There are over 100 Portage Services in England and Wales registered with the NPA.

The National Portage Association requires all Portage Home Visiting services to apply for registration, please download a application form from the right hand side of this page. 

Purpose of Service Registration

Registration of Portage Services identifies the elements of Portage that distinguish it as different to other early year’s provision and other home visiting services. More importantly, service registration also ensures that families across the country are guaranteed the same high level of Portage Service delivery.

The purpose of service registration is to:

• Establish national standards for Portage Services, reflecting the essential components of the Portage Model and agreeing a minimum standard for service delivery.
• Safeguard that every family accessing a Portage service receives recognised quality support.

A full description of the Portage Model of Service Delivery is given in the  NPA Code of Practice 2025 (455.87 KB)

Service Registration Criteria

Details of the 2026/27 criteria for registration of Portage services can be found on the right hand side of this page

Registration runs from 1^st October to 30^th September.

The cost for Service Registration for the year 2026-26 has been held at £120 (+ VAT) 

The registration fee includes:

• full access to the Portage Support Hub – for 3 individual NPA members, as required as part of service criteria.
• access to NPA events, including Regional Networking Days & NPA Conference / Portage Early Years Development Day.
• regular email updates regarding the NPA and Portage,
• invitations to relevant on-line meetings

How to Apply for Service Registration 

• Application for registration is made on an annual basis - it runs from 1st October to 30th September
• Service renewal reminders & application forms are sent from the NPA office in July/Aug to be returned by 1^st October each year.
• Complete the NPA Service Registration form for 2026/27 and pay the appropriate fee 
• Your application will then be assessed against the current criteria to determine your grading level
• Registration is given at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
• The NPA keeps a database of all registered Portage Services and these are also 'searchable' on the website

The NPA Logo

Services registered with the National Portage Association are entitled to use the National Portage Association logo, only in accordance with specific guidelines issued by the NPA.

Services are not entitled to use the National Portage Association Charity Number and registration does not give charitable status to an individual service.