Reference guidance
UCAS registered centre linked applications
The reference helps to add context to a student’s application. References should be factual, specific, and concise.
There is a maximum of 4,000 characters within the reference; please note the character count includes spaces, section headings, and line breaks, all of which take up at least one character. This means that your entered text will need to be under 3,800 characters.
There is a dynamic character count in the adviser portal which will show you the number of characters left in each section. This will include a count of the characters in the section headings.
Universities and colleges will receive the reference under the following section headings:
- Establishment details
- Extenuating circumstances
- Other supportive information
Once you approve the reference in the adviser portal you will view the full reference with headings as received by the universities and colleges.
References may include the following three sections:
Section 1 FAQs
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For the school/college/centre profile (section 1) do we have to include information about a school/college/centre a student may have previously attended?
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If a student takes a year out and then links back to the school via our buzzword do we put same info on section 1 that we would with a current student?
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Does section 1 need to be uniform for all candidates from one centre or can the statement about the school vary from applicant to applicant?
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Can we still include a URL in section 1?
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What should agents/counsellors write in the first box?
Section 2 FAQs
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Would you include information in section 2 about whether the student is a young adult carer, receives free school meals or has SEND, for example?
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Can section 2 be updated after the application has been sent to UCAS. For example, a bereavement or illness occurs in March that the universities should be made aware of?
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Does section 2 mean that unis will no longer be asking us to fill in extra extenuating circumstances forms as they already have the relevant information?
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Will applicants be disadvantaged if there is no information included for section 2?
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If someone does have extenuating circumstances, then are they not put at a disadvantage having less characters to write in section 3?
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If the extenuating circumstances are too sensitive to detail in section 2, do we have to automatically send details separately to each university/college or do we wait to be asked for these (presuming the student has given permission)?
Section 3: Outline any other supportive information specific to the applicant and relevant to the course(s) applied for that you think universities/colleges should be aware of
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Information should be provided in short, clear, factual statements to help universities and colleges digest the information.
Section 3 FAQs
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Will we disadvantage a student’s application by not including information in section 3?
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As an agent, how are we supposed to incorporate the references the student's schoolteachers or counsellors provide?
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Oxford, Cambridge and other universities say it's important to make your top students stand out. How can schools do that in the reference?
Additional information and guidance
- All references must be written in English. You will need to write in English, unless the applicant is applying to Welsh universities or colleges and the rest of their application is completed in Welsh – in which case the reference may, of course, be written in Welsh.
- When writing a reference for any applicant, including those outside the UK, please remember that – under the Data Protection Act 2018 – the applicant can ask for a copy of the reference and any other personal information we have about them.
- We recommend you inform universities and colleges of any changes to the applicant’s profile or circumstances that occur after the application is submitted to UCAS.
- We recommend you write in a word processor first and then copy and paste into the online application (but watch out for the character and line count – the word processor might get different values because it doesn’t count tabs or paragraphs).
- When you add into the online application, click ‘save’ regularly because it will time out after 35 minutes of inactivity.
- You can use some European characters in the reference.
- We recommend you save a copy of each reference you write for your records. There is now a bulk download function available in the adviser portal.
- Avoid repeating any of the information the student has given in their application, unless you want to comment on it, and avoid mentioning any university or college.
- There must be a completed reference on the application before it is sent to us.
- Once an application has been sent to UCAS we cannot return it and we cannot make changes to the reference or predicted grades.
General FAQs
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Why are there no character limits on each section?
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Will there be a list of what different universities and colleges want from a reference?
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How does this work for individual applicants outside the school system? I am the referee for past pupils if they do an individual application to UCAS.
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Do you anticipate universities and colleges asking for additional references?
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What about UCAS Conservatoires references?
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Are there any changes to predicted grades?
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Is UCAS going to continue to monitor adoption and review these new changes with universities and colleges?
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Can we write in bullet points?
Reference resources
- View and download our 2025 reference guidance for advisers presentation (11.96 MB)
- Online course: UCAS references – what you need to know. Access through the UCAS Professional Development Platform.
- UCAS reference examples (303.92 KB)
- UCAS reference examples for independent referees (278.88 KB)
Predicted grades
As part of the reference, you will be asked to provide predicted grades for those qualifications entered as ‘pending’ – see further specific guidance.
If you are a referee and work in the school the applicant is applying from, the application will be available in the adviser portal – see how to input the reference in the adviser portal.
Reference processes and terminology
Understand the reference processes and terminology for independent, centre-linked, and reference-only applicants.