The HOELT procurement reached its final-offer deadline
The published timetable set 20 July as the Best and Final Offer deadline and 16 November as the planned award decision. The Home Office has not published the remaining bidder names or a preferred supplier.
The competition is for more than a test paper. The winning supplier must create and operate a secure remote testing service for UK immigration decisions, with global delivery, identity assurance, scoring, customer support, data systems and the ability to handle changing demand.
That helps explain both the size of the contract and the limited public information. Competitive procurement restricts what can be disclosed while bids are being evaluated.
What does BAFO mean?
BAFO means Best and Final Offer. It is the point where bidders still in the competition submit the version they want evaluated for award.
Before BAFO, a complex procurement can include qualification, detailed proposals, dialogue and requests for clarification. The buyer can use those stages to test whether the planned service is workable and to make the final requirements clear. Bidders then put forward their final technical solution and price.
“Final” does not mean the contract is awarded that day. The Home Office still needs to evaluate and moderate the responses, complete approvals, notify bidders and observe the required procurement process before signing.
There is normally no live leaderboard. A bidder can offer a lower price and still lose if its quality score is weaker.
What does the £816 million figure mean?
The tender notice gives an estimated total value of £816 million including VAT. The initial contract is planned from 1 December 2026 to 30 November 2031, with possible extensions to 30 November 2034.
This is an estimate across a large service and a possible eight-year period. It should not be read as guaranteed revenue for the winner. The notice itself recognises significant uncertainty in future demand.
The supplier's work is expected to include technology, assessment development, remote invigilation, security, customer service, accessibility, analytics, integrations and global operations. Candidate test fees and volumes will determine how money moves through the service, but the public notice does not provide a simple per-test price.
Quality is worth 60%. Price is worth 40%.
The published weighting gives quality the larger share. That matters because the hardest HOELT problem is not just delivering English questions in a browser. The supplier must make a remotely taken result trustworthy enough for immigration decisions.
| Criterion | Weight | What it is likely to cover |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | 60% | Assessment validity, remote security, identity assurance, accessibility, technology, operations, implementation and service management. |
| Price | 40% | The commercial proposal and value delivered across the contract term. |
The tender documentation contains the actual evaluation method. “Likely to cover” in the table is a plain-language summary of the service challenge, not a reproduction of confidential bid scoring.
Who is bidding to build the HOELT?
There is no official public list of final bidders. Any definitive list should be treated cautiously unless it comes from the Home Office, a bidder or the eventual award notice.
Duolingo is the most visible possible contender
Duolingo has experience with a fully remote high-stakes English test and publicly welcomed the Home Office's remote direction. Industry coverage has therefore treated it as an obvious potential bidder.
That does not prove that Duolingo submitted a final offer. Neither the Home Office procurement notice nor a public Duolingo announcement available to us confirms its presence at BAFO.
Other assessment and technology suppliers may be involved
A contract this broad can attract testing organisations, technology companies or consortia combining assessment and service-delivery expertise. Names mentioned in commentary are not the same as confirmed bids.
The IELTS partnership is out
Cambridge University Press & Assessment, the British Council and IDP said in March that the IELTS partnership would not bid under the current design.
Why the strongest incumbent walked away
The IELTS consortium objected to the fully remote model. Its statement said decisions about the right to live in the UK demand high trust in assessment outcomes and that remote testing creates difficulty in meeting those standards consistently.
This is commercially important. IELTS has experience in global test operations and an existing relationship with UKVI. Its departure removes a major established player while placing more attention on the eventual winner's remote-security case.
The withdrawal also leaves the Home Office with a policy problem to solve in public. If the new service launches, applicants, Parliament and the assessment industry will want evidence that identity fraud, impersonation, hidden assistance and compromised devices are being controlled.
Michael Goodine thinks the programme could still fail
Michael Goodine, founder of Test Resources, expects a remote, everyday-English immigration test with two-skill and four-skill versions. He also thinks opposition from Cambridge Assessment could derail the project.
“The Home Office has indicated that there will be both a four-skill version and a two-skill version (as required).”
Direct comment to PrepEx, 20 July 2026. Goodine separately believes Cambridge Assessment's opposition could derail the programme.
The evidence behind Goodine's concern is the IELTS consortium's public withdrawal and security criticism. We found no announced Cambridge lawsuit against the Home Office. The tender was still active at the BAFO deadline.
The realistic risks are broader than a court case: procurement challenge, timetable slippage, a changed remote-testing requirement, failed implementation, or a transition that keeps existing providers in place for longer.
What the winning supplier must be able to do
The successful bid needs credible answers in five areas.
1. Build a defensible English test
The two test configurations need valid tasks, reliable scoring and CEFR alignment from A1 to C2. A convenient test that measures the wrong thing would not meet the purpose.
2. Secure a test taken outside a centre
The supplier needs identity proofing, remote supervision, device controls, fraud detection and investigation. It also needs a process for genuine candidates who are flagged incorrectly.
3. Operate globally
Remote delivery reduces the need for physical centres but creates support demands across devices, bandwidth conditions, time zones, languages, accessibility needs and local law.
4. Handle government data and integrations
Results need to reach Home Office decision systems securely and be available for audit, review and operational reporting.
5. Survive uncertain demand
The tender asks for a service that can scale up or down. Immigration policy can change volumes quickly, and a long contract cannot assume one fixed number of candidates.
What happens after BAFO?
| Stage | Published target | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Final evaluation | After 20 July 2026 | No public scorecard is expected while bids are assessed. |
| Award decision | 16 November 2026 | An award notice should identify the successful supplier and final contract value. |
| Contract start | 1 December 2026 | Implementation begins. This is not necessarily public test launch. |
| Candidate rollout | Late 2027 / early 2028 indication | Official format, samples, prices, booking rules and transition guidance. |
The award notice will settle the bidder question. It will not settle the candidate question. For applicants, the important later releases are the test specification, booking launch and Home Office transition rules.
HOELT tender questions
Has the HOELT winner been chosen?
No winner had been announced when this article was updated on 20 July 2026.
Is Duolingo definitely bidding?
Duolingo is a logical and publicly discussed contender, but we have not found a public confirmation that it submitted a Best and Final Offer.
Why is the contract worth so much?
It covers a global, multi-year assessment and technology service, not only question writing. The £816 million is an estimated value including VAT and possible extensions, not guaranteed spending.
Can Cambridge cancel the tender?
A bidder or interested party can use available procurement remedies if legal grounds exist, but no public Cambridge court action was announced as of 20 July. The consortium's confirmed action was withdrawal.
Will the test launch in December 2026?
The contract is scheduled to start then. Public implementation has been indicated for late 2027 or early 2028.
Primary documents and industry reporting
- UK Find a Tender: HOELT Services, notice 001247-2026
- Official HOELT procurement notice PDF
- IELTS partnership withdrawal statement
- The PIE News: Home Office seeks fully remote HOELT
- PublicTechnology: Home Office income and ownership model
- Direct comments from Michael Goodine to PrepEx, 20 July 2026.