Lifelong Learning Entitlement: 2027 Guide

If you are planning to start a degree in January 2027 or later, the way you apply for student finance in England is changing. Courses starting on or after 1 January 2027 move to a new system called the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). For mature students, career changers and anyone who has studied before, it changes how much Tuition Fee Loan you can get and how earlier study is counted.

This guide explains what the LLE is, who it applies to, how much you could borrow, how previous study is deducted, Maintenance Loan rules and when to apply. Every rule below links to the official GOV.UK page it comes from. Related reading: January university intake and student finance, second degree and previous study rules and compelling personal reasons.

General information for UK home students in England, based on GOV.UK and Student Loans Company guidance checked on 6 October 2026. Figures are for the 2026 to 2027 academic year and may change. AF Education is not Student Finance England (SFE) or the Student Loans Company (SLC); your own SFE assessment is what decides your funding.

Quick answer: what is the Lifelong Learning Entitlement?

GOV.UK describes the LLE as the new student finance system that replaces previous higher education funding (and some further education funding) for courses starting on or after 1 January 2027. It covers most undergraduate courses at levels 4 to 6 and some level 7 courses (GOV.UK: student finance if your course starts on or after 1 January 2027).

• You can apply for Tuition Fee Loans up to a total of £39,160, which GOV.UK says is around 4 years of full-time study or 480 credits.
• Loans are linked to credits. A full-time year of a bachelor’s degree is usually 120 credits.
• You may also get a Maintenance Loan for living costs if you attend your course in person.
• Applications open at the end of October 2026 for courses starting from January 2027.

Does the LLE apply to me?

It depends on your course start date, not on when you apply. GOV.UK’s how to apply page sets out the split:

GOV.UK also says that even if you already have a Student Finance England account, you will need to create a new account for LLE funding. If you took a break of 12 months or more and are starting a new course from January 2027, you apply through LLE.

Many of the funded degrees AF Education supports have January intakes, for example BA (Hons) Business Management in London with The University of Sunderland and BA (Hons) Business Management at Greenwich with University of Greenwich International College. Students joining those January 2027 intakes would normally apply through LLE, but confirm with the university that your course is LLE-funded. You can compare more options on our partner universities page.

Who is eligible for LLE funding?

According to GOV.UK’s LLE eligibility page, it depends on:

• Your course: most qualifications from level 4 to 6, such as a bachelor’s degree, a foundation degree, Higher Technical Qualifications and a foundation year, as long as it forms part of a bachelor’s degree. Some level 7 courses (such as a PGCE or integrated master’s) are included.
• Credits: you normally need to study between 30 and 180 credits a year. One credit is equivalent to 10 hours of expected learning time.
• Your provider: it must be registered with the Office for Students (OfS).
• Residency: UK nationals, Irish citizens and people with settled status can usually get a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan if their home is in England and they have lived in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man for 3 years before the first day of the month their course starts.
• Age: you must be under 60 on the first day of your course to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. If you are 60 or over, GOV.UK says you may be able to apply for an additional loan for living costs.

How much Tuition Fee Loan can I get?

GOV.UK’s LLE student loans page says:

• The total you can borrow is up to £39,160, for one course or split over several.
• You can get up to £9,790 for every 120 credits you study. Studying 60 credits in a year means up to half that amount.
• The amount also depends on what your provider charges per credit and on its OfS registration and Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) rating.
• Lower amounts may apply for lower-fee foundation years, sandwich placements and study abroad.
• Extra Tuition Fee Loan may be available for courses longer than 4 years, including courses with a foundation year, and for subjects such as medicine, nursing and social work.

The loan may not cover all of your fees. If your provider charges more than the loan covers, you pay the difference yourself.

How previous study is deducted

This is the part that matters most to returners. Under the LLE, any government funding you previously received for tuition is usually deducted from the £39,160 total, and what is left is called your residual entitlement (GOV.UK: how much LLE you could get).

• Courses started on or after 1 September 2012: the deduction is the Tuition Fee Loan or grant you actually received, uplifted to today’s fee levels. Maintenance Loans and grants are not deducted. If you paid your own fees and used no student finance, GOV.UK’s example shows no deduction for that study.
• Courses started before 1 September 2012: deductions are based on years studied at UK providers. GOV.UK lists £9,790 per full-time year and £4,895 per part-time year.
• Compelling personal reasons: parts of a course already recognised as affected by compelling personal reasons, such as serious illness or bereavement, are not included in the deduction. Read our compelling personal reasons guide.

GOV.UK’s worked example: someone who started a full-time degree in 2008 and left partway through the second year has 2 years deducted (£19,580), leaving a residual entitlement of £19,580.

There is also good news for people who already have a degree. GOV.UK’s eligibility page says you may be eligible even if you have studied before, including for a qualification at the same or a lower level, such as a second undergraduate degree, as long as you have entitlement left. GOV.UK also says that once you create an LLE student finance account, you can see an estimate of how much Tuition Fee Loan you have left without applying.

Maintenance Loans under the LLE

GOV.UK says you can only apply for a Maintenance Loan when you:

• still have at least £1,587.50 left from your Tuition Fee Loan amount, and
• attend your course in person.

You normally cannot get a Maintenance Loan for distance learning unless you cannot attend in person because of a disability or long-term illness. The maximum GOV.UK lists is £15,415 for a course year of up to 30 weeks. What you actually get depends on where you live, how many credits you study, how many weeks you study and your household income. If you study fewer than 120 credits a year, the loan is paid proportionally.

For extra help, GOV.UK mentions grants or allowances if you are on a low income, disabled or have children, plus university bursaries, scholarships and hardship funds. See our student finance for parents guide for the current system’s parent grants.

Repayment and interest

The LLE overview page says that, for courses starting from 1 January 2027:

• you start repaying when you earn over £25,000 a year;
• loans are written off 40 years after the April you are first due to repay;
• interest is currently 4.1%, charged from the first payment until the loan is repaid or written off.

Grants, allowances and bursaries usually do not need to be paid back. For how today’s plans work, see when student loan repayments start.

When and how to apply

1. Confirm your start date and course credits with the university, and check it is OfS registered.
2. Create a new LLE student finance account once applications open at the end of October 2026, even if you have an old SFE account.
3. Apply for each course you want funding for. If your course lasts longer than a year, you reapply each year.
4. Declare previous study honestly, including study affected by illness or other personal reasons.
5. If you cannot apply online without help, GOV.UK says to contact Student Finance England.

For deadlines on intakes before January, see student finance deadlines 2026.

What this means for mature students

• Returners with old study: pre-2012 years are deducted per year studied, so check how many years you attended. Years affected by illness or bereavement may be disregarded if accepted as compelling personal reasons.
• Graduates retraining: LLE can fund a course at the same or a lower level if you have entitlement left, which the current system usually does not.
• Foundation year applicants: a foundation year that forms part of a bachelor’s degree is eligible. See our foundation year funding guide for mature students.
• Working adults: many funded degrees AF Education supports need about 1 to 2 campus days a week, so you can keep working. Attending in person also keeps Maintenance Loan eligibility open. Start with our university for mature students page.

How AF Education helps

AF Education is a free service for England-resident UK home students. We help you shortlist funded courses at our partner universities, prepare your application and work through Student Finance England, including LLE applications for January 2027 starts. We cannot make funding decisions, which only SFE can do, but we can help you understand where you stand before you apply.

Frequently asked questions

Next steps

If your course starts in January 2027 or later, plan for the LLE: check your start date, work out how much previous study you have, and create your new account when applications open at the end of October 2026. Check every figure against GOV.UK before you apply.

Prefer to talk? Call AF Education on 020 7377 8844, email info@afeducation.co.uk or visit us at 47 Cavell Street, London E1 2BP (Monday to Friday, 10:00 to 18:00). Our help is free for UK home students.