What is Direct Claim Status (DCS) and how can it be applied to qualifications?

Direct Claim Status (also known as 'DCS') allows you to claim certificates without the usual external quality assurance activities. It’s a marker of trust from us to you, and you have to prove that your practices and processes are robust enough to warrant it.

Each qualification's Direct Claim Status (DCS) is valid for 12 months. Qualifications with DCS are reviewed during the annual Continued Recognition Activity by our EQA.

Sadly, we can't disclose details of our strategy for awarding DCS, as people might try to abuse the system if they know how it works.

What we can say is that several factors are taken into consideration, including but not limited to:

the risk ratings of qualifications,
the number of learners and units claimed,
the time between the claims, and
outstanding actions from any engagement.

The number of consecutive successful claims is also considered, depending on the factors mentioned above, and each qualification is treated independently as different staff and departments are involved in different cohorts of learners.

Before achieving DCS, all outstanding actions must be signed off by our EQA.

Are you looking to transfer Direct Claim Status (DCS) from another Awarding organisation to TQUK ?

Transferring Direct Claim Status (DCS) from your previous Awarding Organisation to us is a simple process. Just fill out our DCS transfer document and submit it alongside an EQA report through our online form.

The EQA report must be no more than 12 months old and be from your previous Awarding Organisation.

If you'd like to know more about how you can apply for it, get in touch with your account manager or contact us at support@tquk.org.