casas Particulares'), or the 'Monotributo Social' simplified self-employment regime, on behalf of each child under 18 (no age limit for a child with a disability). The adult must be Argentine or, if foreign-born/naturalized, have at least two years of residency in the country; the child must be unmarried. Household/individual income may not exceed a periodically-updated ceiling tied to the minimum wage. Formally salaried workers instead receive the contributory 'Asignación Familiar por Hijo' and are automatically switched to AUH if they lose formal employment.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 0
- Maximum age
- 17
- Language
- Spanish
Family
- Family Status
- Parent, Single Parent
- Number of dependents (minimum)
- 1
Health
- Disability status
- Yes
- Health conditions
- Disability (child disability qualifies household for a higher benefit amount and removes the age-18 cutoff)
Financial
- Income limit (annual household)
- $72,836,256
- Employment status
- Unemployed, Gig / Informal, Self-Employed
Citizenship
- Citizenship / immigration status
- Citizen, Permanent Resident
- Minimum Years In Jurisdiction
- 2 years
Geography
- Countries covered
- Argentina
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
- Minimum Years A Resident of Target Geography
- 2 years
Participation
- Complementary program enrollment required
- Tarjeta Alimentar (a linked food-purchase card automatically extended to many AUH households with young children), where applicable
Application Process
- How to apply
Applicants use the online 'Mi ANSES' portal (with CUIL and Social Security PIN/Clave) to confirm their personal/contact data are current and to check that their registered family links (children's birth certificates, marriage/cohabitation status) are accurate. If family links are missing or incorrect, the applicant submits supporting documents (DNI of the family group, children's birth certificates, marriage/cohabitation certificate, disability certificate if applicable) through ANSES's virtual assistance channel. The service is free and requires no intermediary. Workers who lose formal employment while already receiving the contributory 'Asignación Familiar' are switched onto AUH automatically without a separate application.
- Selection process
There is no competitive selection; ANSES automatically determines eligibility by cross-checking the applicant's employment and income status against national registries (e.g., tax/employer records via AFIP) to confirm the household has no formal income above the threshold. Once family bonds are verified/accredited in ANSES's systems and eligibility criteria are met, payment begins automatically.
