How Much Does a UCAS Application Cost?

The UCAS application fee for 2027 entry is £34.50. That single payment covers up to five university and college choices, or up to six if you're applying to a conservatoire, so there's no charge per choice. Students who received UK government-funded free school meals, and eligible care leavers, can have the fee waived completely.

That's £5.55 more than the £28.95 fee for 2026 entry, so about a fifth more. If money is tight, don't let the fee put you off. UCAS says the fee "is not meant to prevent anyone from applying to university", and there's help below if you can't cover it.

How much is the UCAS fee for 2027 compared with 2026?

If you're applying this autumn for a course that starts in 2027, £34.50 is the figure you'll pay. You may still see £28.95 on some pages, but that was the fee for courses starting in 2026. UCAS's 2026-entry guidance gave it as £28.95 for up to five choices.

UCAS sets one fee for the 2027 cycle, so an application sent in September costs the same as one sent just before the January deadline or later on. The dates themselves are in our UCAS deadlines guide.

What does the UCAS application fee pay for?

The fee isn't only a charge for sending your form. UCAS says that as part of the fee you also get access to:

• independent information, advice and guidance on exploring your options and applying
• the UCAS Hub, where you manage and track your application, receive offers and make decisions
• extra services during the cycle, including UCAS Extra and Clearing
• tools such as Course Search, the Historical Entry Grades Data Tool and Scholarships Search
• support teams who help at each stage of the process

If you're wondering who UCAS actually is and how it's run, our guide to what UCAS is covers that.

Is the UCAS fee per choice or per application?

It's per application. You pay £34.50 once, and that covers up to five choices, or six on a conservatoire application. UCAS calls it a "single fee", so you're not charged for each university you add within that limit.

If you apply with fewer than five choices, you can add more later, up to five in total, as long as it's before 30 June 2027 and you haven't replied to any offers. After 30 June you can't swap one choice for another either.

Since the price is the same for one choice or five, it's worth using them well. Check your likely total with the predicted grades UCAS points calculator, then compare it with how many UCAS points you need for each course. That way every choice you pay for is a realistic one.

How do you pay the UCAS fee, and when?

You pay at the very end, in the "Submit and Pay" section of your application, once every other section is finished. Your application can't reach UCAS until the fee is paid or waived.

How it works depends on how you're applying:

• Through a school or college. You link to your school with its buzzword, and when you submit, your application goes to your school first. Staff check it and add your UCAS reference. Some schools pay UCAS on your behalf, which UCAS calls paying through the centre. Others ask you to pay them, or to pay online yourself.
• Independently. You don't have a school or college to pay through, so the fee is yours to pay when you submit your application.

If you're at school or college, ask your teacher how they handle payment and whether they have an internal deadline, which may be earlier than UCAS's own dates.

Can I get the fee waived?

Yes, if you fit one of two groups. Both waivers cover the whole £34.50, and you claim them as part of your application, not after it's been sent.

Free school meals (FSM) fee waiver

UCAS's eligibility wording is: "Students who are currently enrolled at school or college, and have been in receipt of UK government funded free school meals at some point during the last six years (i.e. during their secondary education) up until the end of their final year, will be eligible to have the application fee waived."

A few details matter here:

• It must be government-funded free school meals. If your local council gives universal free meals to every secondary student, that doesn't count on its own.
• Independent school students can say their family's finances would have made them eligible in the past six years. Teachers can verify this through a previous school, a letter from the local authority or the Bursary Assessment Associates contextualised data service.
• If you've left school but are applying through a UCAS registered centre, you're eligible if you can show the centre you received free school meals in the last six years.
• International students aren't eligible for this waiver.

To claim it, enter your school's buzzword when you start your application. In the "More about you" section, answer "yes" to the free school meals question. Then, in "Submit and Pay", choose "Apply with waiver". Your teacher or adviser confirms your eligibility when they review your application. If your school's records don't show it, you'll need evidence, such as confirmation from a previous school or a letter from your local authority.

This information also goes to universities, and some use it when deciding whether to make a contextual offer.

Care leaver fee waiver (new for 2027 entry)

For the 2027 cycle, eligible care leavers don't have to pay the fee. UCAS defines a care leaver as "someone who has been in the care of the Local Authority for a period of 13 weeks or more spanning your 16th birthday". It adds that "a care leaver in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is eligible for the fee waiver up until their 25th birthday", while "in Scotland they are eligible up until their 26th birthday".

If you're 16 or 17 and still in care, but you'll be an eligible care leaver at 18, you can apply with the waiver too. The process is different from the FSM waiver:

1. Answer "yes" to the care experience question in the "Diversity and inclusion" section.
2. Upload supporting information using document upload. This could be a signed letter from a professional such as a teacher, social worker or personal adviser, a letter from your local authority or school, or your Pathway Plan.
3. Look out for an email from UCAS with instructions.
4. Complete every section and mark it complete, but don't submit yet.
5. Contact UCAS to confirm your eligibility. UCAS then waives the fee. Its phone line is 0371 468 0 468, Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 18:00.
6. Accept the terms and conditions and submit.

What if I can't afford the fee but don't qualify?

UCAS's advice is to speak to your school or college first. It says most schools and colleges will cover the cost if you can't afford it. You can also contact the universities you're applying to, as some have schemes that pay application fees in certain circumstances. If you're in care now, your local authority may be able to help.

Is the UCAS application fee refundable?

Only in one case. UCAS "will only refund applications cancelled within 14 days of being submitted", so if you cancel your whole application within 14 days of sending it, you get a full refund. After that, the fee isn't refunded.

That's another reason to take your time before you submit. Check your choices against your predicted grades first, rather than sending it and changing your mind later.

Does Clearing or Extra cost extra?

No. UCAS lists Extra and Clearing among the services the application fee gives you access to, so if you've already applied there's nothing more to pay to use them.

• UCAS Extra is for applicants who used all five choices and aren't holding any offers. Our UCAS Extra guide explains how it works.
• Clearing is how universities fill the places they still have, and it's open to people without an offer they want. Our guide to how Clearing works walks you through it.

If you haven't applied at all and send your first application late in the cycle, it's still a 2027-entry application, so the standard £34.50 fee applies unless you qualify for a waiver.

What other costs should you plan for?

The UCAS fee isn't the only cost of applying. Budget for these too, and check each one's price at the source:

• Admissions tests. Some courses ask you to sit a test as part of your application. Check the test's own website for any fee and for help with the cost.
• Open days and interviews. Travel can add up. UCAS points out that some universities help with the cost of attending open days, interviews and events, so ask the university if cost is a barrier.

Then there's university itself. Tuition fees and living costs are separate from UCAS. Student finance is its own application, and our student finance basics guide explains how it works.

Scholarships and bursaries are also worth a look. They don't have to be repaid, and UCAS's Scholarships Search is one of the tools your fee gives you access to.

What should you do next?

Get your reference and personal statement moving with your school, and put the 2027 UCAS deadlines in your calendar. If you're claiming a waiver, sort out your evidence early so it's ready when you reach "Submit and Pay". Before you pay, make sure your five choices fit your predicted grades. And if you're new to all of this, start with our plain-English guide to what UCAS is and how it works.

Check your UCAS points