The first step to offering Cambridge OCR qualifications is becoming an approved centre. 

Centre approval allows you to offer all our series-based qualifications: 

*Approval for Cambridge Technicals is at qualification level so you will also need to tell us which subjects you are planning to offer. 

If you wish to offer Careers and Life and Living Skills, which are on-demand qualifications, you need to obtain approval for each qualification. Read our dedicated centre approval page.

All centres must abide by the Cambridge OCR terms of business. 

You need to have a minimum of ten candidates per year.

You also need to follow the JCQ General Regulations and the JCQ instructions and guidance, available from the JCQ website.

To apply for centre approval, please contact us at [email protected].

Please tell us which qualifications you wish to offer and the number of candidates you will have each year. 

We will send you a checklist for you to complete. 

If your checklist shows your centre meets the requirements, we will send you the centre approval application form.

When we have reviewed your application, we will carry out a credit check. This helps us verify your credit worthiness.

You need to have been established, and trading on credit terms, for a minimum of six months.

If you cannot satisfy these requirements, we will be unable to process your application.

We can, however, review your application after six months of trading.

If you cannot meet these criteria but think there are extenuating circumstances, please email us at [email protected].

If the credit check is successful, we will liaise with the JCQ Centre Inspection Service: 

• If you are approved with another awarding body, we will check any issues identified from your latest inspection have been resolved. 
• If you are not already approved with another awarding body, or have not been inspected in the last two years, the JCQ Centre Inspection Service will carry out a pre-registration inspection. If you are a new centre, applying to more than one awarding body, you will only need one pre-registration inspection. 

Once your centre has passed all checks, including the inspection where relevant, we can approve your centre. 

You will receive an email of confirmation. You can then enter candidates for any of the qualifications listed above.

Approval is subject to continued centre activity. If there are no entries or certification claims for a qualification for two consecutive years, your centre approval will automatically lapse.