Apply to have your qualifications regulated
Who and what Ofqual regulates, how to apply to be regulated and what happens when you want to stop being regulated.
Applies to England
We are redesigning the digital service for applying to have your qualifications regulated (also called Ofqual Recognition).
Providing your feedback will help us improve this service.
The role of awarding organisations
Awarding organisations can choose to be regulated by Ofqual. If you want us to regulate some or all of your qualifications, you can apply to become a recognised awarding organisation of those qualifications. You’ll need to ensure you have a full understanding of what being Ofqual-recognised means: it’s a major undertaking that confers significant benefits but also imposes requirements that will have an impact on your business, because regulated organisations must comply with our regulations.
Being an Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation
An awarding organisation designs, develops, delivers and awards qualifications, including in some cases apprenticeship end-point assessments (EPAs). Qualifications test knowledge, skills and understanding of a subject and are awarded to learners who demonstrate the required level of attainment.
Awarding organisations offer qualifications to meet the need of their customers: schools, colleges and training providers that teach the courses that lead to their qualifications. Awarding organisations put in place the exams, tests and other assessments that students take to achieve their qualifications. A good awarding organisation will combine expertise in assessment with effective operational delivery.
Main benefits
The benefits of being a recognised awarding organisation are:
- your qualifications can be considered for public funding for teaching in state and publicly funded schools and colleges
- recognition provides confidence to qualification users that your organisation has the capacity and competence to develop and offer high-quality qualifications
- certificates for regulated qualifications can carry the Ofqual logo – a recognised quality mark
- your qualifications will be regulated internationally, as well as in England, provided that they continue to be offered and taken in England - the Ofqual quality mark is valued internationally
- your qualifications will be listed on Ofqual’s find a regulated qualification service - an important resource for those wanting to find a suitable qualification
- you can apply to offer EPAs where Ofqual is the regulator
Apprenticeship end-point assessments
Ofqual regulates apprenticeship EPAs. If you want to offer EPAs regulated by Ofqual, you will need to be recognised by us. Each organisation is considered for recognition in the context of the number and type of EPAs they want to offer. For more information on how Ofqual regulates apprenticeship EPAs, read our guide for awarding organisations.
Once you have achieved Ofqual recognition for apprenticeship EPA(s), the Department for Education (DfE) requires you to apply to join the apprenticeship providers and assessment register (APAR) if you have not done so already. Details of the DfE requirements and process can be found on their website.
How to apply for recognition
We have a process to decide whether you can become a recognised awarding organisation. Further details are in the supporting information document.
Before starting an application, be aware that there are very clear limits to what we regulate. For example, we do not regulate training courses that only certify that someone attended a course but do not make judgements about an attendee’s level of attainment.
Starting the process
First, read our ‘supporting information’, review our regulations and our Criteria for Recognition and our guidance for the Criteria.
If you think being a regulated awarding organisation is the right choice for you, apply through our Recognition Gateway. You will need to set up an account to use this. Before doing this please read our .
Please refer to this guide for support to set up a gateway account and Multi-factor authentication.
Once you have set up an account, you will then be offered a meeting with Ofqual staff. This meeting should take place before starting your application. The meeting will help you understand our requirements and the application process. We will talk about:
- what it means to be an Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation so you are fully aware of our expectations
- the types of qualifications you intend to offer
- how you will ensure quality
- how you intend to operate as an awarding organisation once recognised
Following the meeting, if you want to proceed with an application, we will provide you with access to the application form. We can continue to advise you to ensure you are providing sufficient supporting evidence.
When you are ready, you should use the gateway to submit your application and evidence. We will then review your application against our Criteria for Recognition. If your application and supporting information indicates that you are capable of meeting our criteria, we would normally invite you to discuss your application with a recognition panel who decide whether to recognise you as an awarding organisation.
If you are an existing awarding organisation
If you would like to make a change to your current scope of recognition or withdraw qualifications, please log into The Portal and navigate to the ‘My Organisation’ page where you can view your scope of recognition and request to:
- expand your scope of recognition to offer regulated qualifications in a wider range of sector subject areas, at different levels than you are currently regulated for, or to offer qualifications that have specific conditions or criteria
- exempt a description or descriptions of qualifications from your scope of recognition
Surrender and partial-surrender
If you would like to partially surrender or surrender entirely your regulated status please submit a ‘Contact the Regulator’ request on The Portal and we will get back to you to explain any further information or evidence you will need to provide with your request.
Updates to this page
Last updated 2 January 2024 + show all updates
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Updated information under the subheadings 'Main benefits' and 'Apprenticeship end-point assessments'.
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This page has been updated to remove reference to the Department for Education's Register of End-Point Assessment Organisations (RoEPAO), which is now replaced by the Apprenticeship Providers and Assessment Register (APAR).
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Update to requirements for offering apprenticeship end-point assessments.
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Removed old guidance attachment. Applied link to updated guide in body text
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Updated 'How-to-guide: Recognition gateway' document.
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Change to Apprenticeship end-point assessments section, updated to reflect change in EQA arrangements. Recognition guidance document updated.
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Updated the guidance for existing awarding organisations.
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Updated link provided in 'Apprenticeship end-point assessments' section.
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Guidance document updated for setting up a gateway account.
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Updated the supporting videos.
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Made clearer what happens after you submit your application to us, and what standards you will be evaluated against.
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Updates to recognition process, formatting and new logo
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Removed 'Apply to expand the scope of your recognition' and 'End your recognition' sections and replaced them with a new 'If you are an existing awarding organisation' section.
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Added new becoming recognised video
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Updated recognition process - the first stage is now to book a meeting with Ofqual before filling in an application form.
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Updated links to the new application forms.
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Noted the application form will be replaced soon.
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Expanded the information on applying to offer more qualifications.
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Amended to make it easier to follow and include information about end-point assessments.
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Added link to Recognition explained video
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Updated links to point to the new guidance document and new forms.
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Clarified when to complete the recognition form if you are already recognised.
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First published.