Help from your institution
Many institutions offer disabled students extra help. Please contact your disability adviser at the institution for more information.
VAT exemption
If we approve payment of equipment for you, in certain circumstances, you may be eligible for VAT exemption. You may want to discuss this with your supplier. You can also get the leaflet 'Reliefs for people with disabilities' about VAT exemption from HM Revenue and Customs - VAT leaflet 701/7.
Extra travel expenses
If you are a full time student you may claim travel expenses for your course in the usual way. You should see our support information section for details.
There are generally limits to the travel expenses we will pay. However, if you have to spend more because of your disability, we may pay you more than the highest amount we would normally pay. If you are under 55 at the start of your course, you will have to pay the first £155 of any claim. This is the amount which we expect you to meet from either your loan, bursary or your own resources. Students over 55 will not have to pay the first £155 of their claim as they are not eligible to apply for a loan.
You should write to us to ask for any extra travel costs, preferably at the same time as you send in your application for DSA. When you apply for excess travel costs, you will need to send proof that your disability means that you cannot use public transport (if you have not already done so) and give details of the additional costs. If you need to use a taxi to get to your college or university each day, we can pay for this. You should get quotes from three taxi firms and send them to us. We will then tell you which firm to use (normally the cheapest). We normally pay the cost of your journeys straight to your provider therefore you should set up an account with them and ask them to send us an invoice each month.
Tuition fees and living-cost support
If you are a full-time student, you may be eligible to apply to us for payment of your tuition fees, a loan, Bursary and any supplementary grants you may be entitled to. The support available to you varies depending on where you will be studying, the course you choose to take and when you entered higher education. You can get more information in our student support section.