How to get your first payment if you’re applying late
Source: gov.uk (2025-08-12)

Follow our steps to get your first payment if you're applying late for student finance.

If you missed the deadline for applying, you should apply today (https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance) to make sure you get some money in time for starting your course!

Here’s what to expect on your application journey:

1. Applying for student finance

It’s important to create an account or sign into your online account (https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-for-student-finance) and apply as soon as possible, if you haven’t already. The sooner you complete your application, the sooner it can be approved and we can get your money ready for starting your course!

It’s quick and easy to apply online - it only takes 30 minutes with your:
- Passport details
- National Insurance number
- UK bank details
You don’t need a confirmed place at uni or college to apply, you can apply now and update your details later if you need to.

2. Check your online account

You don’t need to call us to track the progress of your application. Once you’ve applied for student finance, you can use your online account (https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login) to:

view our application status tracker

check ‘Your actions to complete’

upload evidence

reset your password or secret answer

update your personal details.

Watch our step-by-step tutorial on how to check the status of your application!

How to check the status of your application (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFa0ARSeqF0)

It’s quick and easy to use your Student Finance account, watch our other ‘How to’ films (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4wogSHG9Pv9ij56ynrPVH741MrvBZncm) for step-by-step tutorials.

If we need more information from you, a red banner will appear and your action ‘status’ will show as incomplete. The banner will stay red until you’ve given us the information and it will turn green when all your actions have been completed.

3. We’ll sort out your initial funding

If you’re getting less than expected, you don’t need to call us - this is to make sure you get some funding near the start of your course.

You may get a smaller amount (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-living-costs-while-studying-at-university-or-college#what-you-could-get-as-a-minimum-in-the-2023-to-2024-academic-year) to begin with but we’ll update your entitlement and send you a top up payment as soon as we process your household income details. You can check your online account (https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login) for an update.

If you’re eligible for extra help

If you’re eligible for any of the following it could take us longer to process your application:
- Childcare Grant (https://www.gov.uk/childcare-grant)
- Parents’ Learning Allowance (https://www.gov.uk/parents-learning-allowance)
- Adult Dependants’ Grant (https://www.gov.uk/adult-dependants-grant)
These will be awarded once we’ve processed your household income details.

You might need to self-fund things like childcare at the start of your course. Once your application has been approved, any extra funding will be backdated.

4. We’ll assess the rest of your application

We’ll then assess the household income details part of your application if you’ve applied, this will take 4 weeks.

If you’re applying for a higher amount of student finance based on your household income, make sure to ask your parents or partner to provide their financial information (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-child-or-partners-student-finance-application-in-3-easy-steps) as soon as possible to avoid delays to your application.

5. What you need to do to get your first payment

You’ll need to register at your uni or college before your course starts, as we won’t be able to pay you until you do. Once your uni or college tell us you’ve registered, we’ll contact you a few days before your first payment to let you know it’s on its way.

You don’t need to call us to check your payment date, sign in to your online account (https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login) to view your payment schedule.

6. When your application is fully approved

We’ll contact you to confirm your full entitlement amount. If you’ve already received a payment from us, we’ll pay you the difference as soon as possible, and your second and third payment amounts will be updated too.

For a whole range of student finance information, visit our campaign page (https://studentfinance.campaign.gov.uk) and follow us on:

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SFEngland)

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/studentfinance_england/)

X (https://x.com/SF_England)

YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/SFEFILM/videos)