How to register with the Office for Students

5. Registration provides access to the following benefits:

   1. Funding

      • All registered providers can recruit students who can access student support funding, or student loans, available through the Student Loans Company (SLC). The provider can charge these students fees up to the statutory limits, with different limits in place depending on the category in which a provider is registered.
      • Registered providers can also, in different ways, receive direct funding to support their activities. Providers in the Approved (fee cap) category of registration (see below) are eligible for funding to support:
        • the costs of teaching (available as ‘grant or recurrent funding’ from the OfS).
        • research activities across the provider (available from Research England)⁶
      • All registered providers can apply for funding to support specific research projects through the research councils.⁷

   2. Recruiting international students

      • Registered providers can apply for, or maintain an existing, licence to recruit international students. These ‘student sponsor licences’ are granted by the Home Office.

   3. Power to award degrees and university title

      • All registered providers can also apply for the right to award their own degrees.⁸ They can apply for different types of degree awarding powers, which will allow them to award different types of degree (for example, foundation degrees, bachelors' degrees).
      • A registered provider can also apply for the right to use the word ‘university’ in its name.⁹ The use of the word ‘university’ is protected in law and cannot be used without approval. The OfS has powers to approve the use of the word ‘university’ in the name of a registered higher education provider. The application and assessment process for ‘university title’ or ‘university college title’ has changed over time. But it generally means that a provider has shown that it:
        • holds degree awarding powers – meaning that the provider is authorised to grant, for example, bachelors’ degrees or taught masters’ degrees
        • has a minimum number or proportion of its students studying on higher education courses.

Notes

[6] See UK Research and Innovation, Research England.

[7] See UK Research and Innovation, Our councils.

[8] See Degree awarding powers.

[9] See University title.

6. Providers can choose to apply to register in one of two categories:
   1. Approved (fee cap):
      • ‘Approved (fee cap) basic’, which allows providers to charge fees up to the basic amount
      • ‘Approved (fee cap) higher’, which allows providers to charge fees up to the higher amount with an access and participation plan ¹⁰
   2. Approved.
7. Both categories give providers access to most of the same benefits. The main difference between them is that providers in the Approved (fee cap) category are:
   • able to charge eligible students fees up to the higher statutory fee limit if they have an approved access and participation plan ¹¹
   • eligible to receive funding to support the costs of teaching (through the OfS) and research activities (through Research England).

Access to benefits for providers in each registration category

Notes

[10] See Fee limits - Office for Students

[11] For more about access and participation plans, see access and participation plans.

8. When deciding whether to apply for registration, your provider will need to consider whether it will be able to satisfy the requirements of registration. This includes both the conditions that it will need to meet when it first applies (initial conditions) as set out at Annex B, and the conditions it must continue to meet to stay registered (ongoing conditions).
9. We have published full details of each condition, its requirements and accompanying guidance in our regulatory framework. The framework also includes the full text for each condition.¹²
10. These conditions cover the following areas:
• access and participation for students from all backgrounds (condition A)
• quality, reliable standards and positive outcomes for all students (condition B)
• protecting the interests of all students (condition C)
• financial sustainability (condition D)
• good governance (condition E)
• information for students (condition F)
• accountability for fees and funding (condition G)
11. We publish regulatory notices that provide additional information about our regulatory requirements. These form part of the regulatory framework and once registered, your provider must treat them as formal requirements. We also publish regulatory advice to help providers understand and meet our requirements.¹³
12. This information includes but is not limited to:
• Audited financial statements. Registered providers must supply us with audited financial statements. Our ‘Accounts direction’ (Regulatory advice 9) sets out what information these statements should include.¹⁴ This applies to financial statements prepared by registered providers for accounting periods (financial years) beginning on or after 1 August 2019.
• Accountable officers. Accountable officers, who are normally the head of the provider, have responsibilities under the regulatory framework and to the Department for Education. We have explained these responsibilities in our guidance for accountable officers (Regulatory advice 10).¹⁵
• Annual Financial Return. Registered providers must submit particular information as part of financial monitoring returns to the OfS. We have published guidance about the return (Regulatory advice 14).¹⁶
• Monitoring and intervention. We have published guidance on our approach to monitoring and intervention (Regulatory advice 15).¹⁷
• Reportable events. Registered providers must report certain events or matters to the OfS. Our guidance on reportable events sets these out (Regulatory advice 16).¹⁸
• Prevent duty. The Prevent duty applies to the governing bodies or proprietors of ‘relevant higher education bodies’ (RHEBs), which includes all providers that are registered with us. Further education colleges and sixth form colleges are monitored separately by Ofsted rather than the OfS.¹⁹

Notes

[12] OfS, ‘Securing student success: Regulatory framework for higher education in England’.

[13] OfS, Regulatory notices and advice - Office for Students

[14] OfS, ‘Regulatory advice 9: Accounts direction’.

[15] OfS, ‘Regulatory advice 10: Accountable officers. Guidance for providers on the responsibilities of accountable officers’.

[16] OfS, ‘Regulatory advice 14: Guidance for providers for the Annual Financial Return’.

[17] OfS, ‘Regulatory advice 15: Monitoring and intervention’.

[18] OfS, ‘Regulatory advice 16: Reportable events’.

[19] For further information about the Prevent duty, see Counter-terrorism - the Prevent duty.

13. We do not charge a fee for registration. However, there may be costs associated with parts of the registration process and once registered there are ongoing costs.
14. In most cases, we will conduct a quality and standards assessment before making a decision on your registration application.²⁰ We may also conduct a quality and standards assessment for a change of registration category application. The fee for an assessment is currently £28,463. When we start our assessment, we will send you a ‘fee notice’ for this charge. This specifies the period within which you will need to pay the full amount.
15. As required under the application requirements notice, you must submit proof of payment within ten working days of our request. If you do not provide proof of payment for your provider’s quality and standards assessment (if it is referred for one), we cannot proceed with the assessment and therefore will normally refuse your provider’s application.
16. Registered providers must also pay annual fees:
    • an annual registration fee to the OfS which is based on the number (full-time equivalent) of higher education students registered with the provider ²¹
    • annual subscription fees to:
      • the designated data body (DDB) which performs duties including data collection, data processing, data storage and data publication. ²²
      • the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIAHE) which reviews individual and group complaints by students against higher education providers, after internal processes have been exhausted. ²³

[20] For more about these assessments, see Quality and standards assessments for providers applying to register.

[21] OfS, ‘Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2025-26: Technical guidance for providers’.

[22] Jisc, ‘Subscription model information’.

[23] Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, ‘Our subscriptions’.