HOW TO HIRE · LESSONS & TUTORING

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

No register lists university tutors. Here is the coursework rule, what to ask about subject depth, 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 university tutor in five steps

  1. Name the moduleThe course, year, module and assessment — exam, problem set or coursework. A university tutor needs to know which.
  2. Ask what they have taughtWho, at what level, and for how long. A university tutor with recent students like you can say so in a sentence.
  3. Ask for a referenceOne or two people who learned with a university tutor recently and will answer a message.
  4. Book a single session firstJudge a university tutor on one tutoring session before paying for a block of sessions.
  5. Get the terms in a messageBefore you pay for a block of sessions: the rate per hour, the minimum booking, what happens near deadlines, cancellation notice, and that assessed work is not on the list. A message on Locufy is enough.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

No licence or register applies to university tutors in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no qualification is needed to tutor university online, around lectures and deadlines. Subject knowledge, teaching record and vetting are things you ask to see, not entries you can search.

Ask the university tutor for their degree and for two students they tutor now.

Subject depth

No qualification or register is required to tutor university students. A higher degree in the subject, or teaching experience at university, is the evidence of depth; check that it matches your module's level.

Ask the university tutor for their degree, the institution and the modules they have taught.

Assessed work: the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022

In England, providing in commercial circumstances a service that completes all or part of an assignment a student must do personally is an offence under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022. Universities in every nation treat it as misconduct. A university tutor may teach the content and explain feedback; they may not write or solve assessed work.

Ask the university tutor how they handle assessed work, and walk away from anyone who offers to do it. legislation.gov.uk →

Written terms for a block of sessions

Like any trader, a university tutor owes you reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If the booking with a university tutor is made online or at your home, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 allow 14 days to cancel; teaching you asked to begin in that time is paid for. Agree what happens near deadlines, when sessions are most in demand.

Get what happens near deadlines, cancellation notice, and that assessed work is out of scope in writing — a Locufy message counts — before you pay for a block of sessions. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

University-level tuition is exempt when a university tutor teaches personally as a sole trader or partner in a subject ordinarily taught at universities; tutoring sold by a company or its employed tutors is standard-rated. Anyone teaching alone below the £90,000 registration threshold charges no VAT at all, so there is no VAT number to ask for.

Ask whether you pay the university tutor directly or a tutoring company; a sole trader under £90,000 adds no VAT. gov.uk →

“Have you studied or taught this module or one close to it?”

A good answer: Specific modules and level; a strong graduate in a different branch of the subject may not be enough.

“How do you handle assessed coursework?”

A good answer: Teaching the method on practice problems and explaining feedback — never working on the assessed piece itself.

“Can you work through past exam papers with me?”

A good answer: Yes, with the university's own past papers where available.

“How do you teach statistics or software parts of the course?”

A good answer: Concepts first, then the software on example data, not on your assessed data.

“What notice do you need before a deadline week?”

A good answer: A clear answer; good tutors book up before exams.

“What happens if you cancel a tutoring session, or we do?”

A good answer: A rule you can live with, in writing — and fairness both ways: if a university tutor cancels, the tutoring session is rescheduled or refunded.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour, and any extra for evenings before deadlines or exams
  • The minimum booking — usually one hour — and what happens if a session ends early
  • What the student brings (the module outline, lecture notes, the marking criteria) and what the tutor brings
  • The modules agreed before the first hour, and a clear line that the tutor explains but does not write assessed work
  • ID checked and the rating

Walk away if

  • Promised grades: no honest university tutor guarantees a first-class mark
  • They offer to complete assignments, problem sets or code for you
  • They ask for your university login
  • A whole term of university tutoring paid up front, with no written refund terms
LOW
£34
TYPICAL
£45
HIGH
£80

What a university tutor costs: £34–£80 per hour

University tutors charge by the hour, usually weekly in term, with more sessions before exams. University 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

University 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. The list of workThe module, its assessments and what you find hard, agreed in the first session.
  2. Teach the conceptsFrom lecture notes and textbook, with worked examples.
  3. Practice problemsUnassessed problems worked together, then alone.
  4. Feedback explainedMarked work and lecturer comments explained, so the next piece is better.
  5. Exam preparationPast papers and timed answers before the exam period.

Module
A unit of a degree course, with its own assessment.
Summative assessment
Marked work that counts towards the degree.
Formative work
Practice work for feedback that does not count.
Academic misconduct
Breaking a university's rules on honest work, including contract cheating.
Contract cheating
Paying someone to complete assessed work.
Classification
The final degree grade: first, upper second and so on.

AFTER

When the job is done

File what you were givenKeep the session notes and the invoices, with the written terms.
Test the progressWork a practice problem or past paper question alone after a few sessions, then check it together.
What you are owedNo university tutor can promise a classification. You are owed the sessions agreed, prepared and at the right level.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked tutoring sessions. A problem goes to the university tutor first through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put it to the university tutor in writingSay what went wrong — for example sessions double-booked in exam weeks — and what you want: tutoring sessions made up, repeated or refunded. If the tutoring sessions were not given with reasonable care and skill, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets you ask for them again or for a price reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyLeave under four stars and you are asked whether to send it to the university tutor first; we follow it through, then the review is published.
STEP 3Get help from Trading StandardsNo regulator covers university 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 university 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 session notes and the invoices will be your evidence.

Hiring a university tutor: questions people ask

No. University tutoring is unregulated in every UK nation, with no licence or register anywhere in the UK. A higher degree in the subject is the usual evidence of depth.

£34–£80 an hour, with £45 typical; maths, statistics, law and PhD-level tutors cost most. The university tutor price guide explains the spread, and the search at the top finds university tutors near you.

Yes, for teaching and explanation. In England, a paid service that completes all or part of an assignment a student must do personally is a criminal offence under the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, and every university treats it as misconduct.

Usually not when a university tutor works as a sole trader or partner and the subject is taught at universities — that tuition is exempt. A tutoring company or its employed tutors are standard-rated and add VAT once over £90,000.

Usually one to two hours a week in term, more before exams.

Most university tutoring is online, with a shared whiteboard or screen; in person helps for some lab-based or design subjects.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in lessons & tutoring

How to hire: GCSE TutorHow to hire: A-Level TutorHow to hire: Maths TutorHow to hire: English TutorHow to hire: Science TutorHow to hire: Physics TutorHow to hire: Chemistry TutorHow to hire: Biology TutorAll 701 hiring guides →

University tutors near you

University tutors in LondonUniversity tutors in ManchesterUniversity tutors in BirminghamUniversity tutors in GlasgowUniversity tutors in BelfastAll university tutors on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, section 26 — meaning of relevant service
  2. Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, section 27 — offence of providing a relevant service
  3. gov.uk — Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30)
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  5. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  6. Citizens Advice — deciding whether to make a small claim (England and Wales)
  7. Scottish Courts and Tribunals — guide to simple procedure
  8. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  9. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  10. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  11. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register