Report a Change to Student Finance 2026/27

Quick answer

You must tell Student Finance England (SFE) if the details on your application change. GOV.UK lists course, university or college changes, repeating a year, a change of name or marital status, a change to your Tuition Fee Loan amount, and living somewhere new. Your parents, partner or sponsor must report some household changes, including a drop in income of at least 15% (GOV.UK: change an application).

How you report it depends on the change and whether you study full time or part time. Full-time students usually use their student finance account. If the year you applied for has already started, ask your university or college to tell SFE about a change or repeat of your course, or a change to your Tuition Fee Loan. You still need to contact SFE yourself about a new name or marital status, or a new place to live. Always read this as Student Finance England, if eligible. Loans are repaid.

General information for UK home students living in England, based on GOV.UK guidance checked on 10 November 2026 (Europe/London). These rules apply to undergraduate student finance for courses starting before 1 January 2027, unless a section says otherwise. Rules and figures change. AF Education is not Student Finance England. Your SFE assessment decides what you receive. Nothing here promises eligibility, a particular payment or that a change will increase your funding. Student finance loans are repaid.

This guide is a practical mid-year checklist: what counts as a change, how to report it, what evidence is needed, and how payments or overpayments can be affected. It is not a substitute for the deeper guides on current year income assessments or leaving or changing course.

What counts as a change, and how to report it

How you report a change depends on your funding type:

• Full-time students: use your student finance account. If you cannot make a change online, official guidance says you can upload a completed Change of Circumstances form (CO1) (GOV.UK: updating your student finance details).
• Part-time students: fill in form CO2 and send it through your student finance account or by post. The address is on the form (GOV.UK: CO2 form). After the course has started, contact your university or college to change course details.
• Tuition Fee Loan only: if you are only eligible for a Tuition Fee Loan and not a Maintenance Loan, fill in form EUCO1 and send it by post (GOV.UK: EUCO1 form).
• Name or marital status: this has a separate process. You must write to SFE. The letter must include your Customer Reference Number (CRN), the date, your signature, and evidence. You can send the letter and evidence through your student finance account or by post to Student Finance England, PO Box 210, Darlington, DL1 9HJ.

Official guidance says it will take 4 weeks to approve changes to your application, so make changes straight away. SFE asks you not to contact them during that time (GOV.UK: Student Finance England ‘How to’ guide).

Household income drops (current year income assessment)

SFE usually looks at an earlier tax year. For the 2026 to 2027 academic year that is 6 April 2024 to 5 April 2025. If household income has gone down since then, your parents or partner may be able to ask SFE to use the current tax year instead. That is a current year income assessment.

For 2026 to 2027, GOV.UK says you will qualify if expected household income is both at least 15% lower for the full current tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027) than the year already submitted, and £58,387 or less for that current tax year. If income is £58,387 or more but less than £70,131, you may still qualify depending on the student’s circumstances (GOV.UK: if your income has gone down).

Your parents or partner must already have given details for the earlier tax year. They then fill in a current year income assessment form and send it through the online account or by post. Both sponsors need to complete the form if two people are assessed, even if only one income has changed. If income changes again during the year, they should send a new form as soon as possible. After the tax year ends, they must send evidence of actual income — usually a form at the start of May. If actual income was higher than estimated, the student will have to repay any extra money. If evidence is not sent, the student will only be entitled to basic student finance and will have to repay any extra money straight away.

This is a summary only. The full tax-year rules, estimates and evidence are in our guide to a current year income assessment, and in the household-income explainer: Household Income and Student Finance 2026/27.

Marriage, separation or a new partner

You must write and tell SFE if you have changed your marital status, with a signed and dated letter, your CRN, and a copy of the official evidence. For a marital status change, GOV.UK lists a marriage certificate, a final or conditional order, a decree absolute, or a civil partnership final order. For a name change, the list also includes a change of name deed poll (GOV.UK: change an application). If you cannot provide the right document, contact SFE.

A change of this kind can affect whose income SFE uses. Official household-income rules say that if you are over 25 you are an independent student, so parents’ income is not included, but a partner’s income is included if you live with them. If you are under 25, having been married or in a civil partnership at any time before the start of your course is one of the official reasons parents’ income may not be included (GOV.UK: household income). Mid-year changes are assessed on your facts — do not assume an automatic increase or decrease. Tell SFE and let the reassessment confirm the position.

Having a child: Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance

If you have a child during the year, you may be able to apply for extra grants on top of your loans. Official options for full-time students with children include Parents’ Learning Allowance and, if you pay for childcare, the Childcare Grant. There is also an Adult Dependants’ Grant if an adult depends on you financially.

Parents’ Learning Allowance is a grant. GOV.UK says you could get between £50 and £2,024 for each year of your course, depending on household income. It is paid on top of other student finance, does not have to be paid back, and will not affect your benefits or tax credits — but you may have to repay any money you are overpaid because of a change in your circumstances or course (GOV.UK: Parents’ Learning Allowance).

The Childcare Grant can cover 85% of eligible childcare costs, up to a maximum of £199.62 a week for one child or £342.24 a week for two or more children, whichever is less (GOV.UK: Childcare Grant, what you’ll get). There are detailed eligibility rules, including income limits and not claiming Tax-Free Childcare, the childcare element of Universal Credit or Working Tax Credit, or NHS childcare help. Check the official eligibility page for your situation.

If you have already applied for student finance but did not apply for a Childcare Grant at the same time, or you want to apply for another child, GOV.UK says you can use a paper form (for courses that started before 1 January 2027) and send it through your student finance account or by post (GOV.UK: Childcare Grant, how to apply). Official cost-of-living guidance also says students with children or dependent adults should complete an Application for Dependants’ Grants form (GOV.UK: cost of living student finance support). More detail is in Student Finance for Parents 2026/27.

Your parents or sponsor must also tell SFE if they have another child. They can use form PFF2.

Moving to or from London, or moving home

Where you live while you study can change how much Maintenance Loan you can get. Official examples include changing from living away from home to living with your parents, or changing university from one in London to one outside London. Those changes can also create an overpayment if you have already been paid at a higher rate (GOV.UK: repaying a student loan or grant overpayment).

GOV.UK also notes the other direction: if you now live away from your parental home for the majority of the academic year, you can get more loan, and you should keep SFE up to date on where you are living. Official guidance says to complete a Change of Circumstances form (CO1) if you have changed address, or to update your home and contact address in your online account at any time during the academic year.

You must still contact SFE yourself if you are living somewhere new, even after the year has started, and then check the reassessed amount in your student finance account.

Changing course or university, suspending or withdrawing

If the year you applied for has started, ask your university or college to tell SFE if you change or repeat your course or change your Tuition Fee Loan. If you want to withdraw, official guidance says speak to your university or college first. They will send SFE your last day, and SFE will use that date to work out how much student finance you are entitled to. You can only get funding for the time you were in study.

You can also block your next payment in your online account before it is processed, to reduce the chance of a Maintenance Loan instalment being paid after you have left. Any Maintenance Loan paid after your withdrawal date needs to be paid back straight away. Your Tuition Fee Loan is repaid as normal. If you are transferring to another course, official withdrawal guidance says you do not need to contact SFE yourself — your university will let them know, and SFE will reassess and contact you if your entitlement has changed (GOV.UK: what to do if you want to withdraw from your course).

If you suspend because of illness or another serious personal reason, you might still be able to get student finance while you are away. If you suspend for health reasons, you might be able to get funding for an extra 60 days after you suspend, but only if your university has told SFE that you have suspended for health reasons and you send evidence, such as a letter from your doctor. Extra funding of that kind is only awarded if you suspend. It does not apply if you withdraw or transfer.

For courses starting before 1 January 2027, GOV.UK says you will need to repay at least some of your Tuition Fee Loan for the year that you suspend or leave: 25% if you leave in term 1, 50% in term 2, and all of the loan for the year if you leave in term 3. That is repaid in the usual way once you start earning over the threshold. Your Maintenance Loan is reassessed on the number of days you attended. Official example: a £1,200 loan covering a 12-week term, leaving after 8 weeks, means you can keep £800 and must repay the remaining £400 straight away as an overpayment (GOV.UK: repaying your student finance if you suspend or leave).

If you are planning to return to the same course or a different course before 1 January 2027, the overpaid amount will usually be taken off your student finance payments when you return, so you do not have to repay it straight away. For the detailed leave, transfer and repeat-year rules, use Leave or Change Course? Student Finance Rules.

Disability and Disabled Students’ Allowance

If you have a disability, long-term illness, mental health problem or learning difficulty such as dyslexia, you can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). It can be on its own or in addition to other student finance. The type of support and how much you get depends on your individual needs, not your household income, and you do not need to pay it back (GOV.UK: Disabled Students’ Allowance).

If you have already applied for other student finance, sign in to your student finance account to start a DSA application. Official guidance says the application should be on your ‘to-do list’ if you chose DSA in your application for other support. If it is not, select ‘change your circumstances’ to apply. If you applied by post and do not have an online account, there is a DSA slim form. SLC will tell you in 4 weeks if your application is successful, but it can take up to 14 weeks to get the support in place, so apply as soon as you can. Do not buy equipment before your needs assessment — you will not be reimbursed for it (GOV.UK: how to apply for DSA).

Official cost-of-living guidance says that once your application has been approved, any funding you are entitled to will be backdated to the start of your course. More detail on what DSA can pay for is in Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) 2026.

Bank details

Maintenance Loan payments are usually paid into your bank account at the start of each term, after you register. Use your student finance account to update your bank details — for example if you open a student account — and to check how much you will be paid and when.

Official rules are strict:

• SFE can only make payments to a UK bank or building society account.
• The account must be in your own name. Payments cannot be made into a third-party account under any circumstance.
• If you are expecting a payment, SFE needs 4 working days’ notice so the payment goes to the new account. Changes made inside that window will not take effect before the payment is due (GOV.UK: updating your student finance details).

You can also change the amount of Maintenance Loan you have requested in your online account up until one month before the end of the academic year. It will take 4 weeks to process. Enter the new total amount, not just the difference. If you cannot change it online, there is a loan request form in your account (GOV.UK: ‘How to’ guide).

How payments and overpayments are affected

You are paid your student loan and any grants in advance at the start of each term. If your personal circumstances or course change, SLC reassesses whether you are still getting the right amount. If the amount you are entitled to has gone down, you will have to pay back any extra money you have received. That overpayment is repaid separately from the rest of your student loan (GOV.UK: repaying a student loan or grant overpayment).

Official examples of how an undergraduate overpayment can happen include:

• your estimated income was lower than your actual income, for example after a current year income assessment
• you left your course or stopped studying
• you changed course, for example to a shorter course
• you changed from a college or university in London to one outside London
• you started living with your parents
• you were being paid a Childcare Grant but are no longer responsible for the same number of children

If you are still studying, you will usually have to repay before the end of your course. Either later payments are reduced to recover the overpayment, or you arrange to repay separately as a lump sum or in instalments. If you cannot repay straight away, you can ask SFE to set up a payment plan. There is no minimum earning amount before an overpayment has to be repaid if you have left your course.

If your Childcare Grant was overpaid on or after 1 September 2019, you will need to repay that amount after your course ends. The same later-repayment exception applies to grants taken in or before the 2016 to 2017 academic year. Other grant or bursary amounts that cover the period after you have left usually need to be repaid straight away.

Deadlines and evidence

There is no single change-of-circumstances deadline, but official timings matter:

• Make changes straight away. Course, university and loan-amount changes are described as taking 4 weeks to approve or process.
• You can change your requested Maintenance Loan amount up until one month before the end of the academic year.
• Give 4 working days’ notice before a payment if you change bank details.
• A DSA decision can come in 4 weeks, but support can take up to 14 weeks to put in place.
• For a current year income assessment, keep estimates up to date during the year and send actual-income evidence after the tax year ends (you will usually be sent a form at the start of May).

Evidence depends on the change. Keep copies of what you send. Official examples include:

• Name or marital status: a signed letter with your CRN, the date, and a copy of a marriage certificate, final or conditional order, decree absolute, civil partnership final order, or change of name deed poll, as appropriate.
• Income: current year income assessment form, then year-end evidence such as the documents you send to or receive from HMRC (for example a P60 or Self Assessment return).
• Health-related suspension: your university must tell SFE, and you send evidence such as a letter from your doctor.
• DSA: the evidence SFE asks for to confirm your disability or condition, then a needs assessment. Only upload evidence if you have been asked to, and only once. Files cannot be larger than 16MB.
• Childcare or dependants’ grants: the evidence listed on the application or Dependants’ Grants form.
• Living somewhere new: official forms note that you may be asked to give evidence of where you live.

If you cannot provide the right document, contact SFE rather than guessing. Sign in to your account to check payments, upload evidence you have been asked for, and see whether your entitlement has been reassessed.

Frequently asked questions

Free help from AF Education

AF Education gives free UK support with Student Finance England applications for mature and foundation-year Home students. WhatsApp: +44 7448 501646 · afeducation.co.uk.

Student Finance England, if eligible. Loans are repaid. Eligibility rules apply. Figures from GOV.UK. Only SFE can confirm what you will receive after a change of circumstances.

Sources

• Student finance: how to apply — change an application (GOV.UK)
• Updating your student finance details (GOV.UK)
• Student Finance England ‘How to’ guide (GOV.UK, updated 19 January 2026)
• If your income has gone down (GOV.UK)
• Household income (GOV.UK)
• What to do if you want to withdraw from your course (GOV.UK)
• Student finance if you suspend or leave your course (GOV.UK)
• Repaying your student finance if you suspend or leave (GOV.UK)
• Repaying a student loan or grant overpayment (GOV.UK)
• Childcare Grant: how to apply (GOV.UK)
• Childcare Grant: what you’ll get (GOV.UK)
• Parents’ Learning Allowance (GOV.UK)
• Disabled Students’ Allowance (GOV.UK)
• Disabled Students’ Allowance: how to apply (GOV.UK)
• Cost of living — student finance support (GOV.UK)
• Change of circumstances form for part-time students (CO2) (GOV.UK)
• Change of circumstances form for tuition fee only students (EUCO1) (GOV.UK)