Clearing lets you apply for courses that still have vacancies when you don't have a confirmed university place. Contact the university first; add the Clearing choice only after it offers you the course and you're ready to accept it.
Clearing opens on 2 July 2027. You can use it when you have no offer and no university is still deciding on one of your existing choices. If your firm or insurance university is still deciding, wait until both decisions are complete before treating yourself as unplaced. Before July, if you have no offers, you may still be able to add an unused choice, use Extra or decide to reapply.
If you are applying to university for the first time after 30 June, you still complete and submit a UCAS application. UCAS puts that application into Clearing instead of sending a set of ordinary course choices. Once it has been processed, universities can use your Personal ID and Clearing number to look up what you submitted.
Find a course you would actually take
Clearing vacancies appear in the UCAS search tool from 2 July and change as places are filled. When a course interests you, open the current university course page and check the modules, campus, start date, entry requirements and any interview, portfolio or other selection stage. A university you liked earlier may have a vacancy only on a different course or campus, so check the course and campus actually on offer rather than assuming your earlier reasons for choosing the university still apply.
Clearing doesn't restrict you to the subjects or universities in your original choices. If you consider a course that wasn't on your earlier shortlist, read enough to understand the subject and structure before you contact the university. Don't accept it solely because the entry requirements are lower or because a place happens to be available.
Speak to the university before you add a Clearing choice
Have your UCAS Personal ID, Clearing number, results or UCAS Tariff points, and the course title and code ready before you make contact. Universities use phone calls, online forms and live chat, and the admissions team may ask why you want the course as well as checking your qualifications. Confirm the exact course, campus and start date, and check any condition attached to the offer. If accommodation is essential, find out what is still available before you commit. Note the deadline the university gives you for adding the course in UCAS.
You can speak to several universities and receive more than one informal offer before choosing which course to accept. Those conversations don't place you on a course in UCAS. Keep a clear record of what each university has offered so you don't confuse course codes, campuses, deadlines or conditions when several conversations happen on the same day.
Once you have chosen an offer, add the course in UCAS only after the university has given you permission. Adding the Clearing choice counts as accepting that offer, and you can have only one Clearing choice in UCAS at a time. If the university confirms you, the place is secured; if it doesn't, you can return to Clearing and add another choice.
If you already have a confirmed place
A confirmed place prevents you from adding a Clearing choice. If another university has a course you prefer, contact that university while you still hold the place you already have. Make sure the course has a vacancy, that the admissions team is willing to offer it to you through Clearing and that you understand what you would be accepting. Only then decide whether you are prepared to give up the confirmed place.
Using ‘Decline my place’ cancels your confirmed place and puts you into Clearing, and UCAS can't reverse the decision for you afterwards. If you only want a different course at the same university, contact that university first because it may be able to change the course without you entering Clearing.
The final 2027 Clearing dates
For 2027 entry, the final date to submit a UCAS application is 23 September at 18:00 UK time, and the last date to add a Clearing choice is 18 October. Individual courses close as they fill, so the October deadline doesn't keep a vacancy open for you.
