Guidance

VTQ Malpractice: 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, publish reports, and to fulfil our responsibility as a government department.

What data will be collected?

Data should relate to all malpractice cases investigated, including offence type and any sanctions applied for the time period and qualifications in scope of the collection.

Qualifications in scope

The following qualification types are in scope of this collection:

• Academic, vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) that are included in the Department for Education’s performance tables (PTQs) for the academic year being submitted. These are:

  • Technical Awards
  • Technical Certificates
  • Tech Levels
  • Applied Generals
  • Academic (excluding GCSE, AS, A level, T Level, AEA and Project level 3)
• Other General qualifications
• Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs)
• Digital Functional Skills qualifications
• all English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications

• Qualifications in the following sector subject areas:

  • 01.4 Public Services
  • 05.2 Building and construction
  • 07.3 Service enterprises
  • 15.2 Administration

Countries in scope

Data should be included for all students in centres in:

• England (all qualifications)
• Wales (ESOL only)
• Northern Ireland (ESOL only)
• Other UK (ESOL only)
• Non-UK (ESOL only)

Time period in scope

Data for the latest, full academic year (1 September to 31 August). The data should only refer to offences committed during the academic year. Sanctions for offences committed outside of these time periods should not be included. For example, a sanction applied in 2023 to 2024 for an offence committed in 2022 to 2023 should not be included in the return for 2023 to 2024. If a case for an offence committed in the requested series is still ongoing at the time of data collection, please still include this in the return with ‘case ongoing outcome TBD’ in the type of penalty issued field.

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 malpractice offence per penalty issued per assessment per student, staff, centre or examiner. For student, centre staff and examiner malpractice cases submit one row per student, staff member or examiner respectively. For centre malpractice cases, submit one row per centre. For malpractice cases involving more than one student, submit one row of data per student involved. For instance, if a malpractice incident involved 4 students submit 4 rows of data. Where a single malpractice case includes several offences and/or penalties issued, submit one row of data per offence and/or penalty issued.
4. All malpractice cases that are investigated should be reported. If there is insufficient evidence to issue a penalty, ‘No evidence to substantiate allegation’ should be entered into the type of penalty issued field.
5. If the malpractice case is still open when the data is reported, ‘case ongoing outcome TBD’ should be recorded in the type of penalty issued field, and
   • if the awarding organisation does not record an offence at the beginning of the process, then ‘case ongoing’ should be recorded in the type of offence field
   • if the awarding organisation does record an offence at the beginning of the process, it should be entered into the type of offence field as normal (as per Appendix D)
6. The value ‘insufficient information’ should be entered into the type of offence field for malpractice cases where the offence is unknown.
7. In the event of systemic cases, where the specific subject information is unknown, for instance for Security Breaches or Maladministration, then ‘Non-assessment specific’ should be entered in the specification title field. The value of ‘-2’ should also be entered into other related fields if unknown, for example, Qualification Number, specification code, assessment code etc.
8. Tutor or examiner competency as a type of offence is defined as examiners not having the experience/qualifications that they are supposed to have, or having out of date knowledge (for example, not being up to date with changes in requirements, legislation etc.).
9. Acts of malpractice which are explicitly linked (for example, two students suspected of colluding together or committing disruptive acts together, or a centre staff member and student suspected of working together to commit malpractice) should be allocated the same malpractice case identifier. Acts of malpractice which are not explicitly linked should be allocated different malpractice case identifiers. Where it is unclear whether malpractice acts are linked, awarding organisations should exercise their judgement in assigning case identifiers based on the evidence provided.
10. The malpractice case identifier must be unique across all years of data. If identifiers are re-used each year, prefix the identifier with the year, for example, 202324/12345
11. ‘AssessmentCode’ is a unique identifier for the assessment, allocated by the awarding organisation. Each individual assessment must have a unique code – codes should not be shared across different assessments and, aside from when specifications change, should be consistent across submissions, data collections and over time.
12. Assessment refers to the actual assessment tasks taken by students, such as tests or portfolios. Assessments are the lowest level of granularity within a qualification where marking and/or grading occurs.
13. Assessments are not equal to teaching units, but a unit might only contain one assessment. In the ‘AssessmentCode’ field, when one teaching unit is assessed by one assessment, please provide the URN (Unit Reference Number). Otherwise please provide a unique identifier for each individual assessment as defined above
14. Submit UniqueCandidateIdentifier and UniqueLearnerNumber where available. Where UniqueCandidateIdentifier and UniqueLearnerNumber are not available, submit a CandidateIdentifierOther, which is any other unique student number allocated by the awarding organisation.
15. Submit CentreNCN and CentreURN where available. Where CentreNCN and CentreURN are not available, submit a CentreIdentifierOther, which is any other unique centre number allocated by the awarding organisation.
16. Enter the value of ‘-2’ in the Centre Identifier, Centre name and postcode fields for students who are not registered to a centre.
17. If a student has taken an assessment at a different centre from the one where they undertake their learning, then the centre details provided must be those of the centre at which the malpractice took place.

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\d0[1-9]|1[012]0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]$
AcademicYear	The academic year which this data submission relates to (defined as 1 September to 31 August). For example, 2021-2022	2	The academic year in the following format: start year (4 digits), a dash, end year (4 digits). Format accepted yyyy-yyyy.	^(20)\d\d20\d\d $
AssessmentDate	Date the assessment was taken by the student. In the case of assessments which take place over multiple days, please provide the date it was submitted for marking or grading. If no date is available, please provide 2999-12-31.	3	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. 2999-12-31 accepted if no date is available.	^(20)\d\d0[1-9]|1[012]0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]$
CertificationDate	Date the certificate was awarded to the candidate for the qualification. If the certification date is not yet known or not applicable, please provide 2999-12-31.	4	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\d0[1-9]|1[012]0[1-9]|[12][0-9]|3[01]$
AwardingOrganisation	Awarding organisation acronym as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated organisations	5	Valid awarding organisation acronym. 1 to 150 characters accepted	^.{1,150}$
MalpracticeCaseIdentifier	Unique case identifier assigned by the awarding organisation. See general completion guidelines for more detail.	6	1 to 25 characters accepted	^.{1,25}$
CentreNCN	Centre’s National Centre Number as allocated by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Higher NCN code not accepted -2 accepted where centre does not have an NCN or for students who are not registered to a centre.	7	Valid NCN code 5-digit integer accepted Higher NCN code not accepted -2 accepted where centre does not have an NCN or for students who are not registered to a centre	^(?:-2|\d{5})$
CentreURN	Centre’s Unique Reference Number as assigned by the Department for Education. -2 accepted where centre does not have a URN or for students who are not registered to a centre.	8	Valid Centre URN 6-digit integer accepted -2 accepted where centre does not have a URN or for students who are not registered to a centre.	^(?:-2|\d{6})$
CentreIdentifierOther	Any other number allocated to the centre or assessment venue by individual awarding organisations at the time of data submission. Must be provided where CentreURN and CentreNCN are not available. If more than one identifier is available please provide as many as possible. -2 accepted where at least one of CentreNCN and CentreURN have been provided or for students who are not registered to a centre.	9	1 to 15 characters accepted. -2 accepted where at least one of CentreNCN and CentreURN have been provided or for students who are not registered to a centre.	^.{1,15}$
CentreName	Name of the centre. -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission.	10	1 to 255 characters accepted. -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission.	^.{1,255}$
CentrePostCode	Postcode of the centre.	11	1 to 10 characters accepted -2 accepted for students who are not registered to a centre at the time of the data submission.	^.{1,10}$
Country	The country where the centre is located. Please provide England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man or Channel Islands for UK countries and crown dependencies. For names of Non-UK countries, please use the FCDO geographical names index Should be England for non-ESOL qualifications.	12	1 to 100 characters accepted.	^.{1,100}$
TypeOfMalpractice	To indicate type of malpractice	13	Acceptec values: • Candidate • Centre • Centre staff • Examiner See Appendix A for guidance	^(Candidate|Centre|Centre staff|Examiner)$
UniqueCandidateIdentifier	Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI). -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	14	Valid UCI Alpha numeric 13 characters accepted. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	^(?:-2|.{13})$
UniqueLearnerNumber	Unique Learner Number (ULN) provided by the Learning Records Service. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	15	Valid ULN 10 digits accepted. -2 accepted if not available. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	^(?:-2|\d{10})$
CandidateIdentifierOther	Any other unique student number allocated by individual awarding organisation. Must be provided where UCI and ULN are not available. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided. -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	16	1 to 20 characters accepted. -2 accepted where at least one of UCI or ULN have been provided -2 required for centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice.	^.{1,20}$
StaffIdentifier	Identifier to uniquely identify each individual member of staff or examiner involved in the malpractice allegation (assigned by the awarding organisations). Please do not provide staff names. -2 accepted for candidate or centre malpractice, or where the investigation is ongoing and the number of staff members involved in the allegation is unknown.	17	1 to 25 characters accepted -2 accepted for candidate or centre malpractice, or where investigation is ongoing.	^.{1,25}$
QualificationNumber	The unique identifier for the qualification as it appears in Ofqual’s Register of Regulated qualifications, for example, 123/1234/1 -2 accepted for students not yet certificating or for systemic cases.	18	Valid qualification number 10 characters accepted -2 accepted for students not yet certificating or for systemic cases	^(?:-2|.{10})$
SpecificationCode	Specification code, also known as subject code or pathway code. -2 accepted where the specification code is not applicable, for example in systemic cases.	19	1 to 15 characters accepted -2 accepted where the specification code is not applicable	^.{1,15}$
SpecificationTitle	Specification title, also known as subject title. Must be provided if specification code is provided. -2 accepted where the specification title is not applicable. ‘Non-assessment specific’ accepted for systemic cases.	20	1 to 150 characters accepted -2 accepted where the specification title is not applicable ‘Non-assessment specific’ accepted	^.{1,150}$
AssessmentCode	Unique identifier for the assessment, generated by the awarding organisation. -2 accepted where not available or not applicable, for example in systemic cases.	21	1 to 50 characters accepted -2 accepted where not available or not applicable	^.{1,50}$
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. -2 accepted for systemic cases.	22	Accepted values: • Internal • External • -2	^(Internal|External|-2) $
AssessmentMethod	The method used in the assessment. The list of assessment methods is given in Appendix B. Please choose the most appropriate one. -2 accepted for systemic cases.	23	See Appendix B for accepted methods -2 accepted for systemic cases	^(OnlineExam|Paper-basedExam|Performance task|-2)$
AssessmentSchedule	To indicate the schedule for external assessments. The list of assessment schedules is given in Appendix C. Please choose the most appropriate one. -2 accepted for systemic cases, or for internal assessment.	24	See Appendix C for accepted schedules -2 accepted for systemic cases or internal assessment.	^(Timetabled|On-demand (non-sessional)|On-demand (sessional)|-2)$
TypeOfOffence	Description of offence. The list of offences is given in Appendix D. Please choose the most appropriate one.	25	See Appendix D for accepted values	See Appendix D
TypeOfPenaltyIssued	Description of penalty. The list of penalties is given in Appendix E. Please choose the most appropriate one.	26	See Appendix E for accepted values	See Appendix E

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
‘AwardingOrganisation’ is valid acronym	Fail and rejected
‘CentreNCN’ code is in the NCN register, or the value is -2	Pass with warning
‘UniqueCandidateIdentifier’ is a valid UCI format	Fail and rejected
A value (other than -2) is submitted for ‘CandidateIdentifierOther’ field if ‘TypeOfMalpractice’ is candidate and all other candidate identifier fields are -2	Pass with warning
‘StaffIdentifier’ is -2 if ‘TypeOfMalpractice’ is candidate	Fail and rejected
‘QualificationNumber’ is a valid qualification number in Ofqual register and does not belong to AEAs, GCSEs, AS or A levels or the value is -2	Fail and rejected
‘AcademicYear’ value is in scope of the return	Fail and rejected

Appendix A: Malpractice types

Please see the following guidance for entering values for ‘TypeOfMalpractice’.

Malpractice type	Description
Candidate	Candidate malpractice includes wrongdoing by a student in connection with any assessment or examination that impacts the integrity of the qualification. This includes the preparation and authentication of centre-based assessment (internal assessment), the compilation of portfolios of evidence, presentation of practical work, the writing of an examination paper.
Centre staff	Centre staff include teachers, trainers, other staff or volunteers involved in delivering a course of study. It also includes assessment personnel such as examination officers, invigilators, and those facilitating access arrangements.
Centre	Malpractice committed by a whole department or whole school or college. Instances of malpractice by centres can range from actions intended to give an unfair advantage to students in an exam or assessment to ignorance of, or inappropriate application of, the assessment regulations.
Examiner	The value of ‘Examiner’ includes assessors of any kind who are not centre staff.

Appendix B: List of assessment methods

Please use the following list of assessment methods for entering values for the field ‘AssessmentMethod’. Where terms used by an awarding organisation differ from those given below, please select the closest match possible.

Assessment Methods

Assessment method	Description
Online exam	Exam taken online
Paper-based exam	Exam taken on paper
Performance task	Performance task is any task that is not a written exam (whether online on paper-based). In addition to performances such musical or drama, this category also includes other tasks such as presentations, professional discussions, a portfolio of evidence, and speaking exams.
-2	For systemic cases

Appendix C: List of assessment schedules

Please use the following list of assessment methods for entering values for the field ‘AssessmentSchedule’. Where terms used by an awarding organisation differ from those given below, please select the closest match possible.

Assessment Schedule	Description
Timetabled	The test/exam can only be taken on a specified date set by the AO
On-demand (non-sessional)	The test/exam can be taken at any time during the year
On-demand (sessional)	The test/exam can be taken at any time within exam windows specified by AOs
-2	For systemic cases or internal assessment

Appendix D: Type of offence

Centre, centre staff and examiner malpractice

• Bias or discrimination
• Breach of security
• Case ongoing
• Deception
• Deception in applying Special consideration or Reasonable Adjustments
• Failure to comply with regulations/AO policies for Reasonable Adjustments or Special Consideration
• Failure to co-operate with an investigation
• Improper assistance in applying Special Consideration or Reasonable Adjustments
• Improper assistance to candidates
• Inadequate teaching/assessment time
• Insufficient information
• Maladministration
• Tutor/examiner competency

Candidate malpractice

• A breach of instructions or advice of an invigilator supervisor or the awarding body in relation to the examination rules and regulations
• Allowing others to assist in the production of controlled assessments coursework or assisting others in the production of controlled assessments or coursework
• Allowing work to be copied e.g. posting written coursework on social networking sites prior to an examination/assessment
• Behaving in a way as to undermine the integrity of the examination
• Being in possession of confidential material in advance of the examination
• Bringing into the exam room notes in the wrong format or prohibited annotations
• Case ongoing
• Collusion working collaboratively with other candidates beyond what is permitted
• Copying from another candidate including the misuse of ICT
• Disruptive behaviour in the examination room or assessment session including the use of offensive language
• Exchanging obtaining receiving passing on information or the attempt to which could be examination related by means of - talking
• Exchanging obtaining receiving passing on information or the attempt to which could be examination related by means of - electronic written or non-verbal communication
• Failing to abide by the conditions of supervision designated to maintain the security of the examinations
• Impersonation pretending to be someone else arranging for another person to take ones place in an examination or an assessment
• Insufficient information
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - Calculators dictionaries when prohibited
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - Mobile phone or other electronic communicating devices
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - Notes study guides and personal organisers
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - Own blank paper
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - Personal stereo including MP3 iPod or any other similar electronic devices
• Introduction of unauthorised material into the examination room - watches (not smartwatches)
• Making a false declaration of authenticity
• Misuse of or attempted misuse of examination material and resources
• Plagiarism misuse of artificial intelligence
• Plagiarism unacknowledged copying from published sources including the internet incomplete referencing and excluding the misuse of artificial intelligence
• The alteration of any results document including certificates
• The deliberate destruction of work
• The inclusion of inappropriate offensive or obscene material in scripts coursework or portfolios

• The unauthorised use of a memory stick or similar device where a candidate uses a word processor

• Theft where the candidates work is removed or stolen

Appendix E: Type of penalty issued

Centre staff malpractice

• Case ongoing outcome TBD
• No evidence to substantiate allegation
• No penalty issued
• Referral to TRA (Teaching Regulation Agency)
• Special conditions
• Suspension/Debarment
• Training
• Written warning

Centre malpractice

• Additional monitoring or inspection
• Approval of specific assessment tasks
• Case ongoing outcome TBD
• Independent invigilators
• No evidence to substantiate allegation
• No penalty issued
• Removal of direct claims
• Restrictions on examination and assessment materials
• Review and report
• Suspension of candidate registrations or entries
• Withdrawal of approval for a specific qualification
• Withdrawal of centre recognition
• Written warning

Examiner malpractice

• Case ongoing outcome TBD
• Dismissal
• No evidence to substantiate allegation
• No penalty issued
• Special conditions
• Suspension/Debarment
• Training
• Written warning

Candidate malpractice

• Candidate debarment
• Case ongoing outcome TBD
• Disqualification from a unit
• Disqualification from all qualifications in series
• Disqualification from all units
• Disqualification from whole qualification
• Loss of all marks for a unit
• Loss of marks for a component
• Loss of marks for a section
• No evidence to substantiate allegation
• No penalty issued
• Warning

Recent changes to this guidance

Date of change	Description of change
01/05/2026	Updated the document template and clarified aspects of the text. No changes to actual requirements were made.
02/07/2025	Scope was amended to remove the following qualifications: • all English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications delivered by awarding organisations who provide secure English language tests (SELTs) • Selected additional qualifications (to be communicated to awarding organisations annually) And instead expanded to include the following additional qualifications: • Digital Functional Skills qualifications • all English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications • Qualifications in the following sector subject areas: •01.4 Public Services • 05.2 Building and construction • 07.3 Service enterprises • 15.2 Administration
11/12/2024	Scope was expanded to include the following additional qualifications: • all English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) qualifications delivered by awarding organisations who provide secure English language tests (SELTs) • Selected additional qualifications (to be communicated to awarding organisations annually)
11/12/2024	New ‘Country’ field was added
21/10/2024	Guidance was added regarding linking cases
01/05/2024	The Type of offence ‘Plagiarism unacknowledged copying from published sources including the internet incomplete referencing’ was split out to: • Plagiarism unacknowledged copying from published sources including the internet incomplete referencing and excluding the misuse of artificial intelligence • Plagiarism misuse of artificial intelligence

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