How Many UCAS Points Is an D at A-level?

Quick answer: A grade D at A-level is worth 24 UCAS points on the 2026 Tariff. A D is a full pass, it counts towards every points-based offer, and it stacks with your other grades into your final total.

A D gets talked about as a disappointment. On the Tariff it is nothing of the sort: it carries a fixed, usable value that combines with your other grades in exactly the same way an A does. This page shows what that value is, where it sits on the A-level scale, and what your results reach with a D in the mix.

What a D at A-level is worth

A grade D carries 24 UCAS points — the same in every subject, with every exam board, in every year of the current Tariff (2017 onwards). The breakdown below shows the value alongside other qualification routes that produce the same figure.

Two details in that breakdown deserve attention. First, the value never varies: a D in Further Maths and a D in Media Studies carry identical points, because the Tariff prices the grade, not the subject. Second, 24 points matches the value UCAS gives an A-grade Extended Project — a useful benchmark for how the Tariff rates the examined Level 3 work behind a D.

How a D compares with the other A-level grades

Every step on the A-level scale is worth exactly eight points, and a D sits one step above E, the bottom grade on the Tariff table. Here is the full ladder for 2026 entry:

Read the scale from your own position. A C sits eight points above you, and E — the lowest grade on the table — sits eight points below. That even spacing has a practical consequence: improving a single subject by one grade moves your three-subject total by exactly eight points — enough to cross into a higher offer band on many course listings. The full A-level UCAS points table sets these values alongside AS-levels and the EPQ.

What totals you reach with D grades

Universities read your results as one combined figure, and three A-levels build it by straightforward addition. Straight Ds — the DDD grade combination — come to 72 points. Lift one subject to a C and CDD reaches 80; lift two and CCD reaches 88. A single D in an otherwise strong set of results keeps the mainstream bands in play too: a D alongside two Bs produces 104 points, one band below the 112 UCAS points level that anchors more UK offers than any other figure.

The A-level UCAS points calculator totals any grade set instantly, including mixes with AS-levels, an EPQ, or resat subjects.

Still worth points — and still usable

A D earns its place on your UCAS form in three concrete ways.

It is a pass. A-level grades A* to E are all passes; only a U (unclassified) carries nothing. A D certifies examined Level 3 attainment, and admissions teams count its 24 points at full face value in any points-based offer.

It keeps real courses in range. Plenty of universities express entry requirements as a Tariff total rather than named grades, and totals between 64 and 88 appear across foundation years, extended degrees and full honours programmes — particularly at post-1992 institutions. Straight Ds put the lower end of that range directly in reach, and the universities with low UCAS points requirements in Clearing fill places at exactly these levels every August.

It is cheap to build on. The gaps on the Tariff are small in absolute terms — eight points per grade step. An EPQ adds up to 28 points for an A* without touching your A-level subjects, Core Maths and AS-levels stack on top in the same way, and a resit replaces the grade outright. The guide to how to get more UCAS points ranks every route by effort and payoff.

Your next step holding a D

Check both kinds of offer wording before you write anything off. Courses that state a points total accept your D as 24 points inside any qualifying combination. Courses that name specific grades — "BBC at A-level", for instance — need those exact grades, so a D in your set redirects you towards the points-based alternatives instead. Grade-based offers dominate at selective universities, which means a results set containing a D points you towards the Tariff-based market, foundation years, and Clearing — all of which run deep and fill thousands of places each cycle.

Start from your real number rather than a guess, then match it against course requirements one by one.

Work out your full A-level points total