This guide is for training providers who deliver apprenticeships, or want to, and are looking at public sector apprenticeship procurement. Everything starts with APAR, the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register. If you are not on it, you cannot draw down government apprenticeship funding, and the apprenticeship DPSs that public employers use will not admit you.
APAR is a record of organisations that are eligible to receive government funding to train apprentices in England. It replaced the old Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) on 1 August 2023. If you still see "RoATP" in a tender pack, it means APAR.
Who runs APAR now
The names have changed twice in two years, so older guidance often points to the wrong body.
- The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) became part of the Department for Education in April 2025.
- On 1 April 2026 a machinery of government change moved responsibility for apprenticeships from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The APAR guidance on GOV.UK now names DWP throughout.
- Skills England, which sets out what a quality apprenticeship looks like, moved under DWP's sponsorship from the same date.
Being on APAR does not mean DWP recommends you. It means you are eligible for funding.
The three routes onto APAR
- Main provider. You train apprentices for other organisations. This is the route most training providers mean.
- Employer-provider. A levy-paying employer trains its own staff, or those of a connected company or charity.
- Supporting provider. You deliver training on behalf of main providers and employer-providers, capped at £500,000 of apprenticeship funding a year (£100,000 if you are new).
How to become an apprenticeship training provider today
This is the part most searches get wrong. APAR is not open to any applicant at any time. Apart from Office for Students-registered providers with degree-awarding powers, apprenticeship providers apply after being invited, through set routes:
- Gaps in provision. An employer nominates you after showing it could not find suitable training from providers already on the register. You need 12 months of active trading history before you can be nominated.
- Growing capacity. Where DWP already knows about a gap, or wants to grow capacity for particular sectors or employers, eligible providers can request an invitation without showing one.
- Employer-provider route, for levy-paying employers training their own workforce.
- Supporting provider route, which needs at least three months of active trading.
Once invited, you have 30 calendar days to apply, and DWP asks you to allow about 12 weeks for assessment. An organisation can only apply once in any 12-month period. The application service asks for a GOV.UK One Login, a UK provider reference number, an ICO registration number and a UK business address.
UKPRN and the UK Register of Learning Providers
Your UKPRN is an eight-digit number from the UK Register of Learning Providers (UKRLP). The funding rules say every provider that delivers apprenticeship training or assessment must be registered there, including organisations delivering on behalf of another provider.
Getting one is free and usually takes about ten minutes. You give your organisation's reference numbers, such as your ICO registration and Companies House number. Do this early: the APAR application cannot start without it.
The apprenticeship funding rules
The rules every provider on APAR must follow are published each year. The current set, Apprenticeship funding rules: August 2026 to July 2027, is published by DWP and applies to apprenticeships starting on or after 1 August 2026. They cover learner eligibility, off-the-job training, evidence, and how you may work with other providers.
They are the compliance backdrop to any apprenticeship tender. A buyer running an apprenticeship DPS expects you to meet them already.
The list of apprenticeship training providers
APAR is published as a downloadable file. It lists each provider's UKPRN, legal and trading names, application type and status, but no contact details. It is the official list of apprenticeship training providers, and anyone, including a buyer, can check you against it.
Why APAR is the first filter on apprenticeship DPSs
Public employers, such as universities and councils, pay for their apprentices' training from apprenticeship funding. That funding can only go to a provider on APAR, so for an apprenticeship DPS the register is a pass or fail test, and the first one.
Two DPSs we help providers onto work this way: the Birmingham apprenticeship DPS, run by the University of Birmingham, and the Warrington apprenticeship DPS, run by Warrington Borough Council. Both are only for providers already on the register. The rest are on our frameworks page, and the wider picture is in training tenders in the UK.
Frequently asked questions
What is APAR?
APAR is the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register, the record of organisations eligible to receive government funding to train apprentices in England. It replaced the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) on 1 August 2023.
Who runs APAR now?
The Department for Work and Pensions. Responsibility for apprenticeships moved from the Department for Education to DWP in a machinery of government change on 1 April 2026, and the APAR guidance was updated to name DWP.
Can I apply to APAR at any time?
Usually not. Under the current guidance most providers apply after being invited, for example after an employer nominates you because of a gap in provision. You then have 30 days to apply, and assessment takes around 12 weeks.
What is a UKPRN and how do I get one?
A UKPRN is an eight-digit UK provider reference number from the UK Register of Learning Providers. Registration is free and usually takes about ten minutes. You need one before you can apply to APAR.
Do I need to be on APAR to join an apprenticeship DPS?
Yes. Apprenticeship funding can only go to a provider on APAR, so apprenticeship DPSs treat the register as the first pass or fail test.
Sources
- GOV.UK (DWP) — Apply to the APAR as an apprenticeship training provider
- GOV.UK — Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers: how to apply (withdrawn)
- Apprenticeship service — Apply to join the APAR
- Apprenticeship service — Download the APAR
- UKRLP — Apply for a UK Provider Reference Number
- GOV.UK (DWP) — Apprenticeship funding rules: 2026 to 2027
- GOV.UK — Apprenticeship funding rules: summary of changes
- GOV.UK — Education and Skills Funding Agency
- GOV.UK — Skills England annual report and accounts 2026