Register of licensed sponsors: what it shows and how to check a company

The register of licensed sponsors is a GOV.UK list of organisations licensed to sponsor workers on the Worker and Temporary Worker routes. For each organisation, it shows the town or city, the type of licence and its rating, and the route. GOV.UK publishes it as a CSV file and lists updates on the page.

What is the register of licensed sponsors?

GOV.UK’s “Register of licensed sponsors: workers” page says the document lists Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors. It shows the category of workers they are licensed to sponsor, and their sponsorship rating. This site does not copy or list the companies.

An A-rated business is listed on the register. When a licence application is granted, the organisation’s name is added to the register of Worker and Temporary Worker sponsors on GOV.UK. (Part 1 of the sponsor guidance, version 08/26, valid from 28 August 2026)

What do the columns in the register mean?

The CSV file that GOV.UK published on 5 November 2026 has five columns. GOV.UK does not explain each column. The notes below come from the column names and the sponsor guidance.

Column	What it shows
Organisation Name	The name of the licensed organisation
Town/City	The town or city given for the organisation
County	The county given for the organisation (blank on many rows)
Type & Rating	The licence type (Worker or Temporary Worker) and its rating, for example “Worker (A rating)”
Route	The visa route the organisation is licensed on, for example Skilled Worker

Things to know when you read the file:

• The same organisation can appear on more than one row, for example with a different route.
• A sponsor has one rating for each type of licence (Worker, Temporary Worker or Student). The rating applies to every route under that type. Part 1 gives an example. A sponsor is licensed on Skilled Worker and Senior or Specialist Worker, and is downgraded because of failings on one route. The register shows it as “Worker (B rated)”.
• A UK Expansion Worker sponsor whose authorising officer is based outside the UK gets a “provisional” rating instead of an A-rating. The file labels these “Worker (UK Expansion Worker: Provisional )”.

For what the ratings mean, see sponsor licence ratings.

How often is the register updated?

GOV.UK does not give an update schedule on the register page. The page has a change history. Its entries read “Updated register of licensed sponsors” or “Register updated”.

The change history shows an update on each working day from 2 October 2026 to 5 November 2026. The CSV file name carries the date 2026-11-05. The page was first published on 13 November 2013.

When is an organisation added or removed?

The sponsor guidance describes these events.

Event	What happens to the register entry
Licence application granted	The organisation’s name is added to the register (Part 1)
Licence suspended	The entry is removed from the public register during the suspension (Part 3)
Suspension lifted	The entry is put back on the register (Part 3)
Licence surrendered	UKVI removes the entry once it accepts the request (Part 3)
Licence revoked	The organisation’s details are removed from the public register (Part 3)

Part 3 also says the register is meant for organisations that are actively using their licence. UKVI will publish more guidance on managing inactive licences.

For the rules on suspension and revocation, see sponsor duties.

How do you check if a company is a licensed sponsor?

Use the GOV.UK page. It links to the current CSV file.

1. Open Register of licensed sponsors: workers on GOV.UK.
2. Download the CSV file listed on the page.
3. Search the Organisation Name column for the organisation. Then read the Type & Rating and Route columns.

GOV.UK also publishes a separate Register of licensed sponsors: students.

What does the register not tell you?

The file has only the five columns above. It does not show the certificates of sponsorship an organisation holds or has used.

For how certificates work, see certificate of sponsorship. For how an organisation gets listed, see how to apply for a sponsor licence.