Guidance

Complaints to Ofqual

Published 16 April 2025

Applies to England

Why Ofqual has this complaints procedure

Ofqual recognises the importance and value of having effective complaints handling processes in place. Our policy sets out our high-level framework. This procedure sets out how we handle complaints about awarding organisations and the standards we will follow.

It also aligns Ofqual with the UK Central Government Complaint Standards where appropriate.

Complaints we can deal with

Ofqual views a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction about an organisation or qualification we regulate. We want all users of regulated qualifications to receive a good service and to have things put right when they go wrong.

Your first step in trying to resolve your issue should be to complain to the organisation you are dissatisfied with, to give them an opportunity to rectify the issue.

If you wish to make a complaint about Ofqual, details on how to do this can be found in Complaints about Ofqual.

Before complaining to Ofqual

We would usually expect you to have completed the awarding organisation’s complaints process, before complaining to Ofqual.

If the matter appears to us to be urgent or in the wider public interest, we may choose to look at a complaint before the awarding organisation’s final decision.

You can complain to Ofqual if:

• you are complaining within 12 months of the issue arising

• the awarding organisation and qualification are regulated by Ofqual – check on the Register of Regulated Qualifications.
• the complaint is about:
  • an awarding organisation not complying with our regulations
  • the awarding of a regulated qualification
  • an issue that could undermine public confidence in regulated qualifications

You cannot complain to Ofqual if:

• you are complaining about an issue that we have already looked at or investigated using this procedure or previously by Ofqual
• you are unhappy with your grade and the qualification has its own appeals procedure (for instance, GCSEs and A levels have their own process)
• the complaint is about a school, college or training provider, or about the quality of teaching or training – you should complain directly to the school or college
• the matter is, or has been, the subject of or related to, legal proceedings or potential legal proceedings
• the matter is, or has been, the subject of or related to, regulatory action or potential regulatory action

We do not have the power to change grades awarded. These can only be changed by the relevant awarding organisation.

If you are seeking financial compensation, you may wish to seek independent legal advice. Ofqual is unable to award compensation and cannot provide this outcome.

Examples of the types of complaint we can look into include:

• customer service issues, such as how the awarding organisation has handled your complaint
• concerns that an awarding organisation has not followed its procedures properly
• concerns that an awarding organisation is in breach of Ofqual’s rules

Make a complaint

Checklist for your complaint

Make sure you have the following information before registering your complaint:

• name of the awarding organisation you are complaining about
• details of the qualification and subject your complaint refers to
• dates of when you complained to the awarding organisation
• a copy of any final letter confirming you have completed the awarding organisation’s complaints procedure
• details of what you think the awarding organisation did wrong and how it has affected you – please provide a clear explanation of what happened and when
• what you think the awarding organisation should do to put things right
• your details (name, address, email address and phone number)

If you have any documents to support your complaint, please include copies. Please do not send original documents. We will store any information you send us securely.

Complaints outside the 12-month time limit

Usually, we will only consider your complaint if it is within 12 months of the issue arising. In some circumstances, we may still be able to investigate if you complain outside of this period, for example, because of:

• ill health
• a delay on the part of the awarding organisation

We will look at how much time has passed, and will consider factors such as:

• the reasons for the delay
• whether it is still possible for us to carry out an investigation
• what is fair to all parties in the circumstances

Advice and support in making your complaint

You may find it helpful to have support to make your complaint. Your local Citizens Advice may be able to give you information and advice. There are other organisations that may be able to support people in specific situations, such as:

• Age UK
• Independent Age
• Mencap
• Mind
• Rethink

Someone who represents you and makes a complaint for you is called an advocate. If you decide that you want an advocate to make a complaint to us on your behalf, when they contact us about your complaint, we will check with you that you’re happy for them to do this.

Make a complaint

Click on Submit a Complaint to tell us about your concerns and send us information securely.

If you would prefer to make your complaint in a different way, contact our Public Enquiries team. The team can:

• support you with making a complaint online
• take details of your complaint
• provide an email address to send your complaint
• arrange for a complaints advisor to call you back

Public Enquiries

Ofqual
2nd floor, 1 Friargate
Station Square
Coventry
CV1 2GN

Phone number 0300 303 3344

The phone line is open on weekdays from 9am to 5pm except bank holidays.

To ensure Ofqual deals with all complaints equally and fairly, all complaints sent to other sections of Ofqual, including the Chief Regulator or board members, will be forwarded to the complaints investigation team for action under this policy.

What to expect

We take all complaints seriously, and if you complain to us, you will be told whether we are able to look into your complaint.

If we can look at your complaint, we will:

• send you an acknowledgement within 3 working days, usually by email, but this may be by post or another method
• let you know within another 10 working days whether we can investigate your complaint or not
• write to you to summarise our understanding of your complaint
• give you the opportunity to clarify elements of your complaint
• write to you if we need more information from you

Rejected complaints

If we are unable to consider your complaint we will:

• explain to you why we cannot review your complaint
• suggest a relevant organisation who may be able to help you, if we can
• advise you of the next steps should you believe we have made the wrong decision

The investigation

We assess each case on its own merits. We will investigate to find out if it appears that the awarding organisation has failed to follow its procedures or is in breach of our rules. The investigation will not make a decision as to whether non-compliance with our rules has taken place.

As part of our complaint investigation, we will:

• usually contact the awarding organisation to make enquiries and request copies of any relevant documentation
• review all relevant information and consider it in relation to our rules
• give you and the awarding organisation the opportunity to clarify elements of the complaint

When we believe we have enough information to make a fair decision, we will share a provisional decision with you and the awarding organisation. You and the awarding organisation will be able to provide comments at this point.

We will write to you to confirm the final outcome when our investigation is complete and after considering any comments we receive.

Where we can, we will explain what information we have relied on to make our decision. Sometimes we receive confidential or sensitive personal information which we cannot share with you. We will let you know if this is the case.

We aim to complete most cases within 40 working days. Some cases can be more complex and may take longer for us to make a fair decision. If we expect your investigation to take longer, we will keep you informed of our progress at least every 30 working days.

Possible outcomes

If we are satisfied that the awarding organisation has met our requirements we will close the complaint. For example, this may happen where:

• we believe the organisation acted correctly in the first place, followed its procedures correctly and has not breached our rules
• the awarding organisation made mistakes, but we believe they have already done what we would expect to put things right for those affected

We may ask an awarding organisation to assure us about the course of action they will take. If we do not get appropriate assurances, we will refer your complaint to the relevant team in Ofqual, and they will consider whether any further action is appropriate. We may do this where:

• the awarding organisation made mistakes or provided a poor service
• the awarding organisation’s actions have had a negative impact which has not yet been put right

Whether we decide to take action or not, we will write to let you know the outcome of our complaint investigation. If the matter involves confidential information, we may no be able to share full details with you. If this is the case, we will explain this.

Where appropriate, we may appoint an independent party to investigate a complaint.

What to do if you are not happy with the outcome

If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint, or our decision that your complaint is not within the scope of this procedure, you can request an internal review. An internal review is when someone else, who hasn’t been involved in your case, reviews how we handled your complaint.

To make a request for an internal review email complaints@ofqual.gov.uk. You will be asked to provide evidence to support your request. You should submit this request within 10 working days of the date of our outcome letter.

In order for us to review your case, you will need to clearly demonstrate one of the following:

1. We reached the outcome based on inaccurate information, and if we had accurate facts, this could change our decision.
2. You have new and relevant information that was not previously available, and which might change the outcome.
3. We overlooked or misunderstood parts of your complaint or did not take account of relevant information, which could change the outcome.
4. How the decision is not reasonable given the findings of your complaint.

We will tell you if your request meets the criteria above. If it does not meet the criteria, we will write to you and explain why.

If your request is accepted, a senior member of staff, who was not involved in conducting the original investigation, will carry out the internal review. We aim to complete an internal review within 30 working days after accepting your request. We will let you know if it is likely to take longer. The review will consider whether:

• the investigation was thorough and fair
• all relevant facts were taken into account
• the conclusions and decision reached were reasonable and properly explained

If the review finds in your favour, the reviewer may make a decision on the complaint or recommend that the complaint is, or specific issues identified in the review are, re-investigated. In some cases, we may decide to fully re-investigate the complaint.

You will receive the outcome of our review in writing. Unless we decide to fully re-investigate your complaint, the decision of the internal review is final and represents the end of our complaints process.

If you think that the outcome of the internal review is wrong or if you do not agree with our decision not to conduct an internal review, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. The Ombudsman carries out independent investigations into complaints about public bodies.

Privacy statement

It is necessary for us to collect and hold personal information about you to investigate and administer your complaint. If you make a complaint to Ofqual, we will hold the information you provide to us securely and use it to help us to handle and process your complaint. For more information see our complaints privacy notice.

Complaints about Ofqual

If you wish to make a complaint about Ofqual, details on how to do this can be found in Complaints about Ofqual.