Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) student applications now open

Students starting a course on or after 1 January 2027 can now apply for the LLE.

Students domiciled in England who are starting their studies on a higher education course or module in the UK on or after 1 January 2027 can now apply through the LLE.

The LLE replaces the previous undergraduate funding system for students who are eligible through Student Finance England (SFE). Some postgraduate level courses will also be funded under the LLE, such as postgraduate healthcare and teaching qualifications. Additionally, the LLE will also fund some courses previously funded by the Advanced Learner Loan (ALL) system.

How do students apply?

To apply for the LLE, students need to sign up to GOV.UK One Login. Find out more about how to sign up to GOV.UK One Login, or sign in on GOV.UK.

What funding is available?

They may be able to get:

• Tuition Fee Loans to help pay course tuition fees
• Maintenance Loans to help with living costs
• Extra help such as grants or an allowance for those who are on a low income, are disabled or have children

The amount of support available depends on the number of credits they will study. All courses that qualify for funding will be worth a certain number of credits. For example, a year of studying a bachelor’s degree full time is usually worth 120 credits.

Students who have not received student finance before can get a standard entitlement of Tuition Fee Loan of up to £39,160. This is equivalent to approximately 480 credits. Depending on the course or modules they study, they may be able to fund more than 480 credits with this based on how much providers charges.

If a student has studied and received student finance before, this will be considered when working out how much tuition fee funding they can get through the LLE.

Maintenance Loans up to a maximum of up to £15,415 per course year are available depending on factors such as: household income, where they live while studying and the number of credits they’re studying. The amount of Maintenance Loan they can get can change in each year that they study.

Students may also be able to receive additional financial help from other sources, for example:

• money from universities or colleges such as a bursary, scholarship or hardship funds
• NHS funding or bursaries for certain courses such as nursing or social work

Repayments

Loans only need to be repaid once students have finished or left their course or individual module in line with Repayment Plan 5 earning thresholds, find out more about repayments. Any loan that they take out will have interest applied from the day the first loan payment is made, find out more about how interest works. Any outstanding loan(s) through the LLE will be cancelled 40 years after the April they are first due to start repaying.

Further information

For full details on eligibility, what funding is available and how to apply, visit GOV.UK.