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])$ |
| Year | End of the academic year. For example if the academic year is 2024-2025, the Year would be 2025. | 2 | Format accepted: YYYY | ^\d{4}$ |
| AwardingOrganisation | Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations | 3 | 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| QAN | The unique identifier for the qualification as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications, for example, 123/1234/1 | 4 | Valid qualification number. 10 characters accepted | ^.{10}$ |
| SpecificationCode | Specification code, also known as Subject Award Code and Cash-in Code | 5 | 1 to 7 characters accepted | ^.{1,7}$ |
| SpecificationTitle | Specification title also known as subject title | 6 | 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| CertificationCode | Certification code also known as cash-in or entry code | 7 | 1 to 7 characters accepted | ^.{1,7}$ |
| QualifcationLevel | Type of qualification | 8 | Accepted values: GCSE, AS, A level, AEA, Project L1, Project L2, Project L3 | ^(GCSE|AS|A level|AEA|Project L1|Project L2|Project L3)$ |
| Tier | To indicate tier if applicable | 9 | Accepted values: F for Foundation, H for Higher, -2 accepted if not tiered or not applicable | ^(F|H|-2)$ |
| DoubleOrSingleAward | To indicate whether subject is a double or single award | 10 | Accepted values: DBL for double award, SGL for single award | ^(DBL|SGL)$ |
| FullOrShortCourse | To indicate whether subject is a full or short course for applicable qualifications, for example GCSE. | 11 | Accepted values: FC for full course, SC for short course,-2 accepted where not applicable, for example A level. | ^(FC|SC|-2)$ |
| Applied | To indicate whether subject is applied | 12 | Accepted values: Y for yes, N for no | ^(Y|N)$ |