The UK CV Format,
Built Free in 2026

Two pages suits most people with a few years of experience, and one page is right for a first job, a career change or shift work. Of the 626 UK CVs we measured on FreeCV, 44% were one page and 45% were two. Three pages makes sense only for a long specialist career, such as a senior clinician or engineer, or for an academic CV that lists publications.

No. UK CVs normally have no photo, and many employers would rather not receive one because it invites questions about age, race and appearance that have nothing to do with the job. Acting, modelling and some presenting jobs are the exception, and the advert will say so. FreeCV only shows a photo if you add one.

No. The National Careers Service says you should not include your age, your date of birth, whether you are married or your nationality. An employer needs none of them to shortlist you, and age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. One in ten UK CVs built on FreeCV still showed a date of birth, so it is worth checking yours.

A CV. Job adverts, recruiters and the National Careers Service all say CV, and resume is rarely used. The document is the same short summary that Americans call a resume. The long academic CV, with every publication and conference, is a different document used for university and research jobs.

It is the short paragraph at the top of a UK CV that says who you are, what you are good at and what you want next. Three to five lines, roughly 50 to 80 words, works well, and the typical UK profile on FreeCV runs 53 words. Write it without the word I: Warehouse team leader with six years in chilled distribution, rather than I am a warehouse team leader.

Usually not. The common UK line is References available on request, which 45% of the UK CVs we measured used, and it is what the National Careers Service suggests. Give names and contact details only when the advert asks for them, and ask your referees first. Many employers take up references after making a conditional offer.

Add one line under your name, such as Right to work: British citizen, Right to work: settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, or Right to work: Graduate visa until August 2028. The employer still has to check it before you start, using a share code or your documents, but the line answers the question before a recruiter has to ask it.

Usually not in place of the form. Most NHS trusts ask you to apply with an application form, and some say plainly that they do not accept CVs. The employment history section does the job of a CV, and the supporting information box decides the shortlist. An up to date CV still makes the form much faster to fill in, because your dates and duties are already written.

It is a copy of your CV with the details that could identify you taken out. The Civil Service says an anonymised CV leaves out information such as your name, age or gender, and Home Office guidance also lists contact details, nationality and immigration status. Save it as a separate file without your name in the file name.

Include them early in your career, when they are among your strongest evidence, and whenever an advert asks for English and maths at grade 4 or C. Once you have a degree or several years of work, one line such as 9 GCSEs including English and maths is enough, and A levels fit on a single line with subjects and grades.

Give the degree, the university, the country and the grade exactly as awarded, for example Bachelor of Commerce, University of Mumbai, India, 72%. Do not convert it to a UK class yourself. If an employer wants a comparison, UK ENIC, the national agency for recognising qualifications, issues statements that set out the UK level of an overseas award.

Not yet. No law requires it today, and the government says most employers already publish pay ranges voluntarily. On 14 July 2026 it opened a consultation on requiring every employer to publish pay information in job adverts, or to give it in writing before the interview when there is no advert. The consultation closes at 5pm on 27 October 2026, and any rule would come later in regulations, with an extended period for employers to prepare.

PDF, unless the advert or a recruiter asks for Word. A PDF looks the same on every screen and printer, and FreeCV PDFs carry real text that applicant tracking systems can read. Recruitment agencies sometimes want a Word file so they can add their own header, and Word export comes with FreeCV PRO.

Building is free and needs no account: the editor, the free templates and the AI assistant, with 25 AI uses a day. From the UK your first two PDF downloads are free as well. After that, downloads come with PRO, from $19 a month, which also opens the premium templates and Word export.

Yes. Ask the assistant for British English and it writes organised, programme and licence rather than the American spellings. It works from the facts you give it, so give it your real numbers and read the result once before you send it.