Data checking tool
The data checking tool is a secure online tool, intended to facilitate the timely supply of regulatory data by higher education providers.
When you upload your data to the tool, it produces outputs showing how your data would be processed when we use it. The tool allows you to identify potential errors in the data and correct them before finalising and formally submitting data.
The data checking tool is primarily used between August and October each year, ahead of the submission deadlines.
This guide gives information about using the data checking tool for:
- Individualised Learner Record (ILR) data, to be submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) by 22 October 2026
- Student data (25056) to be submitted to our designated data body (DDB) and signed off by 29 October 2026.
Updates to the data checking tool for 2025-26
As part of our continued efforts to minimise data process burden, and following provider feedback on the 2024-25 processes, we have made updates to the data checking tool for 2025-26.
We’ve increased the number of processes that run through the data checking tools, reinstating a small number of outputs that providers have told us they value for their role in transparency and burden minimisation.
Data verification queries will also once again be raised in relation to some of the outputs. However, these are raised for provider information only and will not require responses or approval by the OfS.
These changes mean that we are maintaining an approach in which you can focus your time and efforts on data quality improvements that are most relevant to you. We anticipate that the reinstated outputs will provide more information to support providers in making these choices.
- HESES comparisons (which compare the end of year ILR and Jisc Student data submissions with the provider’s HESES data returned to the OfS at the start of the academic year) and associated data verification queries have been reinstated. The individualised data files a provider receives as part of this HESES output (to show how individual records within its submission have contributed to the calculations) will also be available via the 2025-26 data checking tools.
- Following concerns about the quality and completeness of subject data returned by some further education colleges, we have introduced a new output to the ILR data checking tool. This will show the distribution of students in the submission across the different subjects areas to which they are assigned for the purposes of our calculations of funding, student outcome measures and student information provided via the Discover Uni website.
- Individualised data files use a new naming convention intended to provide more consistency with field names used in the individualised data shared for transparency purposes associated with other OfS purposes. We will provide a mapping from the field naming conventions we used in previous years of the data checking tool, to the new field names being used from 2025-26.
Data amendments
We will only accept amendments to the data after it has been submitted and signed off in exceptional circumstances, where any data errors identified are widespread and significant and make a material difference to our use of the data. See further information on data amendments.
10 August 2026 - Updated for 2025-26 tools.
22 July 2025 - Updated section for 2024-25 data checking tools.
25 April 2024 - Updated for 2023-24
04 April 2023 - Updated for 2022-23
06 July 2022 - Updated for 2021-22
08 July 2021 - Updated for 2020-21
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