Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) 2025: Disability Support

Disabled Students’ Allowances, or DSA, are grants that the government provides to university students with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

The money and support received vary from person to person, depending on their needs. It can be used on assistance or equipment to help them study.

Receiving Disabled Student’s Allowance has been proven to improve disabled students’ grades compared to disabled students who do not claim DSA. The maximum allowance a student can receive changes each academic year.

Who is eligible for DSA?

To be considered to get UK Disabled Student’s Allowance, you must have a condition that affects your ability to study. This could be:

• A learning disability or difficulty, such as types of dyslexia or autism.
• A physical disability, such as blindness or using a wheelchair.
• A mental health condition or mental illness, such as clinical depression or an eating disorder.
• A long-term health condition, such as epilepsy or arthritis.

You must also be, or have applied to be:

• An undergraduate or postgraduate student. People who study online are included in this, so those who live in care homes or supported living and cannot physically attend university due to their condition can receive DSA in addition to any funding they already receive.
• Studying a course that lasts at least a year.

Finally, you must qualify for Student Finance. International students don’t usually qualify for this and therefore cannot receive DSA.

Universities are legally obliged under the Equality Act 2010 to support disabled students. They will usually allow extra time for essay submissions and exams when requested if a person has declared that they are disabled. This is a ‘reasonable adjustment’ and not part of DSA.

How to apply for DSA

Make sure you apply for DSA in good time, as the application process can take up to 14 weeks. Don’t leave it until you start university because then you won’t be able to receive support from the very beginning.

You’ll need medical evidence of your condition. Even if your condition is known to run in families, including yours, you will need to prove that you personally have it. This could be a letter written specially by your doctor to support your application, or a formal diagnosis letter. Make photocopies of your evidence and send them with your application.

If you are going to be studying full-time, you can apply for Disabled Student’s Allowance through your student finance account. For those who have already ticked the box to say you have a disability or long-term health condition, this should already be on the To Do List at the side. However, if you haven’t, select Change Your Circumstances.

If you are to study part-time or would prefer to use a paper application form, you can request a form to be sent to you through gov.uk.

How much can I claim?

How much funding you’ll receive is totally dependent on your level of difficulty. Somebody with mild anxiety won’t receive as much funding as somebody who is deaf and blind.

The maximum amount anybody can receive changes each academic year, but at the moment it’s going up. For students starting their course in the 2025/26 academic year, they could receive an absolute maximum of £27,783 towards specialist equipment, wages for non-medical helpers and general allowance.

What support and equipment are available?

Disabled Student’s Allowance works a bit differently in each country in the UK. The following apply to England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. If you live on the Channel Islands, consult your local government website for information.

Non-medical helper allowance

Available in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Your university will employ people to support those with disabilities or long-term health conditions. This is funded by the DSA.

A non-medical helper, or mentor, will help you to study based on your individual needs. Funding will allow for a certain number of sessions per term, depending on what the DSA considers suitable for your needs, and how you book them is up to you. You may have more than one mentor, for example one who helps you to manage your condition with your studies and another who helps you with study skills.

A study skills mentor will help you with an essay you are working on or exam you are studying for, while a specialist mentor can discuss how your condition affects your ability to study and help you find strategies to manage your workload effectively.

Can you get a notetaker?

Since the cuts to funding, fewer people are offered a notetaker, but people whose condition means they struggle to concentrate or write quickly may be assigned one.

A notetaker is a person who takes notes for you in lectures and seminars. You will usually have the same one for every lesson and can discuss with them which lessons you would like them to attend. You can also have a peer-notetaker, a student who goes to the same lessons as you and will make notes that suit your needs for you.

Other types of non-medical helpers can support you with finding library material, proof-reading, transcribing, assistance in a laboratory if you are taking a science subject and helping you to get around campus if you have a physical disability. If you have a condition such as blindness or severe dyslexia, somebody can assist you with exams by reading questions aloud and writing down your answers. If you are deaf, you can get an interpreter for British Sign Language.

After each session, your non-medical helper will ask you to sign their timesheet so that they can be paid for their work.

Specialist equipment allowance

Available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The DSA will fund any specialist equipment that will assist you with your studies. This could be items such as a Dictaphone to record lectures or a laptop. In England, you are expected to pay the first £200 towards a computer.

Someone will come to your university residence to help you set up the laptop and show you how to use any specialist disability software that’s included. These programmes can help with reading and writing and English language, with features such as reading text aloud or using colours that help people with dyslexia. You may also get a mouse, keyboard, laptop stand and printer.

You should also be given a warranty with a phone number to call if the equipment breaks. The cost of this is covered by the DSA, unless it is your fault, for example, you dropped it.

These are not gaming laptops. These computers are for study purposes and you aren’t technically supposed to use them for anything else. While this is unlikely to be checked, if your computer breaks because you’ve overloaded it with games or caught a virus from the dark web, don’t expect the cost to fix it to be covered.

This is a one-off payment and you won’t be able to upgrade or request different equipment. Unless you’ve hired equipment, it’s yours to keep and you don’t need to give it back at the end of your course.

Large items allowance

Available in Scotland.

This is very similar to the specialist equipment allowance but includes special furniture, such as adapted desks and chairs. It does not include wheelchairs or mobility scooters.

Travel allowance

Available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Expenses for travel between your accommodation and the university that is directly associated with your condition, such as taxis because you cannot access public transport. This will either be arranged and paid for on a regular basis, or you’ll need to keep receipts and reclaim the money.

General allowance

Available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This covers printing costs and your Study Needs Assessment. Every time you top up your printing credit, keep the receipt and claim back the money at the end of each term.

Basic allowance

Available in Scotland.

This allowance covers printing costs, Braille or Livescribe stationery, USB sticks and sometimes food or equipment needed for dietary requirements relating to your condition. You will need to buy these things yourself and then send off a form and receipts at the end of each term to claim the money back.

The DSA will only cover expenses related to the disability or condition that affects your ability to study. For example, they will not pay for core course books that other students pay for themselves, or food for an unrelated dietary requirement.

How do they decide what a person needs?

When you arrive at university, you’ll need to book a Study Needs Assessment. This is usually done by email, phone or an online booking form, details of which can be found on each university’s website. If you are studying a distance learning course, you’ll need to find your nearest assessment centre

At the Study Needs Assessment, the assessor will collect information about your needs by discussing how your condition affects your ability to study. Despite its name, it in an informal meeting and you will not be tested in any way. The assessor will then discuss with you what support and equipment they feel you would most benefit from.

You can decline suggestions, for example, if they offer you hours with a mentor that you don’t want to attend. It is better to decline so those hours can go to somebody else. Remember that you will only have so much funding. Tell your assessor if you would rather spend it on something different.

Most people only have one assessment at the start of their course. If your circumstances change you may need a review.

Can you lose your Disabled Student’s Allowance support?

Yes. If you have a non-medical helper, you can lose that support through non-attendance. They need 24 hours’ notice if you are not going to attend your lesson or non-medical helper session.

If you don’t show up twice over the course of a term (unless there are exceptional or unforeseen circumstances) the non-medical helper has the right to choose not to continue working with you.

And if you miss three, you will receive a letter stating this. Someone from the disability team will contact you to discuss why you missed the sessions. If you respond, you will need to attend a meeting to discuss how you will make sure it won’t happen again. However, if you don’t respond, you will not be offered any further non-medical support sessions.