If you are a UK National, you must have a valid National Insurance Number in order to receive a student loan
The Student Loans Company (SLC) regulations require a student to provide a National Insurance (NI) Number before they can receive any Student Loans. In partnership with the Department of Works (DWP) and Pensions and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the SLC has put in place processes to help those students who have either misplaced their NI Number or do not have one. Where students do not provide a NI Number, the DWP will try to find it and make it available to the SLC. If the student provides the wrong number, then the DWP will correct the number and return it to the SLC. Where the DWP can't trace a record for a student, the SLC, together with the Job Centres Plus and HMRC have put processes together to ensure that the student gets a NI Number as quickly as possible.
The process for students who have no issues with the NI Number will add a week or so to the SLC’s application timeline while DWP verifies their number. For those who do not provide a NI Number or provide the wrong one, this will again add a week to the timeline, if the DWP can find a NINO for the student. However, if the student needs to apply for a NI Number because they do not have one, then the process will add up to 20 days onto the SLC’s timeline for processing the loan.
The SLC will do all it can to help the student provide this piece of information and the processes that it has put in place together with the DWP, the Job Centres Plus and HMRC reflect this commitment. However the provision of a NI Number is the responsibility of the student.
If you are experiencing problems regarding your loan application and or NI Number please contact the SLC immediately on 0845 026 2019.
If you have lost or can't remember your NI Number you can ask HM Revenue and Customs to confirm it by contacting the National Insurance Registrations Helpline on 0845 915 7006 (lines open 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday).
As all eligible UK Nationals can apply to us for some form of a student loan, the National Insurance field is mandatory in our application.
If you are a UK National who does not have a National Insurance number or you are in the process of applying for one, you should contact us by phone or email and we can send you the appropriate paper form.