Clearing & Adjustment Eligibility Checker 2026

Clearing is UCAS's process for matching students to university places after results day, for anyone who didn't meet their firm or insurance offer conditions, declined all their offers, or didn't apply during the main cycle. It runs from early July to mid-October.

No. Classic UCAS Adjustment — a protected window where you could explore other universities while your firm place stayed safely held — was discontinued from 2022 entry onward. If your results exceed your firm offer conditions today, the only route to explore alternatives is to use the "Decline my place" option in your UCAS application to release yourself into Clearing. This is a real decision, not a safety net: declining cancels your contract with your firm choice immediately and irreversibly, and there is no guarantee Clearing will produce something better. Only decline if you are certain, ideally after informally contacting universities first.

Think carefully before declining. If you'd be happy at your confirmed firm choice regardless, there's no need to do anything — that's a good outcome, not a consolation prize. If you genuinely want to try elsewhere, speak to your school/college adviser first, then contact universities you're interested in informally before declining your place, since once you decline it, it's gone.

UCAS Clearing applies the same way regardless of which qualification you hold — A-Level, Cambridge International A-Level, Edexcel International A-Level (IAL) or IB Diploma. What can be confusing for international students is that offer conditions are often quoted in UCAS Tariff points, which do not always map intuitively onto grades — use our UCAS Points Calculator alongside this tool if you need to convert.