This event is open to students aged 18 years or over on January 1, 2012, enrolled in full-time tertiary education in the UK. You will be required to produce some form of student ID to apply

Applicants must submit a completed application form online at chortle.co.uk by 11.59pm on January 28, 2012. By submitting an application form, all applicants agree to abide by these rules.

Organisers may reject or disqualify any application at their discretion, and the judges' decision to which act wins each heats is final. No justification will be given, and no correspondence entered into. We also cannot provide feedback about your act.

The organisers will strive to accommodate acts in the heat of their choice, but this cannot be guaranteed. Entrants must specify three choices of heats, or they will be disqualified.

Performances should last between five and seven minutes. And will be given a visual indication when their time is about to expire. Contestants must use their own, original material. Acts in the final or semi-final may use the same material as they did in the heats, or a different set.

By appearing in the competition, you grant chortle.co.uk the right to use audio and video footage plus still photography from the heats and final, free of charge, in any form. Chortle retains the rights to use all such footage in perpetuity. We will place clips of all entrants on to video sites including, but not limited to, YouTube and Blip.tv. Clips will not be removed at any point following the competition. Entrants may use any video footage of their own performance in a not-for-profit manner, including showreel.

All costs incurred by acts in participating in the competition including but not limited to any travel and accommodation, will be at the performers' own expense.

Contestants shall comply with reasonable requests for interviews and promotional appearances in connection with the event.

Heat winners will be listed at www.chortle.co.uk after each heat. The best runners-up, selected to take part in the semi-finals, will be announced shortly after the final heat. The act selected as the winner of the final will win £2,000, and the runner-up will win £500.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, contestants participate in the event entirely at their own risk and the organisers accept no liability for any injury, accident, loss of property, defamation or other claim arising from an artiste's participation in the event, except where such liability cannot be excluded at law.

Personal information submitted on the application will be used for the purposes of organising the event and related marketing and promotional activities – but not other uses.

The organisers reserve the right to terminate or modify the event at any time, with no liability to any contestant. The organisers reserve the right to make amendments to these rules. Any changes will be posted on www.chortle.co.uk

The organiser is Chortle Comedy Ltd, 78b South Ealing Road, London W5 4QB.