Transfers

Employers that pay the apprenticeship levy can transfer their unused apprenticeship funds to help other organisations pay for apprenticeship training. 

The employer that receives the funds can only use them to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment.

1. You can transfer up to 50% of your apprenticeship funds. We work this out from the total amount of levy you declared in the last tax year.
2. You need to manage the amount of apprenticeship funds you can transfer. The transfer must cover the whole cost of the apprenticeship, up to the funding band maximum.
3. Find an employer to transfer funds to. You can choose an employer in your supply chain or industry (not including ‘connected companies’), a charity or any other employer. 
4. Agree the transfer details with the receiving employer before you set it up on the apprenticeship service.

You cannot send and receive a transfer in the same tax year.

Receiving a transfer

Any employer can receive a transfer, even if they do not pay the levy. Everyone needs an apprenticeship service account to receive a transfer.

The receiving employer can only use the funds to pay for the agreed apprenticeship training costs. They need to choose a training provider, end-point assessment organisation and apprentice before they set up the transfer on the apprenticeship service.

Training provider 

The organisation that will train apprentices who are funded by the transfer. The training provider, receiving and sending employer must agree the apprenticeship standard, price and duration. 

How we work out your transfer allowance

We calculate the transfer allowance each year from the total amount of levy you declared in the last tax year. The amount includes the English percentage and the 10% government top up. Employers can transfer up to 25% of their apprenticeship funds.

Employer A declares £500,000 of apprenticeship levy in the tax year April 2017 to March 2018.

90% of their employees are based in workplaces in England so their ‘English percentage’ is 90%

£500,000 x 90% = £450,000. 

Add 10% government top. 10% of £450,000 = £45,000, so total is £495,000 funds entered the levy account.

25% of £495,000 is £123,750.

Employer A’s transfers allowance for 2018 to 2019 is £123,750.

Payments

If the employer did not pay the levy in the last tax year, they cannot transfer their apprenticeship funds.

Transferred funds must cover 100% of the apprenticeship training and assessment costs. An employer cannot fund part of an apprenticeship.

Transfer payments are the first funds to leave the sending employer’s account each month. The remaining balance will pay for their own apprenticeship training. The sending employer will go into co-investment if they do not have enough funds in their account, they cannot receive a transfer.

If there are not enough funds from the transfer to pay for the apprenticeship training, the receiving employer will go into co-investment. Receiving employers can have more than one transfer.

Receiving employers

When an employer receives a transfer they must sign the employer agreement and follow the apprenticeship funding rules.

The receiving employers must:

• choose a training provider from the register of apprenticeship training providers
• set up an apprenticeship service account
• connect the account with the sending employer

If a learner leaves the apprenticeship, the receiving employer must stop it in their apprenticeship service account.

Add an apprentice

When the receiving employer adds an apprentice they need to select if they want to use transfer funds to pay for the learner’s apprenticeship training.

The employer can only select an apprenticeship standard when adding the apprentice’s details. The sending employer will need to review the information after it has been approved by the training provider.

Last updated on 11 March 2025 15:59