When you make entries for general qualifications (GCSE, AS and A Levels) you need to provide the following information.

Provide candidate name, date of birth and gender:

• We recommend you enter candidates under names that can be verified against suitable identification, such as a birth certificate, passport or driving licence.
• This helps prevent issues at a later date, when they need to verify they are the person named on the certificate. However, it is up to the centre and candidate to choose the name they are entered under.
• Please make sure candidates know the name they are entered under and use that on their exam script.
• Be careful not to transpose the date of birth information! We often receive requests to swap the day and month.

The candidate’s name and date of birth appear on the certificate exactly as the entry so, if you don’t get it right, making changes after the certificate has been issued will mean you have to pay for a replacement certificate.

If you have students who have accented characters in their name and they would like these to appear on their results certificate, please see our guidance.

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.

• Ensure 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.

This is a 13-character code. It is mandatory and is used mainly to link a candidate’s unit results across series (and across different centres) for all their entries so they can be certificated.

• Any entries submitted without a UCI will be rejected.
• Exam administration software packages can usually generate UCIs but the JCQ has a check character calculator you can use to help you.
• It is essential candidates only have one UCI: If a candidate has more than one UCI, we cannot link their unit results and they risk not receiving a final subject grade. If you find a candidate has more than one UCI, please email entries@ocr.org.uk from your centre’s registered email address with details of the UCIs in use and the candidate’s name. We will then merge the candidate details.
• If a candidate comes from another centre, use the original UCI they bring with them.

The following diagram shows the components of a UCI:

This is a personal ten-digit number, which is used to ensure learner achievement information can be provided to their Personal Learning Record (PLR). ULNs are provided and administered by the Learning Records Service (LRS).

If a candidate does not have a ULN, the ULN field should be left blank; you must not add a piece of placeholder text, such as ‘9999999999’ or ‘TBC’.

Where a ULN is included with an entry, we will check the ULN and candidate details with the LRS. Candidate details submitted to us need to match exactly with those held on their PLR. If there are any differences, we will not be able to validate the ULN. This will not prevent your entries from being processed, but we will not be able to send results data to their PLR until the ULN and candidate details held by us have been validated correctly. If you need to make a change to a learner’s details, you must update them in a number of places:

• Within their PLR
• Within your management information system
• You then need to send updated candidate details to us.

To generate a ULN, please refer to the Learning Records Service. For more information about ULNs, see our FAQs.

Entries are made using a four-digit entry code and option codes (where needed). These details are provided in the entry codes booklet with more information in the final entry rules section.

Candidates must be entered for the correct entry option, which can represent any of the following:

• A legitimate or ‘true’ choice between papers – for example, in the current GCSE History, each option determines which paper a candidate will take.
• A choice between tiers – for example, Foundation and Higher.
• A choice between methods of moderation – for many moderated units/components, the option specifies whether the work is uploaded electronically to Submit for Assessment, submitted via post or, in some cases, moderated by a visiting moderator. For each of these units, all candidates’ work must be submitted using the same entry option.
• A choice to carry forward a candidate’s result for an internal assessment – the carry forward option must only be used if a candidate has previously been entered for that unit and certification code.

A candidate must not be entered for more than one option for a single assessment in the same series.

Duplicate entries must not be made for the same candidate – it’s not possible to enter a candidate for the same entry code twice using different option codes. You will need to make an entry amendment if you decide the option entered is incorrect.

If there are legacy and new qualifications running side-by-side, be extra vigilant about using the correct entry code.