Guidance
File format
Updated 21 September 2026
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| Name | Description | Position | Description of Regular Expression | Validation Regular Expression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reporting date | 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])$ |
| Exam series | Exam series data relates to, for example, June 2024 | 2 | Full month name of exam series and year. | ^(January|March|June|November)([ ][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])$ |
| Awarding Organisation | Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations | 3 | Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 100 characters accepted | ^.{1,100}$ |
| Centre No. | Centre’s National Centre Number as allocated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Higher NCN code not accepted. Must be provided for GCSE, AS and A level. -2 accepted for Project qualifications if NCN code is not available | 4 | Valid NCN. 5-digit integer accepted. Higher NCN code not accepted. -2 accepted for Project qualifications if NCN code is not available | ^(?:-2|\d{5})$ |
| CentrePostcode | Postcode of the centre. Must be provided for Project qualifications if NCN is not available. -2 accepted where valid NCN has been provided in Centre No. | 5 | Valid postcode. 1 to 10 characters accepted. -2 accepted where valid NCN has been provided in Centre No. | ^(?:-2|{1,10})$ |
| Unique Candidate Identifier | Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI). Must be provided for GCSE, AS and A level. -2 accepted for Project qualifications if UCI is not available | 6 | Valid UCI. Alpha numeric 13 characters accepted. -2 accepted for Project qualifications if UCI is not available. | ^(?:-2|\.{13})$ |
| UniqueLearnerNumber | Unique Learner Number (ULN) provided by the Learning Records Service. -2 accepted if valid UCI is provided | 7 | Valid ULN. 10 digits accepted. -2 accepted if valid UCI is provided | ^(?:-2|\d{10}) |
| CandidateIdentifierOther | Any other unique student number allocated by individual awarding organisation. Must be provided for Project qualifications if UCI and ULN are not available. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided. | 8 | 1 to 20 characters accepted. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided. | ^(?:-2|{1,20})$ |
| QAN | The unique identifier for the qualification as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications, for example, 123/1234/1 | 9 | Valid qualification number. 10 characters accepted. -2 accepted for unknown e.g. cases where student is not certificating | ^(?:-2|.{10})$ |
| Specification title | Specification title, also known as subject title. | 10 | 1 to 150 characters accepted. Not Certificating accepted for cases where student is not certificating | ^.{1,150}$ |
| Specification code | Specification code also known as Subject Award Code and Cash-in Code | 11 | 1 to 7 characters accepted. -2 accepted for cases where student is not certificating | ^.{1,7}$ |
| Qualification level | Type of qualification for example, GCSE | 12 | Accepted values: GCSE, AS, A level, Project L1, Project L2, Project L3 | ^(GCSE|AS|A level|Project L1|Project L2|Project L3)$ |
| Original unit raw mark | Original unit/component raw mark | 13 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted if not available | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Post EaR raw mark | Post-review unit/component raw mark | 14 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted if not available | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Original unit UMS | Original unit UMS. Unit UMS fields should be overall unit UMS values, even if row of data being reported relates to subcomponents. | 15 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted if not available | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Post EaR UMS | Post-review UMS. Unit UMS fields should be overall unit UMS values, even if row of data being reported relates to subcomponents. | 16 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted if not available | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Original qualification UMS (modular) / Scale score (linear) | Original qualification UMS (modular) or Scale score (linear) | 17 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted for students not certificating | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Post EaR qualification UMS (modular) / Scale score (linear) | Post-review qualification UMS (modular) or Scale score (linear) | 18 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted. -2 accepted if not available | ^(?:-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| Original qualification grade | Original qualification grade | 19 | Accepted values: A* to G, 9 to 1, 9-9 to 1-1, AA to UU, U, X, Q, -2 accepted for students not certificating | ^(A*|A|B|C|C*|D|E|F|G|U|X|Q|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|1-1|2-1|2-2|3-2|3-3|4-3|4-4|5-4|5-5|6-5|6-6|7-6|7-7|8-7|8-8|9-8|9-9|A*A*|A*A|AA|AB|BB|BC|BC*|C*C*|C*C|CC|CD|DD|DE|EE|EF|FF|FG|GG|-2) |
| Post EaR qualification grade | Post-reviewqualification grade | 20 | Accepted values: A* to G, 9 to 1, 9-9 to 1-1, AA to UU, U, X, Q, -2 accepted where review is ongoing and grade is still to be determined, -2 accepted for students not certificating | ^(A*|A|B|C|C*|D|E|F|G|U|X|Q|1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|1-1|2-1|2-2|3-2|3-3|4-3|4-4|5-4|5-5|6-5|6-6|7-6|7-7|8-7|8-8|9-8|9-9|A*A*|A*A|AA|AB|BB|BC|BC*|C*C*|C*C|CC|CD|DD|DE|EE|EF|FF|FG|GG|-2) |
| Unit code | Unit or component code as designated in the specification | 21 | 1 to 10 characters accepted | ^.{1,10}$ |
| Unit title | Unit or component title as designated in the specification | 22 | 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| Unit max. raw mark | Unit or component maximum raw mark. For rows of data that relate to sub-components, the maximum raw mark of the sub-component | 23 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,3}$ |
| Total No. of unit entries | Total number of unit or component entries | 24 | Up to 6-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,6}$ |
| Total No. of awards/certifications | Total number of awards or certifications | 25 | Up to 6-digit integer accepted. -2 also accepted | ^(?:-2|\d{1,6})$ |
| Service | Type of review service | 26 | Accepted values: 1 for administrative error review, 2 for review of marking, P2 for review of marking (priority), 3 for review of moderation | ^(1|2|P2|3)$ |
| Marking method | Marking method | 27 | Accepted values: Full Script Paper Based, Full Script Electronic, Item Based Electronic, Internal Assessment | ^(Full Script Paper Based|Full Script Electronic|Item Based Electronic|Internal Assessment)$ |
| Date received | Date the review request was received. For service 3 reviews, date the moderator received the sample. | 28 | 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])$ |
| Date completed | Date the review was completed | 29 | 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])$ |
| Completed within deadline | Indicate if the review was completed within the deadline for the relevant review service | 30 | Accepted values: y for yes, n for no, TBD for ongoing reviews | ^(Y|N|TBD)$ |
| Reason | Grade change reasons for qualification grade changes of 2 or more | 31 | See appendix A for accepted values and descriptions. -2 accepted where there was not a qualification grade change of 2 or more | ^(1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|-2)$ |