Collection

Common transfer file (CTF) and co-ordinated admissions data

CTF documents and co-ordinated admissions files for software suppliers of school and local authority management information systems.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 23 January 2014
• Last updated: 29 May 2026 — See all updates

The last 3 years documents are available, for previous years go to the UK Government Web Archive.

Common transfer file (CTF)

Schools and local authorities use the CTF to send pupil data when a pupil transfers from one school to another.

• Common transfer file 26: specification
  • 6 August 2026
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 25: specification
  • 13 November 2025
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 24: specification
  • 3 May 2024
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 23: specification
  • 27 November 2023
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 22: specification
  • 23 March 2022
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 21: specification
  • 29 July 2021
  • Guidance
• Common transfer file 20: specification and guide
  • 21 August 2020
  • Guidance

Co-ordinated admissions data transfer

Information on the electronic transfer of co-ordinated admissions data.

• Co-ordinated admissions 2027: series 23 files
  • 29 May 2026
  • Guidance
• Co-ordinated admissions 2026: series 22 files
  • 26 February 2025
  • Guidance
• Co-ordinated admissions 2025: series 21 files
  • 25 April 2024
  • Guidance
• Co-ordinated admissions 2024: series 20 files
  • 30 November 2023
  • Guidance
• Co-ordinated admissions 2023: series 19 files
  • 1 April 2022
  • Guidance
• Co-ordinated admissions 2022: series 18 files
  • 25 November 2021
  • Guidance

• Last updated: 29 May 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 29 May 2026

     Added ‘Co-ordinated admissions 2027: series 23 files’.

  2. 27 May 2026

     Added 'Common transfer file 26: specification'.

  3. 26 February 2025

     Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2026: series 22 files' and ' Common transfer file 25: specification'.

  4. 3 May 2024

     Added 'Common transfer file 24: specification'.

  5. 25 April 2024

     Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2025: series 21 files'.

  6. 25 April 2023

     Added 'Common transfer file 23: specification'.

  7. 18 April 2023

     Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2024: series 20 files'.

  8. 1 April 2022

     Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2023: series 19 files'.

  9. 23 March 2022

     Added 'Common transfer file 22: specification'.

  10. 25 November 2021

      Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2022: series 18 files' to the 'Co-ordinated admissions data transfer' section.

  11. 29 July 2021

      Added 'Common transfer file 21: specification'.

  12. 17 April 2020

      Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2021: series 17 files'.

  13. 14 February 2020

      Added 'Common transfer file 20: specification'.

  14. 26 March 2019

      Added link to 'Co-ordinated admissions 2020: series 16 files'.

  15. 18 March 2019

      Added link to common transfer file 19: specification.

  16. 29 June 2018

      Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2019: series 15 files'.

  17. 21 February 2018

      Added 'Common transfer file 18: specification amd schema' to the 'Common transfer file' group.

  18. 10 October 2017

      Added 'Co-ordinated admissions 2018: series 14 files'.

  19. 30 June 2017

      Added 'Common transfer file 17: specification'.

  20. 15 March 2016

      Added link to common transfer file 16.

  21. 2 April 2015

      Added 'Common transfer file 15: specification and schema'.

  22. 12 September 2014

      Added CTF 14 technical spec.

  23. 23 January 2014

      First published.