FAQs

All categories, apart from the below exceptions - please check!

Commercially released between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026 for most categories (see below exceptions)

Exceptions

New Brand Identity, Brand Identity Refresh, Luxury/Branding, Health & Wellbeing/Branding & Pharma/Branding

Entries in these categories must have been commercially released and launched, significantly changed or updated between 1 January 2024 and 15 April 2026.

Brand Transformation & Cultural Influence

Entries in these categories must have been commercially released and launched, significantly changed or updated between 1 January 2023 and 15 April 2026.

Digital Experience Design / Product Evolution

Changes must have taken place between 1 January 2023 and 15 April 2026.

Product Design / Prototypes

The prototype must have been released for audience testing within the qualifying entry period for the Awards.

PR / Established Campaigns

Campaigns must have been launched prior to 1 January 2025 and be commercially active within the Awards qualifying entry period.

Impact

Entries in the Impact category are subject to a qualifying entry period of 1 January 2023 and 15 April 2026. In accordance with general awards rules, work can be re-submitted year-on-year, provided it has been developed or significantly changed.

Future Impact

Entries in Future Impact must have been developed or significantly changed between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026.

Sustained Impact

Entries in the Sustained Impact category must have been commercially released and launched, significantly changed or updated between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2024 with evident increased impact between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026.

If the work was released for the first time before 1 January 2025 it is eligible only under one of these two conditions:

• The majority of the work was launched between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026 (only applies to campaign entries) .

The work was changed/updated then re-launched between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026, having undergone a significant creative development.

Two different entrants cannot enter the same work within the same sub-category. If your project is a collaboration with other companies/individuals, check they haven’t entered it first. In case of duplicate entries, we will only accept the entry that was paid first.

Yes, clients can enter work produced for them either internally or by an external agency (as long as it has not been entered by the external agency in the same category) – see previous question.

Yes, however, to be eligible there must be a contractual relationship between the charity and entrant agency. If the media/ airtime was provided pro-bono we reserve the right to ask for confirmation from the media owner.

No. We do not accept entries where we are the primary and/or secondary client, or where we are associated with the work. This includes work that features and/or promotes our brand.

Self-promotional work is a piece of work created by a freelancer or company with the purpose of showcasing and promoting their practice. This usually includes, but is not limited to, booklets, magazines, guides or websites.

Self-promotional work is eligible only if it was commercially released and made available to existing and potential customers. It must not include any third-party names, trade marks, logos and/or any other third-party intellectual property, and must not falsely claim, suggest or imply any association with a third party.

Self-initiated work refers to a piece of work that wasn't commissioned, and was deliberately created by a freelancer or a company about a general topic, unrelated to their own practice. This is generally not accepted.

If you’re unsure about your work being eligible, please contact us.

Work produced in response to a competition is only eligible if it was commercially released, and if it was signed off by the client it represents.

We are here to support the global community of creative practitioners, and we allow entrants from all backgrounds and localities to submit their work into the D&AD Awards, except where there are legal impediments in place that prevent us from doing so. D&AD continuously monitors global legal impediments to remain compliant.

As the creative industry evolves, so must the rules, for 2026, we’re introducing enhanced measures to ensure the credibility of every entry:

Entry Validation

Each entry must be accompanied by an Entry Validation Card, signed by a senior representative of the submitting agency, company, or freelance lead. The Entry Validation Card serves as a Code of Conduct declaration, confirming that all information and claims are accurate and verifiable.

Use of AI

Entrants must now provide a structured disclosure of any AI involvement at the point of entry across all categories. The Use of AI disclosure is now extended beyond the creative process and output to include all submission materials, including case films and supporting documentation.

Please see our Integrity Policy and 2026 Terms & Conditions for more information.

Bank transfers (BACS) and credit card payments. Cheques are not accepted. For bank transfers, the total amount must be transferred within seven days of completing your entry online.

Freelancers, businesses with fewer than 10 employees, and non-profits receive a 30% discount on entries. Contact us to obtain a discount code. We strongly advise obtaining the discount code well ahead of the deadline to avoid any potential issues; the code remains valid until the submission period closes.

If your entry hasn’t been paid for, you can return to the checkout page to enter your discount code. Under 'Discount code', copy and paste the code and don't forget to click the 'Apply' button.

Discount codes must be used at the point of payment on the entry site and can not be redeemed or refunded retrospectively.

Have you used it more than once? Once you've applied the code, it is no longer valid.

• Is your discount code valid for the category you are entering? Different discount codes have different T&Cs.

If your discount code is still not working after checking the above, please contact us.

1.Pay for your entry again

2. Check the following:

• Check you’ve entered the correct card details, including expiry date.
• Make sure you enter the security code correctly - that's the three digit number on the back of your card.
• Your card issuer may have declined your payment - please contact your bank for further information.
• If your payment has been declined through the 3D secure security measures, contact your bank for further information.
• If you've checked all of the above, try paying with another card or through bank transfer (BACS)

3. Contact us

If you've received an error message, contact our Team with as many details as you can, including the error messages you receive..

We will email a copy of your invoice once you have paid, or you can find it in the My D&AD section of the website.

The Royal Bank of Scotland,

London Drummonds,

49 Charing Cross,

Admiralty Arch,

London,

SW1A 2DX

Account Name: D&AD

Sort Code: 16-00-38

Account No: 10199910

IBAN: GB14 RBOS1600 3810 199910

BIC/SWIFT: RBOS GB 2L

VAT Registration No: 240 6465 76

Our prices do not reflect current international exchange rates. Our entry fees have been established in comparison to the average entry fees of other major awards in different markets and currencies. As such, if you are paying in British Pounds (GBP), you will pay a different amount than if you are paying in USD or Euros.

You can choose to pay in any currency, including GBP, if that is more convenient for you. We will charge you in GBP, so if you are paying in Euros/USDs you have to take the conversion rates into account.

You will only be eligible for a refund if you withdraw your entry within 48 hours of making payment by credit card, or by raising an invoice to pay via BACS. For more information, please see our Terms & Conditions.

We are a charity and any surplus from our awards goes to programmes, like New Blood and Shift, that raise new creative talent and that open the creative industries to all backgrounds.

To create an entry, log into your account and click on our Entry Site. From there, you can create an entry by entering your project name and selecting your category, subcategory, and type of work (if applicable). Once the entry is created, you'll be able to input your entry details and upload required assets and information.

We’ll be hosting several webinars that cover key information about the awards, including how to enter, walkthroughs of the entry site, and helpful tips to prepare your submission. Details and registration links will be shared on our website to the dates.

You can download our Entry Kit which includes all of our categories and submission formats we require you to submit. We also have French, Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese and Japanese versions of our entry kit which you can find here.

For more detailed description and specifications of our submission formats, including examples, you can refer to our Entry Submission Guide.

Once you have paid for an entry, you can no longer change the Category, Subcategory and, where applicable, the type of execution and type of work.

You have until the relevant Submission Deadline to add, remove and replace any materials forming part of your entry (please refer to the Submission Deadline dates above).

Yes. If your work was not originally released in English, you need to submit the work in its original language, alongside a translation. For films, this means subtitles. For non-film work, simply type up your translation online. We do not accept translations as a separate document or film.

Please note that we do not accept translations in Writing for Advertising and Writing for Design categories — entries here are only accepted if originally released in English. This is to ensure that the writing is judged fairly and not based on translations.

Please check the bottom of each category page in the Entry Kit. Further details can be found under 'Supporting Information' in our Entry Submission Guide here. You will be asked to provide supporting information when completing your online submission. Judges love to know the facts, so keep your written information short and to the point.

Unfortunately, if you miss the submission deadline for your chosen tier, you will incur additional fees. We are unable to grant extensions on the submission deadline, as our operational costs increase after this date, necessitating the implementation of the next tier pricing. If you need further assistance, please contact our support team.

ny physical submissions entered will be required to supply 1-5 Reference Images, which will be used for our judges to familiarise themselves with the work before they judge onsite. The images will also be used if your work is successful, for our winners page, D&AD Ceremony and any social/ press releases.

If you would like to withdraw your entry for any reason, you must give written notice to D&AD by emailing our awards team at awards@dandad.org, providing sufficient detail to enable D&AD to identify the relevant entry.

Yes, it is important to attach the labels onto your physical item as this helps the team identify your entry when it arrives to our office.

Once you have submitted your entry, you will be able to download the labels. Please note only selected categories require physical materials. If the category you have selected does not require physical materials, labels will not be generated after you have submitted the entry.

Labels are only available for selected categories that require physical items. Please refer to the category's page to check if we require any physical items for the subcategory.

If the category you have selected requires physical materials, you can download the labels on the dashboard once the entry has been submitted.

If you are still having issues accessing the labels, please reach out to the team.

There are three types of entry labels:

Physical material

Please attach the entry label with removable tape on the underside of the item. If you are showing more than one execution repeat this step and attach all the corresponding labels. If items are small, group them together, for example in an envelope.

Posters mounted or Posters unmounted

Please attach the entry label with removable tape on the back left side of your poster. If you are showing more than one execution repeat this step and attach all the corresponding labels.

Printed publications

Please attach the label with removable tape at the bottom right-hand corner on the back page of your work. If you are showing more than one execution repeat this step and attach all the corresponding labels.

No, we require a sample of the physical material or publication for each entry. If you are unable to provide multiple copies or samples, please contact our team for guidance.

At the point of submission, we do not request you to send physical materials for your Product Design entry. However, if your project progresses to the judging phase, you may be contacted to provide physical materials to support the jury’s review. Entrants selected for this stage will be contacted around mid-April with details on what to provide and how to send it.

Our address is: D&AD Awards, 64 Cheshire Street, London, E2 6EH, United Kingdom.

You’ll also find this address on the labels once you've submitted your online submission. If you use a courier service, please note, our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm.

Mark your package as 'Competition material: no commercial value'. If you need to indicate the value of the goods in the package, use a token value, for example $1 per entry. Please make sure you have settled all shipping costs and customs fees before sending your entries. If not, your package will be held up in customs or refused at our office because of unpaid shipping costs.

If we have not received your package, our Awards team will be in touch.

We do not return physical materials once judging is complete and will store or discard materials at our discretion.

If you would like to request that your work is returned to you, please contact us in writing no later than 26 March 2026. If we are able to fulfil your request, you will be required to collect the work no later than 29 June 2026 and will be solely responsible for all associated costs. Please message us via the contact form for more information.

Do I need to add all the credits for the work at the moment of entry?

When submitting your entry, you will be asked to provide an initial list of primary credits.

At the moment of entry, you will be asked to submit the following credits:

• Entrant Company (mandatory for every category)
• Client (mandatory for every category)
• Secondary Client (if applicable)
• Brand (mandatory for every category)
• Advertising Agency (mandatory depending on category)
• Design Agency (mandatory depending on category)
• Production Company (mandatory depending on category)

You can find the list of mandatory primary credits required for each category in our Entry Submission Guide.

If your entry is successful, primary credits will be displayed with your work at our Awards Ceremony.

Advertising agency, client, brand, design agency and production company credits will also be included in our rankings calculations.

If your entry is successful, we will also contact you to provide a full list of credits.

This is your chance to credit any further companies or individuals that worked on the project.

These additional credits will be published on our website and digital annual alongside your work and will be included in individual rankings calculations.

You can only enter work into one category, so make sure you pick the one that's right for you.

The Impact category is for campaign communications, designs and initiatives that are driving the success of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Work must have been commercially released between 1 January 2023 - 15 April 2026. Entrants must be able to demonstrate behavioural, environmental, social or policy change that's happened as a direct result of the work. Entrants have the chance to win a Wood, Graphite, White or Black Pencil and are eligible to enter all other categories in the D&AD Awards (except Future Impact). In accordance with general awards rules, work can be re-submitted year-on-year, provided it has been developed or significantly changed. If the work has not changed but the impact of the work has measurably increased over time, Entries must be submitted into the Sustained Impact category.

The Future Impact category early-stage designs and initiatives, still in research and development, that can demonstrate potential to drive the success of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Work in this category is in development and has yet to be commercially released, for example prototypes and MVPs. All work must have been developed or significantly changed between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026. It must have proof of concept and be commercially viable. Awarded entrants will be invited to apply for a development grant from the £25,000 D&AD Impact Fund and access to the Impact Council and D&AD Learning to support project owners with the ideation, launch and early growth of their work. Work entered into Future Impact is not eligible for any other Awards categories except Product Design/Prototypes.

The Sustained Impact category is for campaigns, designs and initiatives that are driving the success of the UN Sustainable Development Goals over a sustained amount of time. Entrants must be able to demonstrate behavioural, environmental, social or policy change that has increased over time, and that was generated as a direct result of the work. Entrants have the chance to win a Wood, Graphite, White or Black Pencil and are eligible to enter all other categories in the D&AD Awards (except Future Impact). Work has been commercially released and launched, significantly changed or updated between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2024 with evident increased impact between 1 January 2025 and 15 April 2026.

Open-source designs made available to the public within the Awards eligibility period are considered commercially available and therefore eligible to enter the Awards, subject to meeting the relevant Awards Terms & Conditions.

Commercially released work will only be accepted in exceptional cases, where the work has not made a tangible impact yet and would benefit from the support of the D&AD Impact Programme and a development grant from the D&AD Impact Fund. Work that has been commercially released and can demonstrate effectiveness should be entered into Impact.

In the event that work is submitted into multiple Impact categories, D&AD will assess the suitability of each category and withdraw one of the projects. You will not be eligible for a refund. If you are unsure where your work fits, please contact the D&AD Awards team for guidance.

Judges are looking for innovative and inspiring uses of creativity to stimulate change and benefit society. This means that work must be responding to one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. You will be asked to specify which one(s) the work is responding to as part of your submission. You can find out more about the Goals here.

In the Impact category, judges will award work that has stimulated change in one of four areas - behaviour, environment, society or policy. Winning work must be able to prove that any change is a direct result of the work submitted. The work must be fit for purpose, that is, it must do the job it was designed to do.

In the Future Impact category, judges will be awarding work that demonstrates it's potential to make an impact once commercially released. Work must have proof of concept and demonstrate it's both scalable and commercially viable.

In the Sustained Impact category, judges will award work that drives at least one of the UN SDGs and has tangibly resulted in increased behavioural, environmental, social or policy change over time.

All shortlisted work will appear in the D&AD Annual, available online and freely accessible to tens of thousands of creative companies and practitioners globally.

Awarded entrants in the Future Impact category will be invited to apply for a development grant from the £25,000 D&AD Impact Fund and access to the Impact Council and D&AD Learning to support project owners with the ideation, launch and early growth of their work. The Impact Fund will be allocated by the D&AD Impact Council and must be spent on developing the awarded work within 12 months of being received.

Winning entrants in the Impact category will receive a Wood, Graphite, White or Black Pencil, feature in the D&AD Awards Ceremony and will have trees planted in recognition of their work with Everclime.

Winning entrants in the Future Impact category will receive a Future Impact Pencil, featured in the D&AD Awards Ceremony and will have trees planted in recognition of their work with Everclime.

The White Pencil replaces the Yellow Pencil in the Impact category. The White Pencil goes beyond creative excellence, to represent exceptional projects that use the power of creativity to drive behavioural, environmental, societal or policy change. The White Pencil was first conceived in 2011. Read more about its origin here.

Available to all Shortlisted Entrants in the Future Impact category, the D&AD Impact programme is a 12-month package of mentorship, training and support that’s designed to support project owners with the ideation, launch and early growth of their work. It’s available to anyone shortlisted in the Future Impact category.

A Future Impact cohort typically includes individuals, organisations and teams working on prototypes, MVPs, projects in testing or those that have recently launched. Through the programme we aim to enable a cohort of creative thinkers, known as D&AD Impacters, to develop their projects within 12 months.

Anyone shortlisted in the Future Impact category will receive a place on the D&AD Impact Programme and the opportunity to apply for a development grant from the £25,000 D&AD Impact Fund. The Impact Programme includes:

• The opportunity to ask the Impact Council for tailored mentorship, training and support that’s designed to support project owners with the ideation, launch and early growth of their work
• A space on a live D&AD Masterclasses of your choice
• Access to D&AD’s on-demand courses for a year
• Free entry into the D&AD Awards Impact category, valid for 3 years

For more information on what the programme entails, please visit the D&AD Impact page. Nb. D&AD reserves the right to alter elements of the Programme, or cancel the Programme in its entirety, if fewer than 20 participants confirm their commitment.

If you are Shortlisted in the Future Impact category, you will be contacted and asked if you would like to apply for a grant to develop your work. You can apply for all, or part, of the £25,000 fund. Money must be spent only in relation to the project or work that was awarded and within 12 months from the date it is received.

The Impact Council will meet to consider applications in September 2026. Funds will be awarded entirely at the judges’ discretion and depending on the quality of applications from eligible Entrants.

Please note: D&AD does not claim any ownership of, or rights in, the applicant’s project and nor does it expect any financial returns where funds have been awarded to an Entrant.

Prices start at £406 to enter work in the Impact and Sustained Impact category.

Prices start at just £25 to enter work in the Future Impact category.

The entry fees for Future Impact are set at a lower rate to be more accommodating to student and solopreneurs, helping us support the next generation of impacters.

Entry and judging for D&AD Impact happens at the same time as the D&AD Awards. The shortlist will be announced 19-20 May 2026.

We are always looking for fair representation across the creative industry, a diversity of voices and above all exceptional talent. We always welcome any Judge recommendations. If you're able to fill out the following form here, that would be fantastic.

Shortlist: Work that demonstrates merit, worthy of recognition and in the top echelon of entries. It’s awarded in all categories in the first instance.

Wood Pencil: The best of the year in advertising, design, craft, culture and impact.

Graphite Pencil: For stand-out work that rises above the rest, worthy of consideration for a Yellow Pencil.

Yellow Pencil: The iconic D&AD Yellow Pencil, awarded only to outstanding work that achieves true creative excellence.

Black Pencil: The ultimate creative accolade, reserved for ground-breaking work. Only a handful of these are awarded each year, if any.

Future Impact Pencil: Awarded to work in the Future Impact category. Early-stage projects that demonstrate the potential to drive the UN SDGs and stimulate behavioural, environmental, societal or policy change through creativity. Both Pencil Winners and Shortlisted entrants will also receive a place on the D&AD Impact Programme and the right to apply for a development grant from the D&AD Impact Fund. See https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-impact/ for more information.

White Pencil: Replaces the Yellow Pencil in the Impact and Sustained Impact categories. Exceptional projects that use the power of creativity to drive the UN SDGs and stimulate behavioural, environmental, societal or policy change.

President's Award: Every year, we honour an industry hero, a legend whose contribution to the industry has been nothing but inspirational. The recipient is chosen by our President and will be announced at the D&AD Awards Ceremony.

Companies of the Year: Pencil winners and shortlisted companies are allocated points for each win. The points are then accumulated to determine the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in the following categories:

Advertising Agency of the Year

Design Agency of the Year

Production Company of the Year

Client of the Year

Network of the Year

Brand of the Year

Independent Agency of the Year

Brand-side Agency of the Year

Individual Creative Rankings of the Year

All Shortlisted work will:

• Be celebrated by over 2.9 million views by over 2.7 millions visitors on the D&AD Winners pages, Archive and Rankings each year.
• Feature in the D&AD Annual, now online and freely accessible to tens of thousands of creative companies and practitioners globally. In 2024 the Annual reached a global audience of 200,000 people, three quarters of which were outside the UK.
• Get exhibited around the world at one of D&AD’s international exhibitions. Past venues include The Advertising Museum Tokyo, Louvre Museum Paris, Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, Hong Kong Design Institute, Arts Centre Melbourne.
• Have the chance to appear in the D&AD Content Series, with commentary from our judges.
• Inform D&AD Annual theme reports, which will be presented alongside winning work to agencies and clients all over the world.
• Be promoted through D&AD social media channels and the D&AD newsletter, reaching millions of creative professionals globally.
• Earn prestige amongst your peers, global media coverage for you and your company and points towards D&AD rankings.
• Give Future Impact entrants access to apply for a £25,000 Impact Fund and a place on the D&AD Impact Programme.

In addition, all Pencil winning work will:

• Receive a coveted D&AD Pencil.
• Receive points towards D&AD individual and company rankings.
• Have a tree planted in tribute to the work as part of D&AD's partnership with Everclime.