Exams Administration

This is a four-digit number, usually allocated by the centre at the time of entry, which candidates will need to write on their question papers.

Make sure the four-figure candidate number is unique for the series and that a GCSE candidate does not have the same number as an AS and A-level candidate.

Candidate numbers cannot be changed during a series.

If you can, it’s best to use the same candidate number throughout the candidate’s exam career at your centre.

You should enter your students with their full legal name including middle names, so that it can be verified against suitable identification such as a birth certificate, passport or driver's licence. It may cause problems with employers and centres of education if the name on certificates does not match other identification.

Please refer to the General Regulations for Approved Centres document for exceptions to using the legal name.

The name entered will be used on the candidate’s printed certificate. The name entered should match the candidate’s records in the Learning Records Service (LRS).

A candidate’s name can be up to 40 characters in length, including hyphens, colons, spaces or apostrophes. The format is SURNAME: FORENAME(S) AND/OR INITIAL(S).

For example:

• BURNS: EMMA KAY
• BARBER-DOHERTY: B K LORNA
• DE LA BLANCHE: JULIE

If you need to abbreviate a name to fit in 40 characters when making the entry, email results@aqa.org.uk before results day to so we can make sure your student will have their full name on their certificate.

If a student does not have a forename, put the colon at the end of the surname , for example:

• TANG PO HENG:

You must provide a date of birth for all students. We will not be able to issue a certificate if the date of birth is missing from the student's entry.

The format is:

DD/MM/YY for EDI entries

DD/MMM/YYYY for Centre Services entries

The status code tells us whether a student is at a school or college, or a private candidate.

• Use C for a centre student: any part-time or full-time student enrolled at your school or college
• Use P for a private candidate.

Every student has one 13-character code that's unique to them. It is used to make entries and collect results for each student across time and different exam boards, schools or colleges.

All students need a UCI. You need to make sure that you have a UCI allocated to every entry you make. If you are entering a student who has already sat exams at a different school or college, please make sure you use their existing UCI – do not create a second one. If they have not been assigned one previously, you can generate a new one.

You can find the student’s previous UCI by looking at their results slip or certificate. You could also ask their previous school or college for a Common Transfer File (CTF) or speak to your centre data manager for help.

If you are making entries through EDI, your management information system (MIS) should be able to create a UCI automatically or find out a student's existing UCI. 

The JCQ website has in-depth information about UCIs along with guidance to check UCI characters.

If you're making entries in Centre Services, you will need to create a UCI manually using the guide below (if they don't already have one).

How the UCI works

Students with two UCIs

If you find out that a student has more than one UCI, let us know as soon as possible: email entries@aqa.org.uk. or fill in the UCI merge request form on Centre Services, under resources>administration>administration resources.
In the meantime, use only their earliest UCI.

The Unique Learner Number (ULN) is used to match a student to their Personal Learning Record (PLR). The PLR is an online lifelong record of their achievement that can be shared with colleges, universities and employers. PLRs are administered by the Learning Records Service (LRS).

Please make sure the ULN is correct, or the student's results won't be added to their PLR.

Who needs a ULN

ULNs are mandatory for all students entered for an exam at a state-funded school or college in England. They will appear on students' results slips and certificates.

ULNs are not mandatory for private candidates or independent schools.

Get a ULN for a student

Please contact the Learning Records Service for more information.

Mismatch reports

After processing your entries, we will generate a mismatch report and contact you if your ULN data does not match the LRS data. You will then need to fix this with the LRS and re-submit the entry with the correct information. A mismatch will occur if data is submitted to us that cannot be verified by LRS.

You can leave this blank.

Exam series

An 'exam series' is the period or session when a whole series of exams take place. For example, June 2025. You will need to know your series because it will have a specific code and its own basedata files, entries closing date and results date.

Download our exam series guide from our make entries page.

How the codes work

Exam series codes are four characters long, and the format is set by JCQ's formats. For example, the series code for June 2015 is 6A15:

• 6 is the month (1 to 9 for January to September, A to C for October to December).
• A is the set of qualifications. This character might be different across exam boards.
• 25 is the year.

Entry code

Our entry codes directory – with entry codes for every qualification – is available on our make entries page.

There are different kinds of entry code for each subject. There will be:

• an entry code for the overall award (generally four characters long – be careful, this is different to the specification code)
• an entry code for each unit, option or tier (generally five or six characters long).

You need to make sure each student is entered with all the relevant entry codes that you want results for – the overall award and the individual units or components.

Discount – or classification – codes are generated by the Department for Education (DfE). Some qualifications have two discount codes, one for Key Stage 4 and one for Key Stage 5 (post-16).

Both sets of codes are included in our entry codes book (1.6 MB). However, we can only include one discount code per award in our basedata, because of its format. Read more about formats on the JCQ website.

We therefore include:

• Key Stage 4 codes for all Level 1, 2 and 1/2 awards (e.g. GCSEs), where the DfE have published a KS4 code.
• Key Stage 5 (post-16) codes for all Level 3 awards (e.g. AS and A-level), and for any other award that hasn’t been assigned a Key Stage 4 code.

The codes included in our basedata are taken from the following DfE websites:

• Performance tables: approved qualifications and discount codes on GOV.UK
• QAN website

When a student re-takes a qualification which includes non-exam assessment (NEA), they may request a carry forward of the mark/grade for the NEA component.

Basic principles

• You must use the same Unique Candidate Identifier (UCI) that was used for the original attempt, otherwise we will not be able to process the carry forward request.
• For NEA components in reformed linear GCSE, AS and A-level subjects, the most recent non-absent result will be carried forward.
• For endorsement grades in GCSE English Language and A-level Sciences, grades can be carried forward across the JCQ exam boards. The most recent grade (including ‘not classified’) will be carried forward.
• Marks can be carried forward for teacher-marked and AQA-marked NEA components such as MFL speaking tests.
• Marks can be carried forward for the lifetime of the specification. There is no restriction on time between the original attempt and the re-take.
• Certain subjects have specific rules.

See more information on Carry forward of marks.