Policy paper

Lifelong learning entitlement: what it is and how it will work

Updated 15 April 2026

Applies to England

The lifelong learning entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system to create a single funding system. It will replace:

• higher education (HE) student finance loans
• advanced learner loans for level 4, 5 and 6 qualifications

Our intention is that from September 2026, learners will be able to apply for LLE funding for courses and modules starting from January 2027 onwards.

The LLE will allow people to develop new skills and gain new qualifications at a time that is right for them.

From its launch, the LLE loan will be available for:

• full courses at level 4 to 6, such as degrees, technical qualifications, and designated distance-learning and online courses
• postgraduate level courses currently funded by the higher education student finance system, including:
  • postgraduate initial teacher training
  • postgraduate certificate or diploma in healthcare
  • postgraduate certificates in education
• integrated master’s degrees
• foundation years (as long as these form part of an overall bachelor’s degree)
• modules of approved Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) at level 4 to 5
• modules from full level 6 qualifications (for example, degrees) that align to:
  • priority skills needs
  • the government’s modern industrial strategy

Under the LLE, eligible learners will be able to access:

• a tuition fee loan, with new learners able to access up to the full entitlement of £39,160 – equal to 4 years of study based on the maximum tuition fee for academic year 2026 to 2027
• a maintenance loan to cover living costs, for courses with in-person attendance

Financial help will also be available for:

• learners with disabilities
• support with childcare
• those needing travel grants

An additional entitlement will be available for priority subjects and longer courses, such as medicine and architecture degrees.

Learners will be able to see their loan balance through their own student finance account. The Student Loans Company (SLC) will host this.

Why we need the LLE

As set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Pape, the government is committed to ensuring the country develops the skills needed to:

• drive sustained economic growth
• break down barriers to opportunity
• improve the living standards of hardworking people

The LLE will deliver transformational change to the current student finance system by:

• broadening access to high-quality, flexible education and training
• supporting greater learner mobility between institutions

This will enable individuals to learn, upskill and retrain across their working lives. It will create opportunities for both young people and adults to develop the skills needed to succeed in life, contributing to growth across the entire country.

We have worked with Skills England to ensure the LLE:

• aligns to the government’s skills priorities
• creates opportunities across the country for young people and adults to develop skills

Who will be eligible for the LLE

The LLE will be available to new learners and returning learners who have previously studied a course or module in higher education.

For returning learners, the amount they can borrow will be reduced depending on the funding they have previously received to support study.

LLE tuition loans will be available for people up to the age of 60 at the start of their course. The age limit is designed to offer the vast majority of the working population access to tuition loans, enabling them to:

• train, retrain and upskill
• make a significant contribution to the economy over a longer period of time

Learners who are aged 60 or over at the start of their course may still qualify for maintenance support, though not a tuition fee loan. This means funding is focussed on those most likely to repay their loans, as learners near or in retirement are likely to repay only a very small proportion of their loan.

Eligibility criteria for the LLE will track existing higher education student finance nationality and residency rules.

Learners who already have funding in place through the current HE student finance system for a course they started before 1 January 2027, will continue to get funding for that course through the current system.

LLE in devolved administrations

In the UK, education is devolved. The government is working closely with partners in the devolved administrations ahead of the LLE rollout. This is to ensure students can move seamlessly between institutions throughout the UK.

If learners living in England already have funding in place (through the current HE student finance system) to study courses at providers in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it will be carried over.

Courses included under the LLE

The LLE will be available for full years of study at levels 4 to 6, including HTQs and degree qualifications as well as some postgraduate level qualifications.

LLE funding will also be available for:

• modules of HTQs
• level 4, 5 and 6 modules from full level 6 qualifications in subject groups that address priority skills gaps and align to the government’s industrial strategy

Learners will apply for their funding in September 2026 for courses and modules starting from January 2027 onwards.

The LLE will fund full years of study on courses currently funded by HE student finance, including:

• traditional bachelor’s degrees
• postgraduate certificates in education (PGCE)
• integrated master’s degrees – a 4-year programme that awards a master’s degree on top of a bachelor’s degree
• foundation years available before some degree courses start, as long as these form part of an overall bachelor’s degree
• foundation degrees

It will fund:

• HTQs, including both full courses and modules of those courses.
• level 4, 5 and 6 qualifications currently funded by advanced learner loans, if there is clear learner demand and employer endorsement
• the tuition fees for designated distance learning and online courses – learners will only get maintenance loans and grants if they are required to attend in person, unless they cannot attend because of a disability
• level 4, 5 and 6 modules from full level 6 parent qualifications (for example, degrees) in subject groups that address priority skills needs and align with the government’s industrial strategy

Subject groups eligible for modular funding

These are:

• computing
• engineering
• architecture, building and planning, excluding the landscape gardening subgroup
• physics and astronomy
• mathematical sciences
• nursing and midwifery
• allied health
• chemistry
• economics
• health and social care

Foundation years and foundation degrees

Higher education tuition fees for foundation years provides guidance for HE providers on tuition fees for foundation years in the 2025 to 2026 academic year.

Foundation years are not:

• the same as foundation degrees
• standalone courses and do not typically lead to the award of a recognised qualification

A foundation year is a 1-year (or equivalent, if studied part-time) programme of study that is integrated at the start of an undergraduate course.

Foundation degrees are 2-year undergraduate courses that lead to the award of a level 5 qualification.

Both foundation years and foundation degrees will be eligible for funding under the LLE. To be eligible, a foundation year must form part of an eligible undergraduate course.

LLE qualifications gateway

From January 2027, alongside the introduction of the LLE, we will launch the LLE qualifications gateway.

This gateway will mean that level 4 to 6 qualifications previously funded under the Advanced Learner Loans scheme can become eligible for LLE funding. This does not apply to HTQs.

Applications to the gateway will be integrated into the HTQ approval process. This will create a streamlined single-entry point for level 4 to level 6 qualifications. We will publish more detail about this before September 2026.

How funding will work 

LLE-funded modules

From January 2027, funding will be available for:

• modules of HTQs
• level 4, 5 and 6 modules from full level 6 qualifications in subject groups that address priority skills gaps and align with the government’s industrial strategy

We want new modular provision to be high quality and support wider progression to full qualifications. To be eligible for funding, modules must:

• be part of an existing designated full course, its parent course delivered by the same provider
• be worth at least 30 credits, or a bundle of modules from the same parent course equalling at least 30 credits
• have a single qualification level that should be level 4, 5 or 6 to determine if they are eligible for funding
• be assessed and given a standardised transcript when they’re completed, to support credit transfer and facilitate labour market currency
• not be delivered through franchised arrangements

Examples of modules that equal at least 30 credits are:

• two 20-credit modules (40 credits)
• one 10-credit module and a 20-credit module (30 credits)
• two 15-credit modules (30 credits)
• three 10-credit modules (30 credits)

Unless they wish to, there is no need for providers to redesign their course structures if they do not already operate on a 30-credit basis.

This funding will only be available to students living in England at a provider registered with the Office for Students (OfS). Eligible learners will be able to apply for LLE funding for modules from September 2026.

We are taking a carefully phased approach to modular provision from 2027. This prioritises quality and the protection of public money. We will offer a narrower range of modules when the LLE launches, and gradually expand this when it is appropriate.

Approval process

We will ask education providers who are interested in delivering modular provision from January 2027 to submit an expression of interest.

All providers who submit an expression of interest will need to pass an assurance check as part of the approvals process. Providers will not need to submit information or evidence for this check.

One round of EOI applications has concluded, running from July 2025 to October 2025. The next EOI process will run in 2026 and we will publish more information about this in due course.

A provider will be eligible for a simpler and quicker approval process if they have:

• a teaching excellence framework (TEF) rating of gold or silver
• an Ofsted rating of good or outstanding

Providers that have both TEF and Ofsted ratings will need to meet both of these conditions to be eligible for quicker approval.

Providers will need to submit more information if they:

• do not have TEF or Ofsted ratings
• have both TEF and Ofsted ratings, but only meet one of the conditions

This is to show their:

• readiness
• capability
• successful delivery of the parent course

We are taking a carefully phased approach to modular provision from 2027. This prioritises quality and the protection of public money. We will keep the requirements on providers to apply for funding through the expression of interest under review. We will amend them if it is appropriate.

Credits

The LLE will introduce a method for setting course fee limits that is based on credits. We will do this in  a fair and consistent way.

The per credit fee limits will only apply to approved (fee cap) providers registered with the Office for Students. This will work across all higher-level courses and modules funded by the LLE, regardless of whether students study them on a full-time, part-time or accelerated basis.

The fee limit will directly relate to the amount of study in the course, rather than the number of academic years that are studied.

Credits are already used in higher and further education to record and measure the amount of learning a student completes.

Loan entitlement

A new learner will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. This is currently equal to £39,160. It is based on the current maximum fee limit of £9,790 per year and academic year 2026 to 2027 fee rates.

New learners are those who have not yet received government support to undertake higher-level learning or level 4 to 6 courses funding by an advanced learner loan.

This means a learner could use their £39,160 to pay for more than 480 credits of learning, depending on the per-credit cost of the course.

Example: a new learner with a full entitlement A new learner has a full entitlement of £39,160. They decide to use £7,000 to fund a 120-credit course. This means they would have £32,160 of their entitlement left to use towards other courses.

Learners will be able to draw down loans to study up to 180 credits per year. This includes credits taken across multiple courses or modules within the same year.

Residual entitlement

Returning learners are those who have previously received government support to undertake higher-level learning. They may only have some, or none, of their entitlement left, depending on previous funding received.

Learners who have not used all of their entitlement will have access to a residual entitlement.

Example: a graduate completing a 3-year degree A typical graduate who completed a 3-year degree, worth £29,370 based on 2026 to 2027 fees, will have a £9,790 residual entitlement. This amount will be adjusted if the maximum fee limit changes.

The guidance on how much LLE learners could get has more information on residual entitlement.

Priority additional entitlement

Priority additional entitlement will give learners whose LLE balance is £0 tuition fee loans to complete their course.

It will come with the usual maintenance support and repayment terms.

Existing graduates who have already drawn down on all their fee support can also access priority additional entitlement to retrain in an eligible subject.

Qualifications will qualify for priority additional entitlement in:

• medicine
• dentistry
• nursing
• midwifery
• allied health profession subjects
• initial teacher training
• social work

Students who choose medicine or dentistry as a second degree under the LLE will be able to access full tuition fee and standard maintenance support for those years not covered by the NHS bursary.

Priority additional entitlement will only support full courses, so individual modules in these subjects will not be eligible for funding.

The courses eligible for priority additional entitlement funding will fit with subjects that:

• address priority skills needs
• align with the government’s industrial strategy

Example: a returning learner A returning learner with residual entitlement of £9,790 begins a 3-year social work degree and needs to loan £9,790 per year. They draw down on their £9,790 for the first year of the degree. When their balance is £0, they can access priority additional entitlement to fund the rest of their degree.

Special additional entitlement

Learners will be able to access limited special additional entitlement for qualifications that could cost more than their standard entitlement in longer courses that are not priority subjects.

This entitlement will come with usual maintenance support and repayment terms.

Learners will only be able to access special additional entitlement when they have a £0 LLE balance.

Learners will get up to 2 years of special additional entitlement if they take these courses, this is equivalent to 240 credits at the maximum cost per credit rate, with at least 5 full-time years of taught study:

• veterinary surgery
• architecture (including ‘part 2’ courses taken after they complete an undergraduate degree in architecture)
• bachelor’s degrees and integrated master’s degrees provided in Scotland

Learners can use special additional entitlement to fund both:

• the final year of their course
• a year of intercalation or repeat study

Example: LLE learner with a full balance A learner with a full LLE balance takes a 5-year degree in veterinary surgery, costing £9,790 per year.

When their LLE balance is £0, they can access £19,580 of special additional entitlement.

Learners can get special additional entitlement worth the cost of their study if they:

• take foundation years
• study abroad
• are on a work placement
• are on the Turing scheme

Example: LLE learner with £27,000 residual entitlement

A learner with £27,000 of residual entitlement takes a 3-year degree, costing £9,000 per year. The learner is also required to complete a foundation year costing £9,000, and a year abroad costing £1,000. There are 5 years of study in total.

For the foundation year, the learner will be able to access up to £9,000 of special additional entitlement, to use when their LLE balance reaches £0.

For the year abroad, the learner will be able to access up to £1,000 of special additional entitlement, to use when their LLE balance reaches £0.

For the foundation year, the learner draws down £9,000 of their LLE balance. This means they have £18,000 left.

For years 1 and 2, the learner draws down £9,000 of LLE each year. They have exhausted their LLE balance.

To fund the year abroad, the student draws down £1,000 of special additional entitlement to cover their tuition fee costs. They have £9,000 of special additional entitlement remaining.

For their final year of study, the student  draws down their remaining £9,000 of special additional entitlement.

Repeat study

Additional entitlement will also be available for repeat study.

We will add the cost of the affected study back on to the learner’s LLE balance for study affected by compelling personal reasons, such as illness and bereavement.

Special additional entitlement will also be available for learners on longer courses who need to repeat study for reasons that do not constitute compelling or personal reasons.

Tuition fees and fee loans

Information is available on tuition fees and student support for 2026 to 2027, and 2027 to 2028 academic years.

Under the LLE, tuition fee limits will be based on credits. This is instead of being based on the number of academic years in the course, as is the case under the existing system.

To qualify for tuition fee and maintenance loans, a student must be undertaking a minimum of 30 credits in a course year.

Learners with less than £1,587.50 (based on academic year 2026 to 2027 fee rates) left of their tuition fee loan entitlement balance will only be entitled to maintenance loans if they use their remaining balance to pay for a course they are seeking maintenance loan support for.

In circumstances where a student has less than £1,587.50 (based on the 2026 to 2027 fee rates) left of their tuition fee loan entitlement, they may have to self-fund the tuition fee costs of the course year that exceed their remaining balance.

There will be a maximum financial amount per credit and a maximum number of credits that can be charged for in each course year. This will be set by the government.

Lifelong learning entitlement: tuition fee limits has a list of the:

• standard numbers of credits for different course types
• maximum or default numbers that can be charged for in any one course year

We will treat certain course types under the LLE as ‘non-credit-bearing’. This means that different rules will apply. Non-credit-bearing courses include:

• medicine
• PGCEs
• courses where the provider has not assigned a qualifying credit value

The new system will support people to study at a pace that is right for them.

If we kept the existing system, it would mean:

• programmes of study that are shorter than one year, and many modules would have disproportionate fee limits
• learners could pay fees for a full year of study, even if their course was only a few months long

Maintenance loans and grants

The government recognises the importance of loans for living costs and targeted grants for learners with child and adult dependants and for learners with disabilities.

Maintenance loans are designed to help learners with living costs while they study. There is a maximum claim amount based on a student’s course, location and personal circumstances.

From January 2027, the LLE will offer maintenance loans on all designated in-person courses and modules.

Distance learning courses will still be out of scope of maintenance support, as they are in the current system. The government intends to roll over the existing exemptions.

We have published guidance explaining how maintenance loans will work when the LLE launches. This has further detail on the calculation process and changes to the split contribution policy.

The LLE will not affect learners who are already eligible for targeted support grants. This money does not need to be repaid.

For new learners under the LLE, targeted support grants will be made available for those studying on a full-time basis (equivalent to at least 120 credits per course year). This covers grants for dependents and travel grants.

The government intends to continue its evaluation of how these grants are used.  

Disabled Students’ Allowance

The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) will be available for those studying 30 or more credits per course or module under the LLE. This also includes courses that were previously funded by Advanced Learner Loans, which will be newly funded under the LLE  .

Any and all digital systems being developed for LLE will be fully accessible in line with Government Digital Service standards.        

Eligible students may qualify for DSA for multiple LLE courses within the service year, though their entitlement cannot exceed the maximum available within that relevant service year. SLC will provide further details on this ahead of the opening of DSA applications for courses starting from 1 January 2027.

LLE loan repayments

Learners must start repaying their loan when they have left their course and earn more than a certain amount. This is known as the repayment threshold.

A borrower’s repayments will depend on what they earn over the threshold, not the total amount they owe.

Repayment of LLE loans will follow the Plan 5 system of student loan repayments. This means repayments will only start once a borrower earns more than £25,000 a year before tax, equal to £2,083 a month or £480 per week.

The amount repaid is 9% of an individual’s gross salary over the repayment threshold. For most people, this is automatically deducted from their salary at the same time as Income Tax and National Insurance.

Repayments continue unless:

• you have repaid your loan
• your salary drops below the threshold
• a 40-year period has passed and the loan is cancelled

Some learners may have an existing undergraduate student loan and then use the residual entitlement they have left under the LLE to fund more undergraduate level study. In this situation, they will continue to make a single repayment of 9% of their gross salary above the repayment threshold.

How the Office for Students will regulate providers under the LLE

From January 2027, providers in England will need to be registered with the Office for Students (OfS) to register students for LLE funding.

There are 2 OfS registration categories:

• approved
• approved (fee cap)

All providers seeking LLE funding will need to register under 1 of these 2 categories.

Guidance on the LLE is available from OfS: Modular provision and the lifelong learning entitlement.

The Department for Education (DfE) is no longer asking OfS to develop a third registration category. DfE and OfS will focus on reducing overlap in their regulatory requirements, with an aim to reduce the regulatory burden.

Advanced learner loan funding at providers not registered with OfS

Level 4 to 6 courses already offered by providers not registered with OfS will be eligible for extended advanced learner loan funding, from 2025 to 2026 through to 2029 to 2030.

Advanced learner loan funding for level 4 to 6 courses will only be available for eligible courses with providers that:

• are not registered with OfS
• have an advanced learner loan funding agreement

If learners are funded through advanced learner loans, they will not be entitled to LLE funding for that course. This includes LLE’s maintenance support and access to modular funding options.

If a provider is not OfS registered at the course start date and the course is eligible for Advanced Learner Loans under an Advanced Learner Loan funding agreement, LLE funding will not be available for that course.

Where a course is not otherwise designated through Advanced Learner Loans and the provider becomes OfS registered later, students may be able to access LLE support from the point the course becomes designated, subject to the usual application time limits.

The introduction of the LLE will not affect advanced learner loan funding for students starting a course before January 2027.

The list of approved qualifications shows if a qualification has been approved for funding.

Student finance account

Users will be able to login to this SLC digital service to obtain their LLE tuition fee loan balance tailored to their specific circumstances.

This digital service will enable individuals to manage their LLE entitlement. Individuals will be able to:

• check their LLE balance
• track the progress of applications
• get information, advice and guidance to help them plan their learning and further their career aspirations

Before logging onto the SLC Student Finance Account, there will also be information and guidance on maintenance and tuition fees, for individuals to estimate how much they may be entitled to. More information will be shared on this in due course.

Recognition of prior learning, credit transfer, and record of learning

The LLE and modular provision will provide a pathway to strengthen opportunities for credit transfer and learner mobility.

We will work with the sector to make sure:

• learners have clear, accessible pathways to move between providers, including consistent processes for credit transfer and recognition of prior learning
• providers offer transparent guidance for incoming and outgoing students
• providers embed these practices into broader strategies for widening access, particularly for those who enter higher education through non-traditional routes

All universities, colleges and other providers currently record learners’ achievements in some form. The government will introduce a standardised transcript as part of modular funding designation to:

• support the LLE
• make it easier to record learners’ achievements under the new credit-based system

We plan to consult on the inclusion of break points in degree programmes to create a more flexible learning offer.

The modular acceleration programme

The modular acceleration programme ran from April 2024 to December 2025. This was a targeted programme to accelerate the delivery of individual modules of HTQs ahead of the launch of the LLE in the 2026 to 2027 academic year.

An interim evaluation of the programme was published in February 2026 and a full report will follow.

How we will support the sector to deliver the LLE

We will work with SLC and OfS to:

• build a new platform and system
• streamline the registration process
• tilt the priority additional entitlement and modules to align with industrial strategy priorities
• extend tuition and maintenance support to full, short, modular provision
• promote best practice
• embed the LLE in the government’s agenda for skills reform

Next steps

We are working to:

• confirm the residual entitlement calculation for learners with prior study
• lay secondary legislation in Parliament to implement the LLE fee limits and funding system
• issue a second expression of interest process for the approval of modular provision in 2026
• publish our consultation on break points in degree programmes
• publish guidance on standardised transcripts
• distribute an asset pack to providers that will help them communicate about the LLE