UK OSA Sections 35–37 — Children's access assessments
Conduct a children's access assessment to determine whether the service is likely to be accessed by children, considering user base, design, and content
Where this comes from
Provision: Sections 35–37 — Children's access assessments; Schedule 3, Part 1
Instrument: UK Online Safety Act 2023
Citation: Online Safety Act 2023, c. 50, sections 35–37 and Schedule 3 Part 1; Ofcom Children's Access Assessments Guidance, paragraphs 2.21–2.24
Text version: OSA 2023 sections 35–37 and Schedule 3; Ofcom access-assessment guidance checked 2026-09-06
Checked against the source: 6 September 2026
Who it applies to
It applies when all of these are true:
- Q_UK_OSA_PART3_SCOPE is User to user, Search or Both
Scope in the source's own terms
- Service likely to be accessed by children
- Service available in the United Kingdom
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- Assessment methodology is documented
- Assessment is completed and findings recorded
- Remediation plan created for identified risks
- Assessment is reviewed and signed off
- Assessment report is complete
Evidence an auditor expects
- Assessment documentDocument review
Children's access assessment
Documented assessment of whether children are likely to access the service
- Technical controlTechnical audit
Child safety measures
Technical controls protecting children from harmful content
Questions people ask
- Does UK OSA Sections 35–37 — Children's access assessments apply to my service?
- It applies when Q_UK_OSA_PART3_SCOPE is User to user, Search or Both.
- From when does this apply?
- UK OSA Sections 35–37 — Children's access assessments applies from 16 January 2025. Its current status is: in force.
- What evidence does an auditor expect?
- Children's access assessment; Child safety measures.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.