Guidance
Template 2: Optionality and auto-marked items - 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}$ |
| Qualification level | Type of qualification for example, GCSE | 4 | Accepted values: GCSE, AS, A level | ^(GCSE|AS|A level)$ |
| UnitOrComponentCode | Component code as designated in the specification. If a component has sub-components, they should be identifiable from a unique value within the component code, for example MA02 1, MA02 2 | 5 | 1 to 10 characters accepted | ^.{1,10}$ |
| SpecificationCode | Specification code, also known as Subject Award Code and Cash-in Code | 6 | 1 to 7 characters accepted | ^.{1,7}$ |
| SpecificationTitle | Specification title, also known as subject title | 7 | 1 to 150 characters accepted | ^.{1,150}$ |
| Tier | To indicate the tier if applicable. F for Foundation, H for Higher | 8 | Accepted values:F, H, -2 accepted where not applicable | ^(F|H|-2)$ |
| ItemMark_ID | Unique identifier of the item (question) on the component question paper, for example q3b or q5biii | 9 | 1 to 10 characters accepted | ^.{1,10}$ |
| MaxMark | The maximum mark available for the item identified by ItemMark_ID | 10 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,3}$ |
| AutoMarked | To indicate if the item is auto marked or not. | 11 | Accepted values: 0 for no, 1 for yes | ^(0|1)$ |
| OptionGroup_ID | Unique identifier of the group of optional items in the component question paper which includes the optional item identified by ItemMark_ID. For example, this could be OptionGroup1 or OptionGroup2 if the component question paper has two sets of optional items. -2 expected where item is not optional | 12 | 1 to 20 characters accepted -2 expected where item is not optional | ^.{1,20}$ |
| Option_ID | Unique identifier of optional item included in group of optional items identified by OptionGroup_ID. For example, this could be Option1, Option2 or Option3 if the group of optional items specified by OptionGroup_ID consists of three optional items (sets of items) -2 expected where item is not optional | 13 | 1 to 20 characters accepted -2 expected where item is not optional | ^.{1,20}$ |