Guidance
Template 1: Examiner-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)$ |
| Candidate_Id | Anonymised unique identifier for student. Where the same student response has been marked more than one time, this should have the same student identifier. If different parts of a student’s script are seed items, these should have a common student identifier. | 9 | Up to 14-digit integer accepted. | ^\d{1,14}$ |
| ItemMark_ID | Unique identifier of the item (question) on the component question paper, for example q3b or q5biii | 10 | 1 to 10 characters accepted | ^.{1,10}$ |
| Mark1 | For seeded items, daily qualification items and backread items this should be the examiner mark. For sample double marked items this should be the mark awarded by the first examiner. Backread item data to be supplied where available and captured on marking systems. | 11 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,3}$ |
| Mark2 | For seeded items and daily qualification items this should be the definitive mark. For sample double marked items this should be the mark awarded by the second examiner. For backread items, this should be the mark awarded by senior examiner | 12 | Up to 3-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,3}$ |
| DateTimeStampMark1 | Date and time recorded in your system when the marks are inputted or uploaded. ‘2999-12-31 00:00:00.000’ accepted if date time not available | 13 | The date and time in the following format: year (4 digits), a dash, month (2 digits), a dash, day-of-month (2 digits), a space, hour (2 digits), a colon, minutes (2 digits), a colon, seconds (2 digits) Accepted format: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS | ^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01])$ |
| Examiner1_ID | Unique identifier of the examiner. Identifiers should be consistent within each submission. For seed items, sample double marked items, daily qualification and backread items, this will correspond to the examiner associated with Mark1 | 14 | 1 to 20 characters accepted | ^.{1,20}$ |
| Examiner2_ID | Unique identifier of the examiner. Identifiers should be consistent within each submission. For sample double marked items and backread items, this field should be the ID which corresponds to the examiner associated with Mark2 | 15 | 1 to 20 characters accepted. -2 expected for seed or daily qualification items | ^.{1,20}$ |
| RoleOfExaminer1 | Role or seniority of examiner 1. | 16 | Numeric code for the following accepted values: 1: Assistant Examiner 2: Team Leader 3: Senior Team Leader 4: Assistant Principal Examiner 5: Principal Examiner 6: Chief or Chair of Examiners | ^(1|2|3|4|5|6)$ |
| RoleOfExaminer2 | Role or seniority of examiner 2. For sample double marked items, as above, indicate role of examiner on the marking panel as shown in last column. -2 expected for seed or daily qualification items | 17 | Numeric code for the following accepted values: 1: Assistant Examiner 2: Team Leader 3: Senior Team Leader 4: Assistant Principal Examiner 5: Principal Examiner 6: Chief or Chair of Examiners. -2 expected for seed or daily qualification items | ^(1|2|3|4|5|6|-2)$ |
| FinalMarkAwarded | Final mark issued to student for the item identified by ItemMark_ID. This should reflect any post-results adjustments as a result of reviews of marking -2 accepted for optional items or items not attempted by the student | 18 | 3-digit integer accepted -2 accepted for optional items or items not attempted by the student | ^(-2|\d{1,3})$ |
| MaxMark | The maximum mark available for the item identified by ItemMark_ID | 19 | 3-digit integer accepted | ^\d{1,3}$ |
| Mark_Type | Monitoring mark type where backread item data to be supplied where available and captured on marking systems | 20 | Numeric code for the following accepted values: 1: seed marked items 2: sample double marked items 3: daily qualification items 4: backread items | ^(1|2|3|4)$ |
| DistributionMethod | Code indicating the distribution method as defined in Appendix B | 21 | Accepted values defined in Appendix B | ^(1|2)$ |
| ItemTolerance | The mark tolerance or range of acceptable marks for the item identified by ItemMark_ID. Where tolerance is used, and it is, for example, a tolerance of +/-1 marks, this should be indicated as 1. If there is zero tolerance, enter 0. Where acceptable marks are used, each acceptable mark should be entered and separated by semi-colons, for example 23;24;25;26; If there is only one acceptable mark, this should be entered as a single integer, followed by a semi-colon, for example 23; If tolerance is not applied to this item, please enter a value of -2 | 22 | A range of 2-digit integers separated by semi-colons without spaces | ^\d{1,2}(?:;\d{1,2}){0,3}$ |
| ScriptTolerance | The mark tolerance or range of acceptable marks for the script identified by UnitOrComponentCode; and in the case of ‘acceptable values’, also by ItemMark_ID. Where script tolerance is used, and it is, for example, a tolerance of +/-3 marks, this should be indicated as 3. If there is zero tolerance, enter 0. Where acceptable marks are used, each acceptable mark should be entered and separated by semi-colons, for example 45;46;47;48; If there is only one acceptable mark, this should be entered as a single integer, followed by a semi-colon, for example 23; If tolerance is not applied to this script, please enter a value of -2 | 23 | A range of 2-digit integers separated by semi-colons without spaces. | ^\d{1,2}(?:;\d{1,2}){0,3}$ |
| ScriptTolerance_ABS | The absolute mark difference tolerance if applicable. | 24 | Up to 2-digit integer accepted -2 accepted if an absolute mark difference tolerance is not applied to this component, | ^(-2|\d{1,2})$ |