Last updated: 22 May 2007

QCA recognises and regulates awarding bodies and their qualifications, to maintain the reliability of the national qualifications framework within the United Kingdom.

Therefore, to be recognised as an awarding body and submit qualifications within the national qualifications framework, a two-stage process must be completed:

• the recognition process
• the application for accredited qualifications.

The recognition process is outlined in The statutory regulation of external qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2004), and is very precise about operating, as an awarding body is a specialist function, requiring a high level of governance, experience, expertise, financial stability and quality assurance.

Some organisations find the recognition process difficult due to an inability to demonstrate a separation of training and awarding body functions in instances where the awarding body is also a training provider.

If your organisation is finding it difficult to complete the recognition process you may want to research other awarding bodies that offer qualifications in similar sector/subject areas, or awarding bodies that may be similar in form, and discuss the possibilty of entering a partnership.

The Awarding Body Recognition and Approvals Team monitors and tracks applications from organisations seeking recognition for the first time, extensions to approved plans of provision and updates from recognised awarding bodies. The Awarding Body Recognition and Approvals Team can be contacted at partateam@qca.org.uk

The team is also responsible for providing fortnightly advice to the DfES on qualifications that should be approved under Sections 96 and 97 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000. More details can be found on the 'Guidance on age categories for accredited qualifications' page.

This section provides links to the relevant forms and the step-by-step processes to achieve recognition.