JCQ’s Licensing explained
Licensing is a flexible way to access JCQ’s guidance without joining as a member.
JCQ’s Licensing scheme gives your organisation the legal right to officially use our guidance, without joining as a member. It’s designed for organisations whose main requirement is access to trusted, regulator-consulted guidance rather than the wider benefits of Full Membership or an Associate Membership scheme.
If your organisation needs official, legally authorised access to JCQ’s guidance and wants to reference it with confidence in your own documentation, this page tells you exactly what you get, what it costs and why it matters.
If you’re using JCQ guidance,
you must have a licence to do so
JCQ guidance is the product of years of investment, expertise and funding from the awarding organisations who are already JCQ members. A licence gives you the legal right to use it: official, authorised access to the same trusted standards schools and colleges across the UK already rely on.
If your organisation already references JCQ’s guidance in your documentation, training, or how you run assessments, licensing makes that official. It puts you on the same footing as every other organisation using it properly, with full legal standing and no grey areas.
Not using JCQ guidance yet? You should be. It’s the same guidance schools and colleges across the UK already rely on, developed by industry experts, reviewed for legal compliance, and consulted on with the regulators who oversee the qualifications system. Licensing gives you official, legally authorised access.
This applies to you if:
- You reference JCQ guidance in your own documentation, training or centre materials
- Your centres follow JCQ’s processes for exams, access arrangements, malpractice and appeals
- You want official, legally authorised use of the guidance that’s already shaping how you operate.
If you want more guidance, including committee involvement, and access to JCQ’s shared services, then Associate Membership might be the right fit for you.
What does Licensing give you?
Licensing gives you official use of JCQ’s guidance and regulations
JCQ guidance is the product of years of investment, expertise and funding from the awarding organisations who are already JCQ members. A licence gives you the legal right to use it: official, authorised access to the same trusted standards schools and colleges across the UK already rely on.
Licensing gives you the legal right to use JCQ’s guidance and to reference it directly in your own documentation, developed by industry experts and consulted on with regulators including Ofqual, Qualifications Wales and CCEA Regulation. For your centres, that means one consistent, trusted source of guidance, rather than each of you interpreting requirements differently.
- Instructions for Conducting Examinations (ICE)
The rulebook for how exams must be run, from entries through to invigilation. - Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments
Guidance on approving support for candidates with additional needs, including special considerations. - Suspected Malpractice Policies and Procedures
How to identify, report and manage suspected malpractice fairly and consistently. - A guide to the awarding organisations’ appeals processes
How candidates and centres can challenge results or decisions. - Instructions for Conducting Coursework
Requirements for setting, supervising and submitting coursework for practical and other non-written assessments. - Instructions for Conducting Non-Examination Assessments
The same applies to practical and other non-written assessment types. - General Regulations for Approved Centres
The baseline standards every centre must meet to remain an approved exam centre. - Post-Results Services
How post-results reviews, remarks and certificate services work.
AI guidance, cyber security and contingency planning materials
The risks facing exam integrity are changing fast: misuse of AI in assessments, cyber security threats to systems holding student data, and the need for solid contingency plans when something goes wrong on the day. Licensing gives you ready-made, expert guidance on all three, developed once across the sector, so you’re not building this from scratch or catching up after the fact.
Exam room posters and key centre documents
These are the practical, day-to-day materials your centres use: exam room posters, General Regulations for Approved Centres, and other core documentation. They keep the exam experience consistent for candidates no matter which centre they sit in and save your organisation the time and cost of producing this material yourselves.
Legally reviewed, regulator-consulted materials
Every document is reviewed for legal compliance and consulted on with the regulators who oversee the qualifications system. That means when you tell your centres to follow JCQ guidance, you can do so with confidence it will hold up to regulatory scrutiny.
Common administrative arrangements for exams
Many centres deliver qualifications from more than one awarding organisation at once. Common administrative arrangements mean your requirements line up with everyone else’s, reducing confusion and administrative burden for the centres you work with, not just for you.
What Licensing costs?
Licensing costs £20k per year and rises each year in line with inflation (Retail Prices Index). Agreements run for five years, with a 12-month notice period if you need to end the arrangement early.
It’s the simplest way to access JCQ’s guidance officially. Getting set up is straightforward. Get in touch, and a member of the JCQ team will talk you through the agreement, confirm exactly which materials are included for your organisation, and get you access. Most organisations are up and running within weeks.
IS LICENSING ENOUGH?
Licensing gives you legal access to JCQ’s guidance, and that’s valuable.
However, an Associate Membership connects you to the wider JCQ community and the shared services.
Associate Membership gives you everything Licensing does, plus official recognition alongside the UK’s leading awarding organisations, observer status on JCQ committees, registration on the National Centre Number Register, and access to shared services like the Centre Admin Portal and Access Arrangements Online, that make qualification administration simpler, not just legally compliant. It’s the difference between following the rulebook and being in the room while it’s written.
There are over 200 UK-regulated awarding organisations that aren’t part of JCQ yet. If that’s you, this is the natural next step.