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For training providers

Apply to become an ACCA Approved Learning Partner

Some of our learners run their own tuition business and want to deliver ACCA themselves. Approval is granted by ACCA, not by us. This is our own plain-English summary of the route, the paperwork and the costs, written so you know what to prepare before you contact them.

The application, step by step

  1. 1

    Decide what you want to deliver

    Choose the level you intend to teach — Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills, Strategic Professional, or the Foundations level — and whether you will deliver in a classroom, online, or both. Approval is granted for what you can genuinely support, so keep the first application to what you can staff and run well.

  2. 2

    Register your interest with ACCA

    Contact ACCA's learning provider team and ask for the current application pack for Approved Learning Partner status. They will confirm which route fits your organisation and send the form, the criteria and the current fee schedule. Do not work from a summary — including this one — when you complete the form.

  3. 3

    Get your organisation in order

    You need a properly constituted organisation with clear legal standing, sound finances, insurance, and written policies. Complaints, appeals, equality and diversity, safeguarding, data protection and malpractice policies should all be written, dated and in use before you apply.

  4. 4

    Evidence your tutors

    ACCA looks at who teaches. Hold CVs, qualification certificates, professional memberships and recent teaching experience for every tutor, mapped to the exams they will deliver. Name someone responsible for academic quality and someone responsible for student support.

  5. 5

    Show how you teach and track students

    Prepare your course structure, teaching plan, study materials, mock exam arrangements and the way you record attendance, progress and pass rates. Approved partner status is judged largely on student outcomes, so the tracking has to exist from day one, not after the first cohort.

  6. 6

    Complete the application and pay the fee

    Submit the completed form with your supporting documents. ACCA charges an application fee and an annual partner fee, which vary by the level of approval you apply for, the number of sites and the country you operate in. Check the current schedule with ACCA before you budget.

  7. 7

    Assessment, approval and annual review

    ACCA reviews the application, may visit or hold a remote review, and confirms the outcome in writing. Approval is not permanent: partners are reviewed against published student performance and quality criteria each year, and the level of approval can move up or down on the strength of results.

Documents to have ready

Gather these before you start the form. Most applications stall because a policy or a tutor certificate is missing, not because the organisation was unsuitable.

Organisation and legal

  • ·Certificate of incorporation or equivalent registration
  • ·Most recent financial statements or management accounts
  • ·Public liability and professional indemnity insurance
  • ·Organisation chart showing who is responsible for what

Policies

  • ·Complaints and appeals
  • ·Equality, diversity and inclusion
  • ·Safeguarding and learner welfare
  • ·Data protection and record retention
  • ·Malpractice, plagiarism and academic integrity

People and teaching

  • ·Tutor CVs, certificates and professional memberships
  • ·A tutor-to-exam mapping for everything you will deliver
  • ·Staff development and observation plan
  • ·Named academic quality lead and student support lead

Delivery and outcomes

  • ·Course structure, timetable and teaching plan
  • ·Study materials and mock exam arrangements
  • ·Attendance, progress and pass-rate tracking method
  • ·Student feedback process and how you act on it

What it costs

ACCA charges an application fee and then an annual partner fee. What you pay depends on the level of approval you hold, how many delivery sites you operate and the country you are in, and the amounts are reviewed each year. We deliberately do not print figures here, because an out-of-date number is worse than none: ask ACCA for the current schedule when you request the application pack, and budget for the annual renewal as well as the first payment.

Where to go next

Start at ACCA's own learning provider pages for the current criteria, application form and fees. Their published guidance is the only reliable source, and it overrides anything written here.

ACCA learning provider informationThe AAT provider guide

Please read. Mai Studies is an independent provider. We are not ACCA and we are not an ACCA Approved Learning Partner. This guide is our own summary, written in house, and reproduces no ACCA text. It is not advice on your application, and requirements, routes and fees change — always confirm the current position with ACCA directly before you apply or commit money.