OfS registration fees

Micro-providers are entitled to a 100 per cent discount against initial or annual registration.

A micro-provider must have 300 or fewer FTE students and qualify as a ‘micro-entity’ under section 384A of the Companies Act 2006, on the basis of the most recent available audited accounts of the provider at the initial registration date or the annual assessment date each year.

To qualify as a micro-entity, a provider must meet at least two of the following basic conditions:

• its turnover must be not more than £1,000,000
• the balance sheet total must be not more than £500,000
• the average number of employees must be no more than 10.

Note that the provision in Companies Act 2006 section 384B(1)(f) excluding a charity from qualifying as a micro-entity does not apply for the purposes of assessing qualification in respect of this discount.

A registered micro-provider is entitled to a 100 per cent discount in respect of both annual and initial registration fees. Any other fees associated with being on the Register (e.g. other OfS fees or fees charged by designated bodies) are still payable in full. The OfS will assess all providers to see whether they qualify as micro-providers. If a provider is eligible, this will be reflected on the fee notification issued.

To be eligible for the new provider discount, a new provider must have 1,000 or fewer FTE students and, immediately before admission to the Register, all of the following criteria must be met:

• It was not eligible for funding under section 65 of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 at any time on or after 1 August 2014.
• It has not provided higher education courses which were designated for the purposes of section 22 of the Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 by or under regulations under that section at any time on or after 1 August 2014.
• It has not previously been a registered higher education provider.

New providers are entitled to a tapering discount in the amounts they need to pay for both annual and initial fees. The discount reduces the amount of fee payable by between 75 per cent and 25 per cent over the first three full years of registration. Any other fees associated with being on the Register (e.g. OfS assessment or investigation fees, or fees charged by designated bodies) are still payable in full. We will assess all providers to see whether they qualify as a new provider; if so, this will be reflected in the fee notification issued.

For new providers that register after 1 August 2019, the discounts will apply to both initial and annual fees over the first three years of registration on a pro-rata basis.

Example:

• A new provider joining the OfS Register in November 2021 will pay 25 per cent of the eight months’ initial fee for 2021-22.
• In 2022-23 it will pay 25 per cent of four months of the annual registration fee for that year, plus 50 per cent of the remaining eight months of that fee.
• In 2023-24 it would pay 50 per cent of four months of the annual registration fee for that year, plus 75 per cent of the remaining eight months of that fee.
• The final year of discount would be 2024-25, when it would pay 75 per cent of four months of the annual registration fee for that year and eight months at the full rate.

Download the guidance for 2025-26

Download the guidance and fee bands table:

Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2024-25: Technical guidance for providers

Download the guidance and fee bands table:

Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2023-24: Technical guidance for providers

Download the guidance and fee bands table:

Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2022-23: Technical guidance for providers

Download the guidance and fee bands table:

Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2021-22: Technical guidance for providers

Download the guidance and fee bands table:

Payment of annual OfS registration fees 2020-21: Technical guidance for providers