Discover good practice and FAQs for CF Decline My Place, the new process which allows students to request a release from their place via UCAS in order to enter Clearing.
The Conditional Firm (CF) Decline My Place (DMP) process allows students who are holding a CF offer but wish to take up another opportunities through Clearing to request a release from their place via UCAS.
This process is designed to support applicants who have received all their Level 3 (or equivalent) results and have already contacted their firm choice provider but remain unconfirmed.
From 1pm on Level 3 Results Day, eligible students can contact UCAS directly to initiate the release, with UCAS staff guiding them through the implications and next steps.
Once actioned, the student’s CF (and Insurance, if applicable) choices are declined, and they are placed into Clearing with no option to reverse the decision.
Providers should ensure timely and transparent communication with applicants regarding their CF status. You can do this through the UCAS confirmation pending functionality or through other communication channels such as email.
You should clearly explain any outstanding conditions (academic or non-academic) that are delaying confirmation. Applicants may be CF because you want to give them a choice of alternative options; make sure that these options and next steps are transparently articulated.
Do not reject applicants unless they have failed to meet the conditions of their offer; rejecting applicants means that they will be placed at their Insurance choice.
Ensure that you have a reliable and robust method for CF applicants (or their nominated contacts) to contact you with any queries.
Where possible, aim to make decisions on your insurance applicants and near misses before L3 results day.
CF DMP requests can only be processed after 1pm on Level 3 Results Day.
Applicants must have received all Level 3 (or equivalent) results.
Applicants must have had contact with their firm choice provider.
Applicants must have direct contact with UCAS.
Applicants will be released into Clearing.
Use clear, empathetic language with next steps and a contact when discussing CF status and options.
For example, if applicants have fulfilled L3 conditions, but have additional non-academic or L2 conditions to meet, you could say something like “You have met your offer conditions for your BTEC, but we have not yet been able to make a final decision on your application as we have not received the results of your GCSE English Language qualification. When you receive your results, please email these to us as we do not receive them automatically from the awarding body.”
If you would like to offer them a place on an alternative course you could say something like “Following receipt of your results, I am afraid that we were unable to confirm your place on your chosen course. However, after reviewing your application we would like to consider you for the BSc Nursing Mental Health programme. If you are interested in being considered for this programme, we would like to invite you to an informal interview with two of the Mental Health Nursing admissions staff that would be able to answer any questions, please check your email for further information.”
Or
“We're sorry to say that we're unable to confirm you onto this course based on the results you have obtained. However, we would love to offer you entry onto a course, such as these in Business Management or History, with an integrated Foundation Year. Please get in touch with us to discuss your alternatives.”
UCAS will ask the applicant to confirm they have contacted their firm provider. Evidence may include email correspondence or a summary of the conversation. UCAS does not require formal proof but relies on applicant affirmation.
Applicants must have attempted contact with their CF institution. A reply is not mandatory, but UCAS will confirm that the applicant understands their current status and has made reasonable efforts to engage.
No, the firm choice university does not need to call UCAS. The applicant must contact UCAS directly to initiate the CF DMP process.
Students will only be able to use CF DMP from L3 results day; we consulted with Scottish providers and felt that the relatively short window between SQA results day and the L3 embargo period meant that there would be a risk applicants would be “stuck”.
UCAS will update relevant student-facing Clearing webpages to reflect this option.
Applicants will be able to see this on the Hub; they will also receive emails from UCAS.
UCAS may verify the information with the provider or check with our results team.
Applicants will have to contact their original provider and re-apply through Clearing if a place is still available. UCAS staff are receiving additional training to ensure that they can minimise the risk of this occurring.
Providers cannot opt-out on a provider level, however UCAS is able to introduce additional steps to support numbers management on certain courses – contact c.mindos@ucas.ac.uk to discuss further.
The applicant will be able to see that they are in Clearing once the call has finished.
UCAS will advise applicants to contact their firm choice for clarification on their policy around this; however if the applicants no longer wishes to attend their firm choice, UCAS will release them into Clearing.
If results are not available through the ABL, UCAS will ask for applicant confirmation that all results have been received and sent to the provider.
Yes – we only require complete L3 or equivalent qualifications; this is not based on the conditions of offer.
Yes, if they are now CF at their insurance institution.
CF DMP is available from 1pm on Level 3 results day and remains open in line with UF DMP. UCAS will confirm the closing date each cycle – for the 2025 cycle it is 3 September 2025.
Weblink will show updated applicant status, however there will not be a report on Web-Link that shows CF DMP applicants
Providers will receive PID updates by email.
Yes, PIDs will be sent to the designated correspondent listed in UCAS systems. Please contact c.mindos@ucas.ac.uk if you would like this to go to an alternative address.
UCAS may request feedback from providers post-cycle to assess process integrity and applicant behavior, however we do not want to introduce any additional reporting burden on providers.
Success will be measured by applicant satisfaction (measured by our applicant survey and CXC stats), and provider feedback. UCAS will evaluate outcomes post-cycle.
UCAS is considering what information to include about DMP applicants in our reporting.
Find out more about CF Decline My Place and discover answers to your questions in the Understanding CF Decline My Place webinar.