The CAO: A guide for parents and guardians
Important correspondence from CAO
CAO communicates with applicants via e-mail, text and post at different stages throughout the
year. All correspondence from CAO should be treated as extremely important and checked
carefully to make sure that the information held on file by CAO is correct. Please ensure that your
child checks their e-mail account regularly.
Application number email
(immediately after applying online)
When your child applies online their first correspondence with CAO will be in the form of
an automated e-mail which will contain your child’s application number, an e-mail
verification code and the application details that they have provided.
Email correspondence
CAO will communicate with applicants via email at various intervals throughout the
application process. All CAO correspondence must be read carefully and any errors or
omissions notified to CAO immediately.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all relevant correspondence is
received and dealt with appropriately. Please make sure to regularly check the email
account provided at the application stage, and the Correspondence section of the application.
Statement of Application Record
(end of May)
Before the end of May, all applicants will receive a Statement of Application Record (by e-
mail). This is an extremely important communication, instructing applicants to carefully
review and verify their account information. Any errors or omissions (e.g. an incorrect or
missing examination number) must be communicated to CAO immediately.
If your child has not received the Statement of Application Record by the end of May you
must contact CAO via www.cao.ie/contact.
Offer Notification/Statement of Application Record
(mid-August or earlier
for some applicants)
At the offers stage, your child will either receive notification of an offer, or a Statement
of Application Record (by e-mail). If they receive a Statement of Application Record this is
because they have not been deemed eligible for an offer in this round. You must ensure
that your child checks that all of the information that CAO currently holds on file is
correct, including their examination details. If your child receives an offer
notification this means that they have been deemed entitled to a place
on one of their Level 8 or Level 7/6 courses, or both.
Please check that the information contained in the Offer Notification is
correct, and inform CAO of any incorrect or omitted information in your
child’s CAO Account. A further explanation of the offers stage is provided
later in this document.