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Home Office English Language Testing (HOELT) Services

Home Office

This public procurement record has 10 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

07 Jan 2026 at 17:47

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

07 Jan 2026 at 17:22

UK4 - Tender Notice
TenderUpdate

09 Dec 2025 at 14:12

UK4 - Tender Notice
Tender

28 Nov 2025 at 12:12

UK4 - Tender Notice
PlanningUpdate

10 Sep 2025 at 16:30

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

09 Sep 2025 at 12:19

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
PlanningUpdate

08 Sep 2025 at 16:56

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

08 Sep 2025 at 16:54

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

02 Jul 2025 at 14:41

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Planning

10 Apr 2025 at 14:56

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The Home Office is seeking to procure services for its English Language Testing (HOELT) project, intended to support UK Visa and Immigration processes with a remote testing platform. The tender, which adopts a competitive flexible procedure, invites providers to deliver a secure, efficient, and fair digital testing service across the UK and potentially internationally. The project, classified under the category of services, has an estimated contract value of £680 million, with a gross amount of £816 million. The procurement process is currently active and involves several stages including initial tender submissions due by noon on 2 March 2026. Technical demonstrations and negotiations will follow, leading to the contract award and implementation by December 2026.

This procurement presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in IT services, educational software, and digital testing solutions. Competitive providers with innovative technological capabilities, secure IT infrastructure, and expertise in digital transmission and identity verification will find this tender particularly appealing. The services required, which range from consulting to system architecture, create opportunities for firms to demonstrate value through technological innovation and security while supporting government functions. Small and medium-sized enterprises are encouraged to participate through collaborative bidding, as the procurement consolidates requirements into a single contract to ensure service consistency.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Home Office English Language Testing (HOELT) Services

Notice Description

The Home Office English Language Test (HOELT) Programme vision is to deliver a best-in-class language testing service, underpinned by automation and efficiency to enable critical UK Visa and Immigration decision making. To do this, we need to deliver a secure, accessible and fair English Language Testing service for our customers. This procurement seeks a fully remote language testing service, balancing continuity with improvements and transformation. HOELT will move to a digital-by-default approach, while upholding the rigorous standards necessary to support our immigration decisions. The successful provider will deliver a service that combines technological innovation with security assurance, enabling customers to demonstrate their English language skills with confidence and convenience throughout their UK immigration journey. Overview of the Service: The Supplier shall provide a fully managed Remote Testing service. HOELTs shall be delivered securely in any location where the Customer chooses to take the test, provided secure test conditions are met. The Authority requires that all ELTs are delivered remotely. However, if there are local constraints (for example legal/technical) within a Country which would prevent Remote Testing for the foreseeable future or on a temporary basis, exceptions to the remote testing requirement may be proposed. The HOELTs shall be available in two formats: 2-Facet: Speaking and Listening (A1 to C2) 4-Facet: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing (A1 to C2) The HOELT Fees shall be regulated, as determined by the Authority. All HOELT scores shall map clearly to CEFR levels A1 to C2, as published by the Council of Europe. Authority recognises that there is significant uncertainty regarding future demand for English Language Testing (ELT) services in each country and location, the advertised contract value must be concidered in this context. This uncertainty arises from a combination of factors, including: Ongoing changes to UK immigration policy following the Immigration White Paper; The transition to a new contracting model for the delivery of ELT services; Broader external influences such as global events, geopolitical developments, environmental disruptions, and demographic shifts. Given this context, the Authority is unable to provide indicative forecasts or guarantees regarding future test volumes. The Service must therefore be demonstrably scalable and responsive to fluctuations in demand, both increases and decreases. The Supplier shall proactively manage changes in demand and demonstrate flexibility in adapting to evolving Service requirements throughout the Term. Please note, five Requests for Information (RFIs) have been run as part of market engagement to inform this procurement. Links to the notices published in relation to the market engagement are below for further information: RFI 1: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027422-2024 RF 2: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035979-2024 RFI 3: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/014337-2025 RFI 4: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/036839-2025 RFI 5: https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054810-2025

Lot Information

Lot 1

Options: Amendments to immigration and nationality rules, policy, or other legislation Introduction of new test types beyond the English Language Test (ELT) Adoption of new technology or digital delivery methods Changes to the scope of countries or customer groups covered Service improvements identified during the contract term Responses to new or evolving fraud threats Adjustments due to global or country-specific political or socio-economic events Collaboration with other Government Departments Changes to regulated fee arrangements or other fee structures Modifications to Added Value Services (AVS), including services offered, controls, reporting, and remuneration Commercialisation of ELT or related services Additional changes required to ensure continued compliance, innovation, and service quality.

Renewal: The period of up to three (3) years from the end of the Initial Term, which the Authority may elect to invoke for up to three (3) additional periods of up to twelve (12) months

Planning Information

This notice relates to a fifth round of market engagement in relation to this opportunity. The primary purpose of the engagement is to: Understand the feasibility of delivering a secure, remote English Language Testing service. 1. To express an interest, participants must first be registered on the Home Office’s eSourcing Portal (JAGGAER). If you have not yet registered, this can be done online at https://homeoffice.app.jaggaer.com/web/login.html by following the Register Here Link. 2. Please note that, to register, you must have a valid DUNS number (as provided by Dun and Bradstreet) for the organisation which you are registering and who will be entering into a contract if invited to do so. 3. Registering on Jaggaer will not provide immediate access to the fifth round RFI. Once you have registered on JAGGAER, a registered user can express an interest for a specific procurement. This is done by emailing HOELT2024@homeoffice.gov.uk as below: Email subject line: HOELT Procurement - Expression of Interest Email to include: Organisation name (as registered on JAGGAER), Contact name, E-mail address and telephone number. 4. Once the above steps are completed, participants will be granted access to the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) event in JAGGAER. 5. Participants should then complete and return their signed NDA, via JAGGAER, in order to be added to the RFI event which is open until 22/09/25 at 12:00 midday (BST). 6. Participants should ensure that they leave enough time to submit your NDA and your RFI responses in time for close date of 22/09/25 at 12:00 midday (BST). Please note: if you have previously signed an NDA for RFI1 or RFI2 Market Engagement, but did not complete an NDA for RFI3 or RFI4, you are still required to sign a new NDA and follow the process above. If you completed an NDA in relation to RFI3 or RFI4 you are not required to submit an additional NDA. Once you have completed the process above, you will be added to the RFI.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0500b5
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001247-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Planning, Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Competitive flexible procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

32 - Radio, television, communication, telecommunication and related equipment

48 - Software package and information systems

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

75 - Administration, defence and social security services

79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

CPV Codes

32270000 - Digital transmission apparatus

48190000 - Educational software package

72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

72212190 - Educational software development services

72222300 - Information technology services

75110000 - General public services

75131100 - General personnel services for the government

79000000 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£680,000,000 £100M-£1B
Lots Value
£680,000,000 £100M-£1B
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
7 Jan 20267 months ago
Submission Deadline
19 Jan 2026Expired
Future Notice Date
4 Aug 2025Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Dec 2026 - 30 Nov 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
2032-12-01

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Home Office
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Postcode Area
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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