Your grant can run for up to 4 years. Two separate limits apply, and whichever one you hit first is the one that stops you.
The two limits
4 grant periods. Your first approval counts as period 1. Each extension after that uses one more period, up to 3 extensions, for 4 periods in total.
4 years from your first approval. This window starts the day you're first approved. It keeps running even in years you don’t extend it.
Both limits are tied to your academic email and to your account. Switching to a different academic email on the same account does not reset either limit. Read My school email is closing. How do I keep my grant? for how switching works.
How this plays out
Extend every year, on time: Approved 30 July 2026, then extended in 2027, 2028, and 2029. Your grant runs until 30 July 2030, using all 4 periods across the full 4 years.
Skip a few years, then try to come back: Approved in 2026, with no renewal in 2027, 2028, or 2029. An application in 2030 is refused, even though only 1 of the 4 periods was used. The 4-year window already closed.
Cancel and reapply on the same account: Each new application uses one more period, whether or not the grant stayed active in between. Apply, cancel, and reapply 3 times, and all 4 periods are used. A 5th application is refused, even with years left on the 4-year clock.
Skipped years are not saved for later. Both limits keep counting from your first approval date, even while your grant is inactive.
If your grant is already active when the 4-year window closes, it still runs until its own expiry date. It's never cut short partway through.