What if we miss the 11+ registration deadline?

Identify which deadline you missed

Check whether the problem concerns test registration, an access-arrangements request, a supplementary form or the CAF. Each can have a different deadline and remedy.

Confirm the test year and September entry year on the official page. A date found through an old search result may refer to the previous cohort. Save your registration receipt if you believe you applied on time but have not received an acknowledgement.

Read the named organiser’s late-entry rule

Local policies differ materially. For the 2026 test cycle, Bexley says registration closed on 31 March and late registrations are not accepted. Kent’s registration guidance directs parents who missed its deadline to contact the team with the child’s details for advice about next steps. That instruction is not a promise of an on-time test or offer.

These are examples for the stated cycle, not dates to reuse next year. Follow the current published guidance for your child’s actual route.

A reserve test date for a child who registered and was ill is also different from permission for an unregistered child to sit. Check which situation the policy covers.

Send a clear, factual enquiry

Use the official contact and include the information requested. Explain the relevant dates and reason for the missed deadline without assuming that an exception applies.

Ask:

• whether any late registration or assessment process is available;
• what supporting evidence and deadline apply;
• whether a later result can be considered in the initial allocation or only afterwards;
• how the school should be recorded on the CAF while eligibility is unresolved.

Keep the reply. If you recently moved, ask specifically which residence evidence and dates are relevant. Do not rely on another family’s arrangement from a different year.

Submit a viable school application meanwhile

Test registration does not replace the CAF. Continue visiting and comparing schools, including non-selective options, and submit the school-place application by your home council’s deadline.

You can ask about an application and subsequent appeal where appropriate, but there is no guaranteed place or successful appeal for an untested applicant. In-year admission is another separate process, usually dependent on a vacancy and the school’s assessment arrangements.

If the test route is closed for this round, use the written guidance to make realistic school choices rather than waiting for an exception that has not been agreed.