Snowsport England licensing system ensures coaches and instructors are qualified, current and safe to practice.
You need a licence if you are actively coaching, instructing or leading sessions under Snowsport England recognition.
LICENSING
What are you looking for?
how does licensing work?
To apply for or maintain a valid licence, you must meet all of the requirements below.
If any of these expire, your licence will no longer be valid.
Click on the plus signs below to expand the description.
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You must have valid Snowsport England membership. This should be either: Red Coach & Instruct, Red Compete or Black.
Please note: if you would like to compete as well as coach/instruct, you will need Red Compete membership.
Find out more about the membership tiers and check your membership status here.
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You need to have a valid coaching/instructing qualification from Snowsport England. If you have a qualification from another country or licensing body, you can apply for equivalency.
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All Snowsport England coaches, instructors and leaders are required to hold a valid First Aid certificate as part of their licence. Find out here which First Aid certificates we accept.
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Safeguarding training is a mandatory requirement for all Snowsport England coaches and instructors. Find out here which safeguarding training course you need to complete.
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A valid DBS check is required to coach or instruct under Snowsport England. Find out here how to apply or send us your current DBS check.
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Completing a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) course is required to maintain your Snowsport England licence. Find out here which CPD courses you can take.
Where can I coach or instruct?
Your licence allows you to coach or instruct within specific environments and roles, depending on your qualification level. This is known as your remit.
Your remit defines:
Where you can work (e.g. artificial slopes, indoor snow centres, clubs)
Who you can coach (e.g. beginners, recreational, performance athletes)
The type of sessions you can deliver
important
You cannot coach within a Snowsport England-affiliated environment without either:
A recognised Snowsport England qualification
or
Approved equivalency / appropriate alternative route
Working with external qualifications
If you are coaching or instructing within a Snowsport England-affiliated club, centre or organisation, you still need to meet Snowsport England requirements - even if your qualification was gained elsewhere.
If you hold a non-Snowsport England qualification, you have two options:
Option 1: Apply for equivalency
If your qualification is recognised, you can apply to have it assessed and aligned with a Snowsport England qualification level.
Option 2: Non-Member Route
In some cases, coaches working within affiliated organisations may operate under a non-member route, depending on the organisation and role.
ANNUAL LICENCE REVALIDATION
Every year, you need to renew both your Snowsport England membership and revalidate your licence. This is just a simple annual check that we do to ensure everything is up-to-date.
Between 1 September and 31 October each year, you need to take the following steps to keep your licence valid:
1. Log in to Sport:80 and renew your Snowsport England membership.
Read our Sport:80 membership renewal guide. Red Coach & Instruct is the minimum level of membership for Snowsport England coaches and instructors. If you compete in seeded competitions in alpine, then please select Red Compete instead. Upgrade to Black for travel insurance (optional).
Please note: if your membership is on auto-renew, no action is required - our system will automatically take payment on 1 November.
2. Check all elements of your licence are up-to-date. This includes:
Approved CPD/refresher course completed. Check your CPD status in Sport:80.
DBS check is valid. View how to check your DBS status.
Safeguarding training is valid. View how to check your safeguarding status.
First Aid certification is valid. View how to check your First Aid status.
3. Renew your licence.
Follow these instructions on how to do this.
Once you have completed the three steps above, it will send a message to our team to approve your licence. You will receive an email once your licence has been revalidated for the coming year. If your membership is on auto-renew, this won’t be until 1 November.
Please note: It is your responsibility to monitor expiry dates and upload evidence to your Sport:80 account where required.
