Wales and Northern Ireland each have their own regulator, and each makes its own decision even if Ofqual already recognises you. Neither charges an application fee. Qualifications Wales aims to decide within three months of starting its review. CCEA Regulation's handbook allows 10 working days for an administrative check and up to 45 for the technical review. Both use the same four criteria headings as Ofqual, so most of your evidence carries across. We checked the regulators' own documents on 5 October 2026.
Who needs to apply in Wales and Northern Ireland?
These applications are for awarding bodies, not for training providers. If you deliver someone else's qualification as an approved centre, recognition in Wales or Northern Ireland is your awarding organisation's job, and all you need to do is ask whether it holds it. If you are applying to Ofqual to become an awarding organisation yourself, this is the point at which to decide whether England alone is enough.
The reason to bother is funding and reach. In Wales, only qualifications that Qualifications Wales has approved or designated can be used on publicly funded courses for learners under 19. A qualification that is regulated but neither approved nor designated is not eligible for that funding. In Northern Ireland, a recognised awarding organisation has to put each qualification through CCEA Regulation before offering it there.
| Wales | Northern Ireland | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Qualifications Wales | CCEA Regulation |
| First step | Email enquiry, then a Part 1 preliminary application with a business plan for Wales | Email to request a meeting with CCEA Regulation staff |
| Main application | Part 2, against the Criteria for General Recognition | Application against the recognition criteria |
| Published timing | Aim of three months from the start of review, up to six | 10 working days administrative check, up to 45 working days technical review, 10 working days to confirm |
| Application fee | None listed. GOV.UK says there is no charge | None. The 2023 handbook says there is no charge |
| After recognition | Qualifications submitted for approval or designation. 15 working days for an initial designation request | Qualifications submitted through a quarterly return for an accreditation decision |
Sources: Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation, linked below. Checked 5 October 2026.
How do you apply to Qualifications Wales?
The application comes in two parts, after a first email to the regulator explaining why you want recognition. Part 1 is a preliminary application about Wales itself, and it includes your business plan for Wales. Part 2 is the full application, with evidence that you meet the Criteria for General Recognition and can comply with the Standard Conditions of Recognition. The criteria carry the same four headings as Ofqual's, and the recognition policy allows your evidence to include material you have already submitted to other regulators.
- Email enquiryExplain why you want recognition in Wales.
- Part 1, preliminary applicationAbout Wales itself, including your business plan for Wales.
- Part 2, full applicationEvidence against the Criteria for General Recognition and the Standard Conditions of Recognition.Evidence sent to other regulators can be reused
- Review and decisionQualifications Wales reviews the application and decides.Aim of three months, up to six
- Qualifications submittedEach qualification goes onto the Qualifications in Wales database for approval or designation.15 working days for an initial designation request
There is no charge to apply, according to the GOV.UK licence page updated on 9 April 2026.
Qualifications Wales says it aims to reach its decision within three months of starting its review, and that this may take up to six months for complex cases or when demand is high. We found no fee on its own pages. The GOV.UK licence page for awarding body recognition in Wales, last updated on 9 April 2026, says there is no charge. The Qualifications Wales Act 2015 does give the regulator a power to charge under a published scheme, and we did not find such a scheme.
Recognition is the first step. Each qualification then goes onto the Qualifications in Wales database, and the regulator's service level for an initial designation request is 15 working days. Whether a course is actually funded is a Welsh Government decision.
How do you apply to CCEA Regulation in Northern Ireland?
CCEA Regulation will not look at an application until you have met its staff, so the first step is an email asking for that meeting. You use it to set out why you want recognition in Northern Ireland and how you would meet the criteria. The timings after that come from its 2023 handbook. It allows itself 10 working days for an administrative check and up to 45 working days for a technical review, and it then confirms the decision within a further 10 working days. The website is more cautious. It says a complete application will take at least 45 working days to consider, and we would plan on that.
- Email to request a meetingCCEA Regulation will not look at an application until you have met its staff.
- MeetingSet out why you want recognition in Northern Ireland and how you would meet the criteria.
- ApplicationSubmitted against the recognition criteria.No charge
- Administrative checkCCEA Regulation checks the application.10 working days
- Technical reviewThe application is reviewed against the criteria.Up to 45 working days
- Decision confirmedCCEA Regulation confirms its decision.Within a further 10 working days
- Qualifications submittedThrough a quarterly return, for an accreditation decision.Feedback within 20 working days
Timings are from CCEA Regulation's 2023 handbook. Its website says a complete application will take at least 45 working days to consider.
The handbook states that CCEA Regulation does not charge you to apply for recognition. On joint applications the two sources pull in different directions. The handbook says an organisation seeking recognition from CCEA Regulation, Ofqual and Qualifications Wales at the same time only has to submit one application. The website says a separate application must be made to Ofqual and to Qualifications Wales. Ask CCEA Regulation which applies to you before you rely on either.
After recognition, every qualification other than GCSEs and GCEs that you want to offer in Northern Ireland goes to CCEA Regulation for an accreditation decision through a quarterly return. The handbook describes a sample of about 10 per cent and feedback within 20 working days. An annual statement of compliance is required as well.
Apollo Accreditation is a consultancy. It is not a regulator or an awarding organisation and does not award qualifications. Fees and rules change, so confirm them with the body named before you act on them.
Common questions
Do Qualifications Wales or CCEA Regulation charge an application fee?
No. Qualifications Wales lists no fee on its own pages, and the GOV.UK licence page for Wales says there is no charge. CCEA Regulation's 2023 handbook says it does not charge you to apply for recognition. What you pay for is the staff time to prepare two more sets of evidence.
If Ofqual recognises us, are we recognised in Wales and Northern Ireland?
No. Each regulator takes its own decision for its own nation. Ofqual recognition covers England, and you still have to be recognised by Qualifications Wales for Wales and by CCEA Regulation for Northern Ireland. Much of the evidence is the same, because all three use criteria under the same four headings.
How long does recognition by Qualifications Wales take?
Qualifications Wales says it aims to decide within three months of starting its review. It warns that a complex case, or a busy period, can stretch that to six months. Add the time you need to write the Part 1 business plan for Wales before the clock starts.
How long does recognition by CCEA Regulation take?
CCEA Regulation's handbook gives 10 working days for the administrative check, up to 45 working days for the technical review and 10 more to confirm the decision. Its website says at least 45 working days. You also need to fit in the meeting it asks for before you apply.
Does a training provider need to apply to Qualifications Wales or CCEA Regulation?
Not usually. Recognition in Wales and Northern Ireland is held by awarding bodies. A training provider that delivers an awarding organisation's qualification only needs to check that the awarding organisation is recognised by the regulator for the nation where the learners are.
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Sources
- Qualifications Wales, Awarding body recognition
- Qualifications Wales, Recognition Handbook (version 1, March 2025)
- Qualifications Wales, Designation Handbook (version 4, June 2026)
- GOV.UK, Regulated qualification awarding body registration (Wales), updated 9 April 2026
- Qualifications Wales Act 2015, section 49
- CCEA Regulation, Becoming a recognised awarding organisation
- CCEA Regulation, Handbook for Awarding Organisations 2023
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