Guidance
File format
Updated 1 May 2026
Download CSV 8.66 KB
| Name | Description | Position | Description of Regular Expression | Validation Regular Expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReportingDate | Date the file was due to be submitted to Ofqual regardless of when it was actually uploaded (this date will be made available by Ofqual) | 1 | The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits). Format accepted yyyy-mm-dd. | ^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$ |
| AcademicYear | The academic year which this data submission relates to (defined as 1 September to 31 August). For example, 2021-2022 | 2 | The academic year in the following format: start year (4 digits), a dash, end year (4 digits). Format accepted yyyy-yyyy. | ^(20)\d\d[-](20)\d\d $ |
| AssessmentDate | Date the assessment was taken by the student. In the case of assessments which take place over multiple days, please provide the date it was submitted for marking or grading. If no date is available, please provide 2999-12-31. | 3 | The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits). Format accepted yyyy-mm-dd. 2999-12-31 accepted if no date is available. | ^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$ |
| CertificationDate | Date the certificate was awarded to the candidate for the qualification. If the certification date is not yet known or not applicable, please provide 2999-12-31. | 4 | The date in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits). Format accepted yyyy-mm-dd. | ^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$ |
| AwardingOrganisation | Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations | 5 | Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 150 characters accepted. | ^.{1,150}$ |
| MalpracticeCaseIdentifier | Unique case identifier assigned by the awarding organisation. See general completion guidelines for more detail | 6 | 1 to 25 characters accepted. | ^.{1,25}$ |
| CentreNCN | Centre’s National Centre Number as allocated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Higher NCN code not accepted. -2 accepted where centre does not have an NCN or for students who are not registered to a centre. | 7 | Valid NCN code. 5-digit integer accepted. Higher NCN code not accepted. -2 accepted where centre does not have an NCN or for students who are not registered to a centre. | ^(?:-2|\d{5})$ |
| CentreURN | Centre’s Unique Reference Number as assigned by the Department for Education. -2 accepted where centre does not have a URN or for students who are not registered to a centre. | 8 | Valid Centre URN. 6- digit integer accepted. -2 accepted where centre does not have a URN or for students who are not registered to a centre. | ^(?:-2|\d{6})$ |
| CentreIdentifierOther | Any other number allocated to the centre or assessment venue by individual awarding organisations at the time of data submission. Must be provided where CentreURN and CentreNCN are not available. If more than one identifier is available please provide as many as possible. -2 accepted where at least one of CentreNCN and CentreURN have been provided or for students who are not registered to a centre. | 9 | 1 to 15 characters accepted. -2 accepted where at least one of CentreNCN and CentreURN have been provided or for students who are not registered to a centre. | ^.{1,15}$ |
| CentreName | Name of the centre. -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission. | 10 | 1 to 255 characters accepted. -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission. | ^.{1,255}$ |
| CentrePostCode | Postcode of the centre. | 11 | 1 to 10 characters accepted. -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission. | ^.{1,10}$ |
| Country | The country where the centre is located. Please provide England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man or Channel Islands for UK countries and crown dependencies. For names of Non-UK countries, please use the FCDO geographical names index. Should be England for non-ESOL qualifications. | 12 | 1 to 100 characters accepted. | ^.{1,100}$ |
| TypeOfMalpractice | To indicate type of malpractice | 13 | Accepted values: Candidate, Centre, Centre staff, Examiner. See Appendix A for guidance | ^(Candidate|Centre|Centre staff|Examiner)$ |
| UniqueCandidateIdentifier | Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI). -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | 14 | Valid UCI. Alpha numeric 13 characters accepted. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | ^(?:-2|.{13})$ |
| UniqueLearnerNumber | Unique Learner Number (ULN) provided by the Learning Records Service. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | 15 | Valid ULN. 10 digits accepted. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | ^(?:-2|\d{10})$ |
| CandidateIdentifierOther | Any other unique student number allocated by individual awarding organisation. Must be provided where UCI and ULN are not available. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | 16 | 1 to 20 characters accepted. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice. | ^.{1,20}$ |
| StaffIdentifier | Identifier to uniquely identify each individual member of staff or examiner involved in the malpractice allegation (assigned by the awarding organisations). Please do not provide staff names. -2 accepted for candidate or centre malpractice, or where the investigation is ongoing and the number of staff members involved in the allegation is unknown. | 17 | 1 to 25 characters accepted. -2 accepted for candidate or centre malpractice, or where the investigation is ongoing and the number of staff members involved in the allegation is unknown. | ^.{1,25}$ |
| QualificationNumber | The unique identifier for the qualification as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications, for example, 123/1234/1. -2 accepted for students not yet certificating or for systemic cases. | 18 | Valid qualification number. 10 characters accepted. -2 accepted for students not yet certificating or for systemic cases. | ^(?:-2|.{10})$ |
| SpecificationCode | Specification code, also known as subject code or pathway code. -2 accepted where the specification code is not applicable, for example in systemic cases. | 19 | 1 to 15 characters accepted. -2 accepted where the specification code is not applicable | ^.{1,15}$ |
| SpecificationTitle | Specification title, also known as subject title. Must be provided if specification code is provided. -2 accepted where the specification title is not applicable. ‘Non-assessment specific’ accepted for systemic cases. | 20 | 1 to 150 characters accepted. -2 accepted where the specification title is not applicable. ‘Non-assessment specific’ accepted for systemic cases. | ^.{1,150}$ |
| AssessmentCode | Unique identifier for the assessment, generated by the awarding organisation. -2 accepted where not available or not applicable, for example in systemic cases | 21 | 1 to 50 characters accepted. -2 accepted where not available or not applicable | ^.{1,50}$ |
| AssessmentType | To indicate type of assessment, internal or external. Internal assessment means set and/or marked by centres. External assessment means that the assessment is externally set and marked by the awarding organisation or another independent body. It does not include moderation or verification of centre-based assessment undertaken by an awarding organisation. -2 accepted for systemic cases | 22 | Accepted values: Internal, External, -2 | ^(Internal|External|-2) $ |
| AssessmentMethod | The method used in the assessment. The list of assessment methods is given in Appendix B. Please choose the most appropriate one. -2 accepted for systemic cases | 23 | See Appendix B for accepted methods. -2 accepted for systemic cases. | ^(OnlineExam|Paper-basedExam|Performance task|-2)$ |
| AssessmentSchedule | To indicate the schedule for external assessments. The list of assessment schedules is given in Appendix C. Please choose the most appropriate one. -2 accepted for systemic cases, or for internal assessment. | 24 | See Appendix C for accepted schedules. -2 accepted for systemic cases, or for internal assessment. | ^(Timetabled|On-demand (non- sessional)|On-demand (sessional)|-2)$ |
| TypeOfOffence | Description of offence. The list of offences is given in Appendix D. Please choose the most appropriate one. | 25 | See Appendix D for accepted values. | See Appendix D |
| TypeOfPenaltyIssued | Description of penalty. The list of penalties is given in Appendix E. Please choose the most appropriate one. | 26 | See Appendix E for accepted values. | See Appendix E |