HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

How to hire a foreign language tutor in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register lists language tutors. Here is the vetting to ask for, how to judge teaching skill, and the terms to agree.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a foreign language tutor in five steps

  1. Name the language and the goalWhich language, and why: a GCSE in a home language, a move abroad, work, or conversation. A foreign language tutor plans around the goal.
  2. Vetting firstBefore language lessons online or in person, see the enhanced DBS, PVG or AccessNI certificate that fits your nation.
  3. Ask what they have taught, and to whomWhich levels, how many languages students now, and what those students went on to do. Knowing languages is not the same as teaching it.
  4. Start with one lessonOne language lesson online or in person tells you more than any profile; commit to a block or an intensive course only afterwards.
  5. Write down the termsThe language, the lesson plan, the notice to stop and any exam-centre fees, agreed in writing with the foreign language tutor.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to foreign language tutors in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and languages can be taught by anyone who chooses to, online or in person. Being a native speaker is not a teaching qualification; training and results are what you ask to see.

Ask how long they have taught languages, what training they had, and for someone who can vouch for them.

Criminal record check for a young learner

In England and Wales, teaching or instructing a child on more than three days in any 30, or once overnight, is regulated activity — so a foreign language tutor seeing your child every week, or intensively before a move should hold an enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list. The definition changed on 1 September 2026: a foreign language tutor who is supervised is now inside regulated activity too. Scotland uses PVG scheme membership, and mygov.scot names tutors and instructors a parent engages for a child as a role to ask about; in Northern Ireland, a self-employed foreign language tutor gets an enhanced AccessNI check with the children's barred list through an Umbrella Body.

You cannot apply on a foreign language tutor's behalf. Ask to see their own certificate and read its issue date — it has no official expiry — or PVG proof in Scotland, or an AccessNI certificate shared from their nidirect account. gov.uk →

Teaching qualification and level

Nothing in law says who may teach a language; native fluency is useful but is not training. A language degree, qualified teacher status for school pupils, or a recognised certificate in teaching the language shows training; recent students at your level shows teaching.

Ask the foreign language tutor what they hold, where they gained it, and how many students at your level — beginner, exam or business — they teach now.

Written terms for a block or an intensive course

Paying for a block or an intensive course makes it a consumer contract: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a foreign language tutor must use reasonable care and skill. Booked online or agreed at your home, language lessons carry 14 days to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013; if you asked for teaching to start inside those 14 days, you pay for what was given. Most arguments with foreign language tutors are about a native speaker who chatted but never taught.

Get the language, the lesson plan, the notice to stop and any exam-centre fees in writing — a Locufy message counts — before you pay for a block or an intensive course. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Language tuition is exempt when a foreign language tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner and the language is ordinarily taught in UK schools or universities; a company or its employed tutors are standard-rated. On top of that, an individual whose taxable sales stay under £90,000 a year is not registered, charges no VAT and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether the language is one schools or universities teach, and whether the tutor invoices personally; a sole trader under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Is your criminal record check the enhanced one, with the children's barred list?”

A good answer: Yes, and dated. For language lessons with a child that is the level to see — PVG membership in Scotland, AccessNI in Northern Ireland.

“Have you taught this language to learners like me?”

A good answer: Specific students — beginners, heritage learners, exam candidates — and how the foreign language tutor adapts for each.

“How do you teach grammar?”

A good answer: In context and in small steps, not as lists to memorise.

“Can you prepare a GCSE in a home language?”

A good answer: If the language has a GCSE, a tutor who knows its papers and how private candidates enter.

“What materials do you use?”

A good answer: Named books or resources, and whether they are included in the price.

“What is your notice period, both ways?”

A good answer: Something specific — for example 24 or 48 hours' notice — and the same rule applied to the foreign language tutor's own cancellations.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and whether evening or weekend lessons cost more
  • The minimum booking — one hour, or 45 minutes for beginners — and what happens if a lesson ends early
  • What each side brings: the course book or app, a headset for online lessons, the tutor's materials
  • The aim agreed before the first hour: an exam, a move abroad, business meetings or conversation
  • ID checked and the rating, and vetting for a learner under 18

Walk away if

  • No vetting shown, though the foreign language tutor would see your child every week, or intensively before a move
  • A foreign language tutor who promises fluency before a relocation
  • They cannot describe how a lesson is structured — just "we chat"
  • No refund rule for a block or an intensive course, or one that changes after you pay
LOW
£30
TYPICAL
£40
HIGH
£70

What a foreign language tutor costs: £30–£70 per hour

Foreign language tutors charge by the hour; rarer languages and exam or business work cost more. Foreign Language Tutor price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Foreign language tutors near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you, or book by the hour.

  1. Level checkA short conversation and a written task.
  2. Goal and planThe language tutor plans topics around the goal.
  3. Each lessonSpeaking, one grammar point used in context, and reading or listening.
  4. Between lessonsVocabulary and a short task, checked next time.
  5. ReviewA recorded conversation or timed task compared with the first.

Heritage learner
Someone who grew up with the language at home.
Community language GCSE
A GCSE in a language spoken at home, often sat as a private candidate.
CEFR level
The A1 to C2 scale used to describe language ability.
Immersion
Learning through time in the language, at home or abroad.
Private candidate
A student entered for an exam through a centre rather than their school.
Intensive course
Several hours a week for a short period, often before a move.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the recordsThe lesson plan and the invoices are your record if anything goes wrong.
Test the progressEvery half term, hold a short conversation on a familiar topic, or sit a timed task, and compare it with the first lesson.
What you are owedFluency before a relocation is not something anyone can guarantee; the agreed language lessons, well taught, is.
Leave the reviewOnly booked language lessons can be reviewed on Locufy; if something went wrong, the make-it-right step sends it to the foreign language tutor first.

STEP 1Write to the foreign language tutor firstName the language lessons that fell short and the remedy you want; with foreign language tutors, it is often a native speaker who chatted but never taught. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard is reasonable care and skill; where a foreign language tutor fell short of it, you can require a repeat or a reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the foreign language tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers foreign language tutors, so a consumer complaint goes to Trading Standards through your nation's helpline: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4Money still in disputeSmall claims handle a dispute with a foreign language tutor without a solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales (small claims track), £5,000 in Scotland (simple procedure) and £5,000 in Northern Ireland. The lesson plan and the invoices will be your evidence.

Hiring a foreign language tutor: questions people ask

No law makes every foreign language tutor hold one. But teaching a child every week, or intensively before a move becomes regulated activity in England and Wales once it passes three days in 30, and a barred person must not do it — so ask for the enhanced DBS check with the children's barred list, PVG membership in Scotland, or an enhanced AccessNI check in Northern Ireland.

None is required by law in any part of the UK; anyone can teach languages. Ask for teaching experience in the language at your level, and references.

£30–£70 an hour, with £40 typical; rarer languages and business tuition cost most. See the foreign language tutor price guide for the full range; type your town above for real language tutors nearby.

Usually not, where schools or universities teach the language and the tutor works as a sole trader or partner — that tuition is exempt. A language school company or its employed tutors are standard-rated and add VAT once over £90,000.

Many languages have a GCSE; children often sit it as private candidates at an exam centre, with fees separate from lessons.

Online widens the choice a great deal, especially for rarer languages.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

How to hire: French LessonsHow to hire: Spanish LessonsHow to hire: German LessonsHow to hire: Italian LessonsHow to hire: Mandarin LessonsHow to hire: English as a Foreign Language (ESOL)How to hire: Irish Language LessonsHow to hire: Sign Language LessonsAll 701 hiring guides →

Foreign language tutors near you

Foreign language tutors in LondonForeign language tutors in ManchesterForeign language tutors in BirminghamForeign language tutors in GlasgowForeign language tutors in BelfastAll foreign language tutors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk (DBS) — regulated activity with children
  2. gov.uk — change to the definition of regulated activity with children from 1 September 2026
  3. mygov.scot — who needs PVG scheme membership (personal employers)
  4. nidirect — AccessNI checks for the self-employed and personal employees
  5. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  6. gov.uk — statement from the qualification regulators on GCSEs, AS and A levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  8. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  9. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  10. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  11. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  12. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  13. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  14. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register