The specialist equipment payment is to help you buy the items and specialist software which have been recommended for you on your Needs Assessment Report (NAR).
If more than one quote is made in your NAR, we’ll use the cheaper one for your specialist equipment payment.
The payment will be made to your designated bank account after your Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) award letter is sent to you.
A provisional payment will be made once:
- you’ve confirmed your bank details
- you’ve officially enrolled on your course
- we’ve received confirmation of student attendance (COSA) from your university
Receipts
You must upload your receipts to your NHS Bursary account to show you've purchased the recommended equipment within 2 months of receiving the payment.
Receipts will be processed within 20 working days.
If the receipts are not received within 2 months of the payment being made, we'll ask you for the money back.
The receipts must show a payment has been made. An invoice showing payment is due will not be sufficient.
Lost receipts
If you've lost your receipts, contact your equipment supplier for duplicates.
If they'll not issue duplicate receipts and you've kept copies, send these to us with a covering letter explaining the originals have been lost or sent but have not been received and the reason why duplicates are not available.
If you've not kept copies, send a bank or credit card statement confirming the payment to the supplier. You must send a covering letter explaining the originals have been lost or sent but have not been received and the reason why duplicates are not available.
Supplier
If you want to use a different supplier to the one recommended on your DSA award, you must make sure they can supply you with the equipment and any software which meets the recommended specifications outlined in your NAR.
Equipment and software
If you've been recommended software, the equipment you purchase must be able to run this software. If it does not run the software, the cost of this equipment may be recovered from you.
DSA will only fund assistive or standard software if:
- the assistive software is essential
- the standard software is not available free of charge
From 17 March 2025, spelling and grammar software is no longer funded, except for in exceptional circumstances.
Course specific software is not funded by DSA.
If you choose to purchase a higher specification computer or laptop than the one recommended for you, we may recover the whole amount paid to you.
This is because although you may need more than an entry-level computer or laptop to use the specialist software which has been recommended for you, a computer or laptop has been recommended solely for that purpose.
If the equipment you choose to purchase is more expensive than the equipment recommended for you in your NAR, you’ll be expected to pay the difference in costs yourself.
If the equipment costs less, you must return the remaining allowance. If the receipts you send show you’ve been overpaid for specialist equipment, the difference in costs must be repaid to us.
Amounts of money quoted for each item of specialist equipment on your NAR are not transferable to another.
Insurance or extended warranty costs
If you were assessed before 18 November 2024, your specialist equipment payment may have included funding to pay for insurance or extended warranty costs from owning the equipment. Your NAR usually indicates an amount for this purpose.
If this was not paid to you as part of your specialist equipment package but was recommended in your NAR, reimbursement will be made to you after you send us original receipts showing the payments you've made.
If you were assessed on or after 18 November 2024, your specialist equipment payment would not have included funding for insurance or extended warranties.
Repairs and replacements are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Read more about what to do if your specialist equipment needs repairing or replacing.
It's recommended you insure your specialist equipment as the obligation is on the student to make sure the equipment is covered by warranty and insurance for the duration of study.
We do not cover for:
- loss
- damage
- theft
Training
If you need training on the use of your specialist equipment such as assistive technology training so you can effectively use any software that's been recommended for you, these costs will be met through the DSA.
The company providing the training must invoice us directly for these costs.