17 July 2026

TMUA.co.uk team

How to Register for the TMUA 2026: Step-by-Step Walkthrough

TMUA 2026 registration opens on 20 July 2026 at 3pm BST. The process has two halves: create an account on the UAT-UK candidate portal and enter your personal details including your UCAS ID, then book a physical seat at a Pearson VUE test centre for one day inside the 12-16 October window. Booking closes 28 September at 6pm BST, but the access arrangements deadline is earlier, 14 September at 6pm BST. Results arrive 16 November.

That is the whole process in one paragraph. The rest of this post is the detail that catches people: the UCAS-details matching trap, why booking in July decides which city you sit in, and the three separate deadlines that are not the same date.

We will add screenshots of each portal step once registration opens on 20 July. The steps below follow UAT-UK's published process for the 2026 cycle.

Table of contents

Every deadline in one table

Date What happens
20 July 2026, 3pm BST Booking opens on the UAT-UK candidate portal
14 September 2026, 6pm BST Access arrangements deadline
21 September 2026, 6pm BST Bursary application deadline
28 September 2026, 6pm BST Booking closes
12-16 October 2026 Test window at Pearson VUE centres
16 November 2026 Results released

Three deadlines, not one. If you need adjustments, your real deadline is 14 September. If you need the bursary, it is 21 September. Everyone else has until 28 September, and nobody should use it: the sensible booking date is the week of 20 July.

Candidates sitting in China, Hong Kong or Macau have a restricted window of 15-16 October only, so the book-early logic applies twice over there.

For the wider timeline and a month-by-month prep plan built around these dates, see TMUA 2026: Key Dates, Registration and the 28 September Deadline.

Step 1: create your UAT-UK account

The TMUA is run by UAT-UK and delivered by Pearson VUE. Registration starts on the UAT-UK candidate portal, not on Pearson VUE's site, and not through your school. Unlike GCSEs and A-levels, no exams officer enters you for this test. Booking is entirely your job, and nobody chases you.

From 3pm BST on 20 July:

  1. Go to the UAT-UK candidate portal and create an account with an email address you actually check. Use a personal address, not a school one that filters external mail or expires when you leave.
  2. Verify the email and log in.

That is the easy half. The details you enter next are where the process can quietly go wrong.

Step 2: enter your details, and make them match UCAS

The portal asks for your personal details, including your UCAS ID (the 10-digit number on your UCAS Hub). This is how your score reaches the universities that use it: UAT-UK matches your test record to your UCAS application using the details you type here.

The gotcha: the match depends on your details agreeing with UCAS exactly. Same name, same spelling, same date of birth, same UCAS ID. If you are "Alexander" on UCAS and register as "Alex", or you transpose two digits of your UCAS ID, your score may not attach to your application automatically. Best case, you spend results week emailing support to fix it manually. Worst case, a university makes a shortlisting decision without your score in the file.

The fix costs two minutes: open your UCAS Hub in another tab and copy the details across character by character. Do not type them from memory. If you have not started your UCAS application yet in July, you can still register; add your UCAS ID as soon as you have one, and check UAT-UK's guidance for how to supply it after booking.

Step 3: book your seat with Pearson VUE

With the UAT-UK half done, you book the physical seat through Pearson VUE: enter a postcode, pick a centre, pick a day inside the 12-16 October window, pick a time.

This is where July registration earns its keep. Each centre has a finite number of seats per day, and they are allocated first come, first served. The TMUA cohort has grown every year, and the pattern from recent cycles is predictable: candidates who book in July sit at a centre 20 minutes away at a time they chose; candidates who book in late September sit wherever is left, which can mean a different city, a 7am start to travel, or the one day that clashes with their school mocks. The test is hard enough without a 90-minute journey in front of it.

When picking a day, the honest advice is that there is no clever play. Papers across the window are designed to be comparable, so pick the day that dodges your school's October commitments and the time of day that matches when you have done your timed practice. More on that in the dates post.

Step 4: pay, or apply for the bursary by 21 September

You pay the test fee at booking. Check the current fee on the UAT-UK site rather than trusting a number from last cycle's blog posts, ours included.

If you are a UK student who meets the eligibility criteria (broadly, the same markers used for free school meals and similar support), a bursary covers the fee. Two things matter: the bursary application deadline for October 2026 is 21 September at 6pm BST, a week before booking closes, and you should sort it before you book rather than trying to claim it back afterwards. If you think you might qualify, read UAT-UK's bursary page in July and ask your school for any evidence early, because school offices are shut for most of August.

Access arrangements: the 14 September deadline

If you get extra time, rest breaks, a separate room, modified papers or any other adjustment at school, you need the equivalent formally approved for the TMUA. It does not carry over automatically, and a Pearson VUE centre cannot grant it on the day.

The deadline for access arrangements for the October 2026 sitting is 14 September 2026 at 6pm BST. That is two weeks before the standard booking deadline, and UAT-UK says requests can take up to ten working days to review, advising you to apply at least ten working days before you intend to book. Work backwards from that and the practical deadline is really late August.

The failure mode is always the same: the evidence you need sits with your school's SENCo, and the SENCo is on holiday from late July to September. Ask for the paperwork in the last week of term, not the first week of September. If your arrangements are approved after you have already booked, you may need the booking amended, which is another reason to start this half first if it applies to you.

After you book: a five-minute checklist

  • Confirmation emails. You should have one from UAT-UK and one from Pearson VUE. Check the name, centre, date and time on both. Screenshot them.
  • Details audit. Read your name, date of birth and UCAS ID back against your UCAS Hub one more time. Two minutes now versus a support-ticket queue in November.
  • Calendar. Put the test date in, plus the 14 September and 28 September deadlines if anything is still pending.
  • Travel. Look up the route to your centre once, now, so exam morning has no unknowns.
  • Then stop thinking about admin. Registration is a July task so that August and September belong to actual preparation. If you have not measured where you stand yet, the free diagnostic is the place to start, and the 16-week prep plan turns the time between now and 12 October into a schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How do I register for the TMUA 2026? Create an account on the UAT-UK candidate portal when registration opens on 20 July 2026 at 3pm BST, enter your personal details including your UCAS ID, then book a test slot at a Pearson VUE centre for a day inside the 12-16 October window and pay the fee. The deadline is 28 September 2026 at 6pm BST.

Do I choose my own TMUA test centre? Yes. After registering with UAT-UK you book through Pearson VUE, which shows you centres near a postcode you enter, each with its available days and times inside the 12-16 October window. Seats per centre are finite, so booking early gets you a nearby centre; booking late can mean travelling to another city.

What happens if my TMUA registration details do not match UCAS? Your score is matched to your UCAS application using the details you enter at registration. If your name, date of birth or UCAS ID do not match your UCAS record exactly, your score may not reach your universities automatically. Copy the details from your UCAS Hub rather than typing them from memory.

What is the TMUA access arrangements deadline for October 2026? 14 September 2026 at 6pm BST, which is two weeks before the standard 28 September booking deadline. UAT-UK advises applying at least 10 working days before you intend to book, so gather your school's evidence in July rather than September.

How much does the TMUA cost in 2026? Check the current fee on the UAT-UK website rather than relying on last year's figure. A bursary covering the fee is available for eligible UK students, and the bursary application deadline for the October 2026 sitting is 21 September at 6pm BST, a week before booking closes.

Can I change my TMUA test date after booking? Pearson VUE bookings can usually be rescheduled within the window, subject to the centre having seats and UAT-UK's terms for that cycle. Do not rely on this: popular centres fill up, so treat your first booking as the real one and check the rescheduling rules on the UAT-UK site before you need them.

Sources: UAT-UK published deadlines for the October 2026 sitting; Pearson VUE test delivery information. Last updated 2026-07-17.

    How to Register for TMUA 2026: Pearson VUE Booking Guide | TMUA.co.uk