Armatrading has been nominated three times for a Grammy Award and twice for a Brit Award as best female vocalist.
She received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996.
She has received honorary degrees from the Liverpool John Moores University (2000), the University of Birmingham (2002), the University of Northampton (2003), Aston University (2006), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (2008), and the Open University and the University of the West Indies (2013).
She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2001.

In October 2011, Armatrading was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of her contribution to music.
In May 2012, before her concert at Uttoxeter, as part of the 2012 Acoustic Festival of Britain, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

In April 2016, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in recognition of her "influence on a generation of singer-songwriters [as] one of the outstanding voices in British music since the 1970s".
Armatrading has been nominated three times for a Grammy Award and twice for a Brit Award as best female vocalist. She received an Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contemporary Song Collection in 1996. She has received honorary degrees from the Liverpool John Moores University (2000), the University of Birmingham (2002), the University of Northampton (2003), Aston University (2006), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (2008), and the Open University and the University of the West Indies (2013). She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2001.
In October 2011, Armatrading was presented with a BASCA Gold Badge Award in recognition of her contribution to music. In May 2012, before her concert at Uttoxeter, as part of the 2012 Acoustic Festival of Britain, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
In April 2016, she was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in recognition of her "influence on a generation of singer-songwriters [as] one of the outstanding voices in British music since the 1970s".
Joan Armatrading