Guidance
File format
Updated 21 September 2026
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| 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])$ |
| ExamSeries | Exam series data relates to, for example June 2024 | 2 | Full month name of exam series and year | ^(June|November)([ ][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])$ |
| AwardingOrganisation | Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations | 3 | Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| CentreNo | Centre’s National Centre Number as allocated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Higher NCN code not accepted | 4 | Valid NCN code. 5-digit integer accepted. Higher NCN code not accepted | ^\d{5}$ |
| UniqueCandidateIdentifier | Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI) | 5 | Valid UCI. Alpha numeric 13 characters accepted | ^.{13}$ |
| QAN | The unique identifier for the qualification as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications, for example, 123/1234/1 | 6 | Valid qualification number. 10 characters accepted | ^.{10}$ |
| SpecificationTitle | Specification title, also known as subject title | 7 | 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| SpecificationCode | Specification code, also known as Subject Award Code and Cash-in Code | 8 | 1 to 7 characters accepted | ^.{1,7}$ |
| QualificationLevel | Type of qualification | 9 | Accepted values: GCSE, AS, A level | ^(GCSE|AS|A level)$ |
| UnitCode | Unit or component code as designated in the specification. -2 accepted where a change occurs at qualification level and is not explicitly linked to one or more unit codes | 10 | 1 to 10 characters accepted. -2 accepted where a change occurs at qualification level and is not explicitly linked to one or more unit codes | ^.{1,10}$ |
| OriginalQualificationUMSModularOrScaleScorelinear | Original qualification scale score | 11 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted for not applicable or unknown value | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| ResultingQualificationUMSModularOrScaleScorelinear | Resulting qualification scale score | 12 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted for not applicable or unknown value | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| OriginalQualificationGrade | Original qualification grade | 13 | Accepted values: A* to E, 9 to 1, 9-9 to 1-1, U, X, Q, N, Pass, Merit, Distinction, NC, -2 accepted where grade is unknown | ^(A*|A|B|C|D|E|N|Q|U|X|NC|9|8|7|6|5|4|3|2|1|9-9|9-8|8-8|8-7|7-7|7-6|6-6|6-5|5-5|5-4|4-4|4-3|3-3|3-2|2-2|2-1|1-1|-2|Pass|Merit|Distinction)$ |
| ResultingQualificationGrade | Resulting qualification grade | 14 | Accepted values: A* to E, 9 to 1, 9-9 to 1-1, U, X, Q, N, Pass, Merit, Distinction, NC, -2 accepted where grade is unknown | ^(A*|A|B|C|D|E|N|Q|U|X|NC|9|8|7|6|5|4|3|2|1|9-9|9-8|8-8|8-7|7-7|7-6|6-6|6-5|5-5|5-4|4-4|4-3|3-3|3-2|2-2|2-1|1-1|-2|Pass|Merit|Distinction)$ |
| ReasonForReconsideration | The reason for reconsideration of marks/grades | 15 | Integer between 1 and 8. See Appendix A for the accepted reasons for reconsideration and their corresponding codes | ^(1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8)$ |
| ReasonForMark/GradeChange | The reason for mark/grade change | 16 | Integer between 1 and 19, excluding 17. See Appendix B for the accepted reasons for mark/grade change and their corresponding codes | ^(1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|18|19)$ |
| DateOfChange | Date when the mark or grade change was made | 17 | 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])$ |