Can I change my CAF after submitting it?

Before the deadline: edit, submit, confirm

Start with your home council’s application guidance. If changes are allowed online, check the whole form after editing, complete the final submission step and save a fresh confirmation.

Make sure the school names and order are correct. Similar school names, separate campuses and schools in neighbouring councils can be easy to confuse. Keep the earlier confirmation too, so you have a dated record if a change fails to save.

After the deadline: ask before changing

Councils publish rules for late applications and amendments. A change may be accepted for the main allocation, accepted only in a later round, or require evidence of a particular circumstance.

Ask whether the treatment applies to the changed preference or the whole application. Do not assume one council’s approach applies elsewhere. The council coordinating your CAF is the relevant contact even when the school is in a different county.

Write down the reason for the change and the date you learnt the new information. Attach supporting evidence only where requested, and obtain written confirmation of how the amended application will be handled.

Check this year’s actual closing date

The usual secondary application deadline is 31 October. Use your home council’s published timetable for the entry year, including any weekend arrangements. For example, Kent’s guide gives 2 November 2026 for September 2027 entry; that should not be assumed to be every council’s portal deadline.

A test registration deadline, a school supplementary-form deadline and the CAF deadline may all differ. Changing the CAF cannot retrospectively register a child for a missed test.

Decide whether the change reflects your real preference

A lower preference is not penalised simply because a grammar school sits above it. Before moving a “safer” school to the top, read the equal-preference example.

If the change concerns an address, contact the council even if your school order stays the same. Residence dates and evidence can affect admissions priority. If the change concerns a test result, check the official result and school policy rather than a predicted cut-off.

After offers have been issued, ask about waiting lists and changes of preference through the post-offer process. Editing an old CAF is not necessarily the right route at that stage.