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Getting qualifications accredited

Statutory regulations

All qualifications are accredited against the criteria laid out in The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2004).

For more information, see 'Statutory regulations' in the related links box on this page.

Accreditation process

After an awarding body has been recognised, it may begin to submit qualification proposals for accreditation in accordance with its agreed plan of provision.

Since May 2005 there have been two processes for the accreditation of qualifications.

  • Standard accreditation - all awarding bodies are recognised to develop qualifications via the standard accreditation process, and qualifications should be accredited within a maximum of three weeks.
  • Five-day accreditation - all awarding bodies may apply for access to five-day accreditation. In doing so they must prove that they have robust qualification development processes and have a good track record of developing qualifications.

On submission of a proposal, awarding bodies must agree to all terms of accreditation. For more information on the terms of accreditation see below.

Web-based accreditation

The standard and five-day accreditation processes are underpinned by a web-based accreditation system to which awarding organisations will be able to submit proposals for new qualifications, as well as amendment, extension, withdrawal or pilot qualification proposals.

Database of accredited qualifications

Once qualifications have been accredited, details will appear on the National Database of Accredited Qualifications (opens in new window) (NDAQ) - QCA's free, fully searchable database of accredited qualifications.

This database includes details of units and elements for each qualification, reference numbers for qualifications and units, and accreditation start and end dates. You can access the database from this page.

Terms of accreditation

Upon submitting a qualification proposal, the awarding body must agree to be bound by the terms of accreditation. Further details about the standard terms and conditions of accreditation applicable to qualifications accredited to the National Qualifications Framework are available from Ofqual.

After the decision is taken to accredit a qualification, an email will be sent to the awarding body confirming the final terms of accreditation (including the accreditation schedule, which confirms the accredited qualification number, structure and unit titles). Failure by an awarding body to abide by the terms of accreditation could result in sanctions being applied.