The Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers) is the UK Home Office’s official list of every employer cleared to sponsor a Skilled Worker or Temporary Worker visa. It is the legal source of truth for which companies can issue a Certificate of Sponsorship — but it is also a much narrower document than most applicants assume. This guide explains what it is, how it’s maintained, and what it does not tell you.
What the register is
The register is a CSV file published on GOV.UK. Each row represents a sponsor and the visa route(s) they are licensed for. The columns are unglamorous but load-bearing:
- Organisation Name — the legal name on the licence, not necessarily the trading name. “XYZ Holdings Ltd” might trade publicly as “XYZ Care”.
- Town / City and County — the head-office location on the licence.
- Route — which visa route the licence covers: Skilled Worker, Health & Care Worker, Global Business Mobility, Scale-up, Government Authorised Exchange, and the various Temporary Worker categories.
- Type & Rating — the licence type (Worker / Temporary Worker / Premium Customer) combined with the current A-rating or B-rating.
On this site, every row from that CSV is searchable on the home page. We refresh the data once every 24 hours from the live GOV.UK file.
How a company gets on the register
A sponsor licence application is a one-shot, paid process:
- The company chooses which licence types and routes it needs (Worker, Temporary Worker, or both).
- It nominates Key Personnel: an Authorising Officer, a Key Contact, and at least one Level 1 User of the Sponsor Management System.
- It submits an online application, pays the licence fee (£574 for small / charitable sponsors, £1,579 for large sponsors in 2026 figures, valid for 4 years), and uploads supporting documents proving it is genuine, solvent, and able to discharge sponsor duties.
- The Home Office may visit the company premises and interview Key Personnel before deciding.
- On approval, the sponsor is added to the public register, given an initial A-rating, and allocated an annual quota of Certificates of Sponsorship.
A-rating vs B-rating, in practice
A-rating is the default for a healthy sponsor. The sponsor can request additional CoSes during the year if its allocation is running low, can sponsor new workers, and can recruit through standard channels.
B-rating is the “you’re on probation” rating. It is issued after a compliance failure that the Home Office considers serious but recoverable. The sponsor:
- Cannot issue new CoSes to most workers while on the rating (existing workers and switchers are normally protected).
- Must follow a Home Office-issued Action Plan within 3 months.
- Must pay an Action Plan fee.
- Either returns to A-rating after compliance is restored or sees its licence revoked if it fails the plan.
For applicants: a B-rated sponsor is not automatically a deal-breaker, but it adds risk. If the licence is downgraded again or revoked during your visa, you face a 60-day window to find a new sponsor.
Suspension and revocation
The Home Office can pause or cancel a licence outside the A/B rating system. The most common revocation triggers:
- Genuineness failure. The sponsored role does not actually exist, or the duties differ materially from the CoS.
- Salary undercutting. The sponsor pays workers below the salary on the CoS.
- Failure to report. Missed reporting duties via the Sponsor Management System — sponsored workers’ absences, contract changes, end of employment.
- Linked criminal activity. Modern-slavery breaches, tax evasion, or other criminal findings.
Revoked sponsors are removed from the public register the same day. Sponsored workers receive a written notice from the Home Office and usually have 60 days to find a new sponsor and submit a fresh application before their permission to stay is curtailed.
What the register does not tell you
The register is a licensing list, not a hiring board. Useful filters and signals that are not in the CSV:
- Active vacancies. Listing does not mean recruiting. Many large sponsors are listed but only use the licence for senior internal transfers.
- CoS allocation remaining for the year. Small sponsors are routinely capped at 1–3 CoSes per year. By the time you apply, the allocation may already be exhausted.
- Sectoral specialism. Route “Skilled Worker” covers everything from sushi chef to chief data scientist; the register tells you the route, not the role.
- Quality of process. The register does not tell you whether the sponsor pays at or above going rate, whether working conditions are fair, or whether the workplace has been fined or sanctioned in other jurisdictions.
- Care-sector compliance history. The CQC publishes inspection ratings separately; cross-check before accepting offers in adult social care.
How to read the register usefully
A short workflow for applicants:
- Identify the SOC 2020 code your target role maps to — see our SOC 2020 guide.
- Search the register for sponsors licensed on the route you need (Skilled Worker, Health & Care Worker, etc.). Filter to A-rated where possible.
- For each shortlisted sponsor, cross-check: company size on Companies House, recent news of enforcement, CQC rating (in care), and whether they advertise vacancies in your role.
- Approach the company through its regular careers channel and ask early whether sponsorship is available for the specific role.
Frequently asked questions
- How often does the UK Home Office update the sponsor register?
- GOV.UK republishes the Register of Licensed Sponsors (Workers) on most working days. The file timestamps the publication date in the URL. UK Sponsor Finder re-ingests the file once every 24 hours, so the website reflects same-day changes within a day.
- What does a sponsor’s "rating" actually mean?
- An A-rating means the sponsor is in good standing and can issue new Certificates of Sponsorship. A B-rating means the Home Office has identified compliance concerns; the sponsor is on a time-limited action plan and cannot issue new CoSes to most workers until back to A-rated. A sponsor can move between ratings — and can also be suspended or have the licence revoked entirely.
- If a sponsor is on the register, can they hire me?
- Not necessarily. Being listed only confirms the sponsor holds a current licence for the route shown. It does not say they have any open vacancies, any CoS allocation remaining for the year, or any appetite to recruit overseas. Always confirm directly with the employer.
- Why would a sponsor disappear from the register without warning?
- Three reasons: voluntary surrender (the company no longer needs the licence), suspension (the Home Office has paused the licence while investigating compliance issues), or revocation (the licence has been cancelled). Suspended and revoked sponsors are removed from the public register immediately. Workers sponsored by a revoked employer have 60 days to find a new sponsor or leave the UK.
- Does the register tell me a sponsor’s CoS allocation?
- No. The register shows that a sponsor is licensed and its rating, but not how many Certificates of Sponsorship the Home Office has allocated to them or how many remain unused for the year. You can only learn that by asking the sponsor.
Sources and further reading
Information on this page is for general guidance only and is not legal or immigration advice. Always cross-check against GOV.UK before acting on it. See our Terms of Service.