These pages provide a summary of how to register with the Office for Students (OfS).
For further information about what it means for a provider to register with the OfS, the benefits of registration (including the fees that registered providers can charge) and the conditions a provider must meet, please see our guide to registration.
Eligibility
For a provider to be eligible to register with the OfS:
- it must deliver (or intend to deliver) higher education
- it must be English – this means that more than 50 per cent of its education activities are carried on in England
- it must be an institution – it is usually a distinct legal entity and must be able to demonstrate that it can satisfy the initial and ongoing conditions of registration in its own right.
Registration requirements
The OfS will register a provider where it:
- has applied to be registered in one of the categories of the Register
- is, or intends to become, an English higher education provider
- satisfies the 'initial conditions of registration' applicable to the relevant category of the Register
- has made a correct application that contains all of the required information.
When to apply
Providers can apply to register at any time.
Providers applying in the Approved (fee cap) category of registration and intending to charge higher fees will be required to submit an access and participation plan to satisfy condition A1 and should be aware of submission deadlines for this.
Providers should be clear in their communication with applicants that the availability of student support and fee levels (where these will be subject to a fee limit) are subject to the OfS’s decision about registration.
Costs
There is no fee payable to the OfS for the initial registration process.
Providers will need to pay for a review by the designated quality body (DQB). The DQB publishes information about these costs on its website.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is currently the DQB but has asked the Secretary of State to not continue in this role after 31 March 2023.
The OfS will ensure that providers seeking registration with the OfS are kept informed of any changes that will affect their application to register.
Ongoing costs of registration
Registered providers are required to pay the following annual fees:
Other ongoing requirements
The following publications are particularly important and we strongly encourage providers seeking registration to read these carefully and consider whether they have the capacity to meet our requirements before applying for registration:
