The HOELT Tender has been published. And I mean the actual tender, not another “request for information.”
Here’s a link. The key takeaway is that the Home Office seeks “a fully remote language testing service.” Says the tender:
“HOELT will move to a digital-by-default approach, while upholding the rigorous standards necessary to support our immigration decisions. The successful provider will deliver a service that combines technological innovation with security assurance, enabling customers to demonstrate their English language skills with confidence and convenience throughout their UK immigration journey.”
And:
“The Supplier shall provide a fully managed Remote Testing service. HOELTs shall be delivered securely in any location where the Customer chooses to take the test, provided secure test conditions are met.”
Test centers aren’t even mentioned in the publicly available version of the tender, as far as I can tell. How do you like that? The final RFI mentioned the possibility of 268 physical test centers. Note that the bidders will get a longer form of the tender, which could reference the possibility of test centers being included.
I’m not terribly familiar with the tender process, so it is absolutely fascinating to me how the document breaks down the weighting that will be given to certain criteria that make up the “Quality” of each bid. Do check that out to learn how the winner will be selected. Just note that price is pretty important too.
A winner will be selected in November of 2026.
A few other key details:
- The contract will run from ’26 to ’31. That’s the same as in the final RFI… but the start date has been pushed back about four months to December of 2026.
- The tender will not be divided into lots, though the possibility of collaborative bids is mentioned.
- As expected, the HOELT will be available in 2-skill and 4-skill versions.
- The estimated value remains £680,000,000 (excluding VAT) and £816,000,000 (including VAT).
Needless to say, this is good news for the team from the Duolingo English Test. They likely have the most experience with and enthusiasm for this sort of remote testing. But it is also good news for a variety of smaller providers who also have ample experience with remote testing. It probably isn’t great news for the IELTS partners, who have been pretty vocal in recent months regarding perceived shortcomings of certain online-only tests.