Make sure candidate details are accurate
It's essential that candidate details are accurate in your school management system (SMS), or entered correctly on the web before you send data to NZQA.
The file must contain each candidate's National Student Number (NSN) and correct, formal name. Make sure nicknames, including any anglicised names, are not in the formal name field.
We require a complete and accurate residential address for each candidate. Addresses are used for verification purposes and to return some external assessments.
Candidate information in your school software must be checked each year. Any changes (other than names) that candidates ask us to make directly are overwritten by a school data file submission.
On this page
National Student Number (NSN) file
Schools should import NSNs from the Ministry of Education's ENROL as candidates enter the school. The Ministry makes an initial NSN ID file available for uploading into SMSs early in the year.
Guide to using ENROL (external link) - education.govt.nz
It's important to carefully check the accuracy of this data matching as there are candidates with the same names and dates of birth.
If you find a difference between an ENROL NSN and the NSN a candidates has been using, please contact the data team.
Twins or triplets at school
To prevent any incorrect NSN matches or merges, schools need to notify NZQA if they have twins or triplets attending their schools who have made entries or had results reported for the year.
Schools can send us this information when they submit their initial data submission in May:
You only need to notify us once each year. Alternatively, you can add this information in the comments section under Data File Submission in the MyNZQA school portal.
Name changes or corrections
Corrections to a candidate's name
If there's a mistake in a candidate's name, the school must make corrections in the school's data file, they should also let us know of the amendment and send us a copy of the candidate's ID:
Changes to a candidate's name
When a candidate changes their name, the school should:
- change the candidate's name in the Data File Submission section of the MyNZQA school portal
- provide details of the candidate's old and new name
- attest that the Principal or the Principal’s Nominee has seen appropriate evidence, as required below.
Appropriate evidence
Students can supply one of the following as proof of their old name:
- birth certificate in their old name
- passport in their old name
- driver's licence in their old name
- other official documentation the Principal or Principal’s Nominee deems appropriate in the circumstances.
To prove their new name, students can supply one of the following:
- birth certificate in their new name
- passport in their new name
- driver's licence in their new name.
Schools must notify us of any name changes in the SMS. Any person making these changes in the school must let the Principal's Nominee know.
Candidates with special characters in their name
For candidates with special characters in their names (hyphens, macrons, umlauts, and so on), please email us with an attached list of the names and their special characters, along with your school's initial data file submission in May:
Exclude special characters from your data file as our systems will not accept them. These candidate names are managed separately for result publication purposes.