University Clearing texts: what UCAS data says

Clearing is the busiest week of a university admissions office's year, and most of it happens on the phone. An applicant rings, gives their Clearing number, gets a verbal offer and then has to go and add the choice in their UCAS application. Everything around that call (the call-back that didn't happen yet, the offer details, the "you can add us now" nudge, the accommodation question) is a short message to someone holding a phone, which makes university Clearing texts one of the more useful bits of kit an admissions team can have running on results day.

UCAS published its final 2026 Clearing figures on 10 September, 28 days after A level results day. They show the biggest Clearing intake in the ten years it publishes, and a lot of applicants moving between universities after they already had a place.

What the UCAS data shows for 2026

UCAS's daily Clearing analysis is a set of CSV files, one per breakdown, released on results day and on weekdays after it, with a final release at day 28. Taking the applicant status file and adding up the rows for all ages, domiciles and genders, 54,190 applicants had been placed through Clearing by 10 September 2026. That's the highest figure for the same point in any year back to 2017; the previous peak was 52,610 in 2020. Another 16,390 were placed direct to Clearing, which is the route for people who applied after 30 June.

The same file counts 710,600 applicants in the 2026 cycle at day 28, of whom 395,460 were placed at their firm choice and 39,510 at their insurance choice. And 157,680 were still listed as free to be placed in Clearing, so the pool hadn't emptied; UCAS's key dates page has Clearing choices open until 19 October 2026. A separate offer holder file shows what happened to applicants who held an offer before results came in. Of the 244,520 from England, 30,800 (12.6%) had been placed through Clearing by day 28 and 19,970 (8.2%) were free to be placed, both higher shares than in 2025 (12.1% and 6.4%).

Then there's Decline my place, the button an applicant with a confirmed place uses to release themselves into Clearing. UCAS's file for 10 September shows 47,370 applicants used it in 2026, up from 42,920 in 2025 and 27,050 in 2019. Of those, 26,200 (55.3%) had been placed somewhere by day 28, a lower share than in 2025 (60.5%). For UK 18-year-olds alone, 32,540 used it and 59.1% were placed.

For an admissions team, that means a sizeable group of Clearing callers already hold a confirmed place somewhere. UCAS lists doing better than expected and changing course among the reasons, and these applicants have somewhere to go if your reply is slow.

The results day timetable

UCAS's key dates page sets the 2026 timetable, and it dictates when texts can go.

The embargo matters most. During it, UCAS says universities and colleges "cannot discuss any applicants' individual status with them, or with an adviser". So a confirmation text written in advance has to be scheduled for after 08:00 on results day, and it shouldn't go before the decision it reports has been made in the admissions system. Scottish results came out on 4 August under their own embargo, which ran from 28 July.

The other time that shapes the texts is 13:00. Applicants can talk to universities from 08:00, but UCAS opened the Clearing choice button at 13:00 on 13 August, so a morning verbal offer leaves a gap of several hours in which the applicant might keep ringing round.

How Clearing works from the applicant's side

UCAS's applicant guidance is short and specific. Before adding a choice, applicants "need to contact the university/college and give them your Clearing number" and their Personal ID. They can collect informal offers from several places, then decide. And they should "only add a Clearing choice once you have permission from the university or college", one choice at a time; if that university doesn't confirm, they can add another.

Applicants can also use Clearing Plus. UCAS describes a "My matches" button that shows an applicant their top 50 course matches; the applicant marks the ones they're interested in, and universities with vacancies and matching entry requirements "may call you". So some first contact comes from the university side too, as a call the applicant wasn't expecting.

Texts fit into the gaps in that process: confirming that a call-back is coming and roughly when, putting the verbal offer in writing with the course code the applicant needs, telling them when they can add the choice (and nudging them if they haven't), and giving them a way back in by reply that doesn't depend on getting through a switchboard.

Is a Clearing text marketing?

It depends on whether the applicant asked. The ICO's direct marketing guidance treats messages "for administrative or customer services purposes" as service messages, and says the rules "don't stop you from telling your customers important information that they need to know as part of their relationship with you". An applicant who has rung your hotline, given their number and asked about a course is in exactly that position, and texts about their enquiry, their offer and their next step need no marketing consent.

Promoting courses is different. The ICO says a message that "actively promotes or encourages people to make use of a particular service" is likely to be direct marketing, and a Clearing vacancy blast to people who haven't been in touch is that. The soft opt-in won't help: the ICO's guidance on texts says it "does not apply to prospective customers or new contacts (eg from bought-in lists)". Texting last year's open day sign-ups about Clearing vacancies needs the consent they gave at the time to cover it.

There's a privacy point as well. A results day text shouldn't carry grades or the reason an application was declined. UCAS counted 17,340 applicants aged 17 and under in 2026, phones get shared, and a lock screen is not a private place. Say what happens next and leave the detail to the applicant's UCAS Hub and your call.

University Clearing texts for each step

For a fictional Northfield University, with details merged from the enquiry record. All are service messages to applicants who have been in touch.

When the hotline takes a number and can't put the applicant through:

Northfield University Clearing: thanks for calling about Psychology BSc. An admissions tutor will ring you today between 14:00 and 16:00. Reply here if a different time suits better.

After a verbal offer:

Northfield University: you have a verbal Clearing offer for Psychology BSc (course code C8X1). From 13:00 today, add us as your Clearing choice in UCAS Hub. Reply if you have any questions.

A later nudge, if the choice hasn't appeared in the admissions system by late afternoon:

Northfield University: your Clearing offer for Psychology BSc is still open. Add us as your Clearing choice in UCAS Hub (course code C8X1) when you're ready, or reply to let us know you've gone elsewhere.

When the place is confirmed:

Northfield University: your place on Psychology BSc is confirmed. We'll email your next steps today, including accommodation. Welcome to Northfield!

The university's name leads every message, the course code is written out so nobody has to call back for it, and the replies ("gone elsewhere" is useful too) come back to the team. That last one closes a record that would otherwise sit open for days.

Setting it up for results week

Clearing texts come from two places: the hotline team typing a quick message after a call, and the admissions system sending the offer and confirmation texts on a status change. CaptiFi Connect covers both, with a dashboard for the first and the REST API for the second (POST /messages with the applicant's mobile and the text, plus an Idempotency-Key header so a retried request never sends the same offer text twice).

Replies matter more here than in most sectors, so send from a dedicated UK mobile number and run the replies through a shared two-way inbox; a text sent under a sender ID such as NorthfieldU can't be replied to. A dedicated number costs 250 credits every 30 days. Confirmation texts can be scheduled for 08:00 on results day, after the embargo lifts. One timing detail: campaign quiet hours, 21:00 to 09:00 London time by default, hold a campaign or list send started inside them, so an 08:00 send to a list waits until 09:00 unless you change the hours in settings or the API call sets ignore_quiet_hours. Texts sent one at a time aren't held.

The reply Y to confirm post covers wording for one-word answers, which suit the "gone elsewhere" question well.

Common questions

When does Clearing 2026 close?

UCAS's key dates page gives 19 October 2026 as the last date to add Clearing choices, and 21 October as the last date for universities and colleges to make decisions. Clearing opened on 2 July 2026.

How many students got a place through Clearing in 2026?

UCAS's data for 10 September 2026, 28 days after results day, shows 54,190 applicants placed in Clearing and another 16,390 placed direct to Clearing. The first figure is the highest for that point in the ten years UCAS publishes.

Can a university text an applicant on results day?

Yes, from 08:00 when the results embargo lifts, and about the applicant's own enquiry or application without marketing consent. Promotional texts about vacancies to people who haven't been in touch need consent under PECR.

Should a Clearing text include the applicant's grades?

No. Grades and decision reasons are personal and a text can be read by anyone who sees the phone. Say what the applicant needs to do next and leave the detail to their UCAS Hub and your call.