UCAS · United Kingdom
UK universities, 2026 entry: deadlines, and the last date to sit TOEFL®
The 2026 entry cycle is in its final months: the main deadlines have passed and what remains is Clearing. If you are testing now, you are almost certainly working towards 2027 entry instead.
Working back from last date to add a 2026 entry clearing choice
- Application deadline
- 19 October 2026
- Latest test date that could still clear it
- 25 September 2026
- Latest regular registration for that test
- 18 September 2026
These two derived dates are Reach120 arithmetic on ETS’s published ranges, not ETS statements: the top of its 4–16 business-day score-delivery range, then its seven-day regular registration close. Our weekday count skips weekends only: ETS does not publish whose public holidays its “business days” exclude, so we exclude none rather than guess a calendar — which makes this date optimistic over any holiday period. ETS’s own advice, test two to three months before your earliest deadline, is the safer one. How this is calculated.
Still ahead
Last date to add a 2026 entry Clearing choice
20 days left— UCAS published no time, so this counts to the end of that day in the UK
The cycle closes here. Everything after this is 2027 entry.
Where this date comes from
“Oct 19 — Last date to add 2026 entry Clearing choice”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
Already passed
Kept visible on purpose. If you have arrived after one of these, the useful thing is to know it — not to find a page that quietly dropped the row.
Final date for 2026 entry applications
Passed 5 days ago— UCAS published no time, so this counts to the end of that day in the UK
The last day any 2026-entry application can be made. A test booked after this date cannot serve this cycle.
Where this date comes from
“Sep 24 — Final date for 2026 entry applications”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
Last date an application goes to universities rather than Clearing
Passed 92 days agoat 18:00 UK time
After this point an application is not sent to the chosen universities at all — it goes straight into Clearing.
Where this date comes from
“Jun 30 (18:00 UK time) — Applications received by this deadline will be sent to universities and colleges. After this time, applications are automatically entered into Clearing.”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
Equal consideration deadline for most courses
Passed 259 days agoat 18:00 UK time
The date most 2026-entry applicants planned around: applications in by now are considered equally by course providers.
Where this date comes from
“Jan 14 (18:00 UK time) — Equal consideration date for applications for most undergraduate courses”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
Oxford, Cambridge, medicine, dentistry and veterinary deadline
Passed 350 days agoat 18:00 UK time
The earliest hard deadline in the cycle, and the one an applicant to these courses has to work backwards from.
Where this date comes from
“Oct 15 (18:00 UK time) — Deadline for applications to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and for most courses in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine/science”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
Completed applications can be sent to UCAS
Opened 392 days ago— UCAS published no time, so this counts to the end of that day in the UK
The first day UCAS accepts a finished 2026-entry application. Nothing about a test score is due on this date.
Where this date comes from
“Sep 02 — Completed undergraduate applications can be submitted to UCAS”
UCAS — https://www.ucas.com/advisers/help-and-training/key-dates-timeline · read 2026-09-12
What this page is not telling you
- UCAS does not set English-language requirements. Whether a university accepts TOEFL, at what score, and by when it wants the evidence are that university’s rules, published on its own page.
- No test dates appear here, because ETS publishes none publicly. Your own ETS account is the only current answer for your location.
- Deadlines move. Each row links the page it was read from and the day it was read; check it before you rely on it.