Guidance

Standardisation and awarding dates: guide to the data submission process

Updated 1 May 2026

Applies to England

Introduction

In order to fulfil our regulatory and accreditation functions as set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009, we require awarding organisations to provide the following data for regulated qualifications.

This data will be used to undertake our regulatory activities and to fulfil our responsibility as a government department.

What data will be collected?

Data should relate to the pre-pre standardisation, pre-standardisation, standardisation and awarding dates for the time period and qualifications in scope of the collection.

Qualifications in scope

The following qualification types are in scope of this collection:

• GCSE (including GCSE short course)
• AS
• A level
• Project level 3
• Vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) included in the Department for Education’s performance tables (PTQs) for the academic year being submitted
  • Technical Awards
  • Technical Certificates
  • Tech Levels
  • Applied Generals

Data for GCSE, AS, A level and Project level 3 qualifications should include both exam and non-exam assessments, but exclude endorsements.

Data for VTQ PTQs should only include timetabled assessments and should not include non-exam assessments.

Countries in scope

Data should be included for all qualifications delivered in:

• England

Time period in scope

Data is collected at multiple points during the year for the autumn, winter and spring exam series. For detail on the exam series in scope of each return please see the reporting schedule.

When data will be collected

Data will be collected according to the reporting schedule which is updated regularly.

How to submit your data

Your data must be submitted to us in CSV format. Please refer to the Connecting to Ofqual’s data portal and uploading data document for more information. If you need to ask us about a data submission, please contact the Data Services team.

Please do not send your data files via email or via Contact the Regulator in the Portal.

Uploaded data

Once files have been successfully uploaded, the data will be validated against a set of validation rules.

If validation is successful, the data is automatically transferred into Ofqual’s internal systems and you will receive email confirmation. If the file is unsuccessful at any stage of validation you will receive an email with details of the validation failure. Please correct your file and resubmit it.

The specific validation rules which are in place for this template are detailed in the ‘validation rules’ and ‘file format’ sections below.

Amendments to data

Errors or omissions in the data

Once the data has been successfully uploaded, it will be checked by Ofqual staff. If an error or omission is spotted, the data may be queried, and you may be requested to resubmit it. We will need to reject your existing submission ahead of a resubmission.

If you find an error or omission after you’ve had a successful upload, please notify data services by email. We need to reject the existing submission before you can upload a new file.

If you wish to see your latest submission of a data return, for example to check the submission if it has been queried, please know it is available to download in the data portal.

Scheduled revisions of data

Each submission of this data is intended to show a snapshot in time. Therefore, there will be no resubmissions required to reflect any further updates to the data already submitted, unless an error or omission is spotted.

General completion guidelines

1. Numeric values must not have any formatting.
2. All fields are mandatory unless otherwise specified.
3. Submit 1 row of data per unit or component per qualification.
4. Non-exam assessments (NEAs) do not need to be included for VTQs; only submit dates relating to timetabled assessments. Both timetabled assessments and NEAs (but not endorsements) should be included for GCSEs, AS and A levels, and Project Level 3 qualifications.
5. Pre-pre standardisation is a preliminary meeting that takes place before the pre-standardisation meeting. It involves senior examiners, including the principal examiner and assistant principal examiners, who review student responses and may make adjustments to the mark scheme. The purpose is to analyse sample scripts and identify areas for improvement or clarification in the mark scheme.
6. Pre-standardisation refers to observable meetings (remote or face-to-face) that take place between principle examiners or moderators and team leaders to discuss understanding and application of the mark scheme (including to both external and internal assessment), for example, when marking and standardisation by examiners takes place electronically and is therefore not observable.
7. Standardisation refers to observable meetings (remote or face-to-face) where teams leaders discuss application and understanding of the mark scheme with examiners or moderators (including to both external and internal assessment).
8. Awarding refers to observable meetings (remote or face-to-face) where grade boundaries are discussed and determined using a variety of evidence
9. Start and end dates for the overall awards for the qualification can be provided in the AwardingStartDate and AwardingEndDate fields. We do not necessarily need specific award dates for each individual component.

File format

The file must be CSV format and the first row must be headers as displayed in the ‘Name’ column of the table below. The subsequent rows must have the values of the data to be reported which must match the format and validation rules below.

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])$
ExamSeries	Exam series data relates to, for example “Summer 2024” For GCSE, AS, A level, and Project Level 3 qualifications, use “Summer” for the June series, “Autumn” for the November series, and “Winter” for the January series	2	Full season name of exam series and year.	^(Autumn|Winter|Spring|Summer)([ ][0-9][0-9][0-9][0-9])$
AwardingOrganisation	Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations	3	Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 150 characters accepted	^.{1,150}$
QualificationNumber	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. Only required for GCSEs, AS and A levels, and Project L3 qualifications. -2 accepted for VTQs	5	1 to 7 characters accepted. -2 accepted for VTQs	^.{1,7}$
QualificationUnitTitle	Title of the unit or component	6	1 to 255 characters accepted	^.{1,255}$
QualificationUnitCode	Unit or component identifier	7	1 to 25 characters accepted	^.{1,25}$
AssessmentType	To indicate type of assessment, internal or external. Internal assessment means set and/or marked by centres. External assessment means that the assessment is externally set and marked by the awarding organisation or another independent body. It does not include moderation or verification of centre-based assessment undertaken by an awarding organisation	8	Accepted values: • Internal • External	^(Internal|External)$
AssessmentMethod	The method used in the assessment. If multiple assessment methods are used, please record the primary method.	9	Accepted values: • Written exam • Task-based project • Written exam window	^(Written exam|Task-based project|Written exam window)$
Pre-Pre-Standardisation	Whether a pre-pre-standardisation meeting is taking place. Yes (Y) a meeting is taking place. No (N) meeting is not taking place	10	Accepted values: • Y • N	^(Y|N)$
Pre-Pre-StandardisationFormat	The format of the pre-pre-standardisation meeting Face-to-face, remote (for example, Teams), hybrid (for example, both in person and remote) or other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	11	Accepted values: • Remote • Face-to-face • Hybrid • Other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(Remote|Face-to-face|Hybrid|Other|-2)$
Pre-Pre-StandardisationStartDate	Date the first meeting for this component takes place, for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	12	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
Pre-Pre-StandardisationEndDate	Date the final meeting for this unit or component takes place (can be the same as the start date), for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	13	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
Pre-Standardisation	Whether a pre-standardisation meeting is taking place. Yes (Y) a meeting is taking place. No (N) meeting is not taking place	14	Accepted values: • Y • N	^(Y|N)$
Pre-StandardisationFormat	The format of the pre-standardisation meeting Face-to-face, remote (for example, Teams), hybrid (for example, both in person and remote) or other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	15	Accepted values: • Remote • Face-to-face • Hybrid • Other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(Remote|Face-to-face|Hybrid|Other|-2)$
Pre-StandardisationStartDate	Date the first meeting for this  unit orcomponent takes place, for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	16	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
Pre-StandardisationEndDate	Date the final meeting for this unit or component takes place (can be the same as the start date), for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	17	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
Standardisation	Whether a standardisation meeting is taking place Yes (Y) a meeting is taking place. No (N) meeting is not taking place	18	Accepted values: • Y • N	^(Y|N)$
StandardisationFormat	The format of the standardisation meeting. Face-to-face, remote (for example, Teams), hybrid (for example, both in person and remote) or other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	19	Accepted values: • Remote • Face-to-face • Hybrid • Other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(Remote|Face-to-face|Hybrid|Other|-2)$
StandardisationStartDate	Date the first meeting for this unit or component takes place, for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	20	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
StandardisationEndDate	Date the final meeting for this unit or component takes place (can be the same as the start date), for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	21	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
Awarding	Whether awarding meeting is taking place Yes (Y) a meeting is taking place No (N) meeting is not taking place.	22	Accepted values: • Y • N	^(Y|N)$
AwardingFormat	The format of the awarding meeting. Face-to-face, remote (for example, Teams), hybrid (for example, both in person and remote) or other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	23	Accepted values: • Remote • Face-to-face • Hybrid • Other -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(Remote|Face-to-face|Hybrid|Other|-2)$
AwardingStartDate	Date the first meeting for this unit or component takes place, for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	24	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
AwardingEndDate	Date the final meeting for this unit or component takes place (can be the same as the start date), for example, 2025-02-18 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	25	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 -2 accepted if the meeting is not taking place	^(20)\d\d[-](0[1-9]|1[012])[-](0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]|-2)$
AdditionalInformation	Any useful or pertinent additional information -2 accepted if no additional information needed or available	26	Up to 255 characters -2 accepted if no additional information needed or available	^.{1,255}$

Validation rules

A data submission is only considered complete once it has successfully passed the validation rules.

If the file is unsuccessful at any stage of validation you will receive an email with details of the validation failure. Please correct your file and resubmit it. A file may be successful but with warnings. Warnings will not cause failure in the validation process but will highlight entries which may need to be checked. You will receive an email with details of the warning in an attached “Data Validation Warnings Report”. If you receive this, please review the report and contact Ofqual Data Services should the data require any amendment.

The validation rules for this template check that each field is correctly formatted. The correct formatting of the fields are detailed in the ‘file format’ section. Failure to format the fields in line with the validation regular expression will result in unsuccessful validation. Additional validation rules are also in place for this template and may include cross-referencing with other templates. These validation rules along with whether they result in failure or a warning are detailed in the following table.

Validation rule	Result if not met
‘ReportingDate’ values match 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)	Fail and rejected
‘ExamSeries’ value is in scope of the return	Fail and rejected
‘AwardingOrganisation’ is valid acronym	Fail and rejected
‘QualificationNumber’ is a valid qualification number in Ofqual register	Fail and rejected

Recent changes to this guidance

Date of change	Description of change
01/05/2026	Updated the document template and clarified aspects of the text. Updated validation for ‘ReportingDate’ to only accept yyyy-mm-dd as valid date format. Updated validation for ‘QualificationNumber’ to not accept -2 as QualificationNumber Should be known. Updated validation for ‘AdditionalInformation’ to not accept blank values. Instead, -2 accepted if no additional information needed or available.
19/01/2026	Scope was updated to also include the following types of qualification: • GCSE (including short course) • AS • A level • Project level 3

Contacts

For all queries or feedback relating to the data collection process, amendments to data previously provided, or for general guidance, please contact:

Data services

Ofqual
2nd floor, 1 Friargate
Station Square
Coventry
CV1 2GN

Email data.services@ofqual.gov.uk