Help if you're a student with a learning difficulty, health problem or disability
How to apply
How you apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) depends on whether you’re studying full-time or part-time and when your course starts.
Full-time undergraduate courses that started before 1 January 2027
If you’re applying for other types of student finance, you only need to apply for DSA once. Otherwise, you’ll need to apply each year.
If you’ve already applied for student finance
Sign in to your student finance account to start your DSA application.
The application for DSA should be on your ‘to-do list’ if you chose DSA in your application for other support. If it is not, select ‘change your circumstances’ to apply.
If you do not have an online account because you applied for student finance by post, fill in a DSA slim form:
If you have not applied for student finance
You can apply for DSA when you apply for student finance online.
If you do not need student finance, you can fill in a DSA1 form to apply just for DSA:
You cannot apply for student finance online once you’ve applied for DSA.
Part-time undergraduate courses that started before 1 January 2027 and postgraduate courses
Fill in a DSA1 form to apply for DSA for the 2026 to 2027 academic year. You’ll need to apply for DSA each year.
If you’re already getting DSA
Fill in a DSA expenses claim form to claim back your expenses:
How long it takes
The Student Loans Company (SLC) will tell you in 4 weeks if your application is successful.
It can take up to 14 weeks to get your DSA support in place as this is done separately.
You can check current application processing times to find out when you can expect to get an update on your application.
Courses starting on or after 1 January 2027
If your course starts on or after 1 January 2027, you’ll apply for DSA through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). Applications open in September 2026.
It does not matter whether you’re studying full-time or part-time - the application process is the same.