This blog has been updated for the June 2026 series.

Jayne Harris, Customer Support Manager for Durham, East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and West Yorkshire 

Our Customer Support Manager, Jayne Harris, explains what question paper materials you’ll receive when and provides some tips on managing them effectively. 

As the exam series rapidly approaches, I thought it might be helpful to give you an overview of what we’ll be sending you in the coming weeks from Cambridge OCR. 

Sending confidential question paper materials 

From the end of April, we’ll be sending out question papers for our general qualifications (AS, A Level, FSMQ, GCSE, Core Maths), Cambridge Nationals, Cambridge Advanced Nationals and the Level 3 Certificate in Sustainability. All Cambridge Technicals question papers will be sent together in early May. You can see the specific despatch dates in our key dates spreadsheets.

It’s worth remembering we send a ‘despatch email’ for every question paper despatch – this contains the DHL tracking reference, which you can use to set up reminders and check who’s signed for your delivery. 

Please note that modified papers are sent separately to the main question papers and, while they may arrive at the same time, in some cases, they may arrive a couple of days before the exam date.

In all cases, Braille question paper materials will be sent separately – they’re sent via Royal Mail special delivery tracked service (and you won’t receive a despatch email for these papers).

JCQ regulations

The requirements for managing confidential assessment materials are outlined in the JCQ Instructions for conducting examinations. It’s critical you have robust arrangements in place to meet the regulations and that everyone involved in the process understands their role and responsibilities.

Receiving question papers materials

When confidential materials arrive at your centre, these must be signed for and the receipt log completed. Confidential materials must never be left unattended!

The JCQ has a receipt log template available which you can adapt to use for your own centre. The JCQ centre inspector may ask to see this at an inspection visit. 

All confidential materials need to be immediately transferred to the secure room for checking and transfer to the secure storage facility. If there are no keyholders to the secure room available, your reception staff can refuse delivery. 

If you experience any issues receiving your question paper materials, please let us know. Our logistics team tracks every delivery and follows up all reports directly with our courier, DHL.

Checking question paper materials 

The exams officer or authorised person must open the boxes and check the materials in your secure room. These must be checked as soon as possible on the day you receive them and, if that's not possible, no later than the next working day.

The question paper packets must be checked against the despatch note and the centre timetable or entries – a log of the check must be kept. The JCQ inspector may ask to see this log during an inspection visit.

You can use the JCQ Exams Materials Receipt Log template and adapt it for your centre.

For modified papers, you might want to print the individual timetables for any students requiring modified question papers and display them in your secure room – to mark off when received. 

When checking confidential question papers: 

1. Open all boxes and find the despatch note – for Cambridge OCR, there’s a sticker on the box containing the despatch note (this box also contains your attendance registers and script return labels). 
2. Check your materials against the despatch note and your centre timetable or entries – do not open any of the sealed question paper packets until the permitted time on the day of the exam.
3. Record and highlight the number of papers you receive to make sure you have enough and you can see which papers you are still waiting for.
4. If you have any issues, contact us – if you don’t have enough papers, the number you have received differs from the despatch note, or any of the packets have been damaged in any way, please immediately contact our Customer Support Centre on 01233 553998 or at support@ocr.org.uk. 

Tip: Prepare your ‘second pair of eyes’ log before exams start, you can use the JCQ template and adapt it for your centre.

Storing question paper materials 

Following the checking, question paper packets should be arranged in timetable order and stored immediately in the secure storage facility. Storing your question papers in timetable order helps to reduce the risk of selecting the wrong question paper on exam day. 

Remember: Your secure storage facility must only contain current and live confidential materials. Your centre's mock/internal papers may be stored in the secure room but must be always kept separately from live awarding body material and be clearly identified. 

Attendance registers and script return labels 

For general qualifications, Cambridge Nationals, Cambridge Advanced Nationals and the Level 3 Certificate in Sustainability, we’ll send your script return labels (yellow and white) and attendance registers with your question papers in an ‘admin pack’, which will be clearly identified. Unlike the question paper packets, you can open the envelope containing these as soon as they arrive. We do the same for Cambridge Technicals, but your ‘admin pack’ will also include the script return envelopes. 

If you don't receive your admin pack, please let us know.

Tip: Check these materials against your centre's timetable to confirm receipt and then file them in date order in a file within your secure room.

Once we have sent script return labels in the 'admin pack', we continue to generate and despatch labels for any late changes. Please destroy any old labels and use the new label. 

For general qualifications, Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Advanced Nationals, you can request one emergency replacement label per exam from Interchange. If you need more than one label or need a Cambridge Technicals label, please contact us.  

Exam stationery 

For general qualifications, Cambridge Nationals, Cambridge Advanced Nationals and the Level 3 Certificate in Sustainability, your exam stationery will arrive with you from the end of April – this includes generic answer booklets, data booklets and script return envelopes.

Question papers for the June 2026 series will include the ‘Cambridge OCR’ name and logo, but stationery materials may show our previous name. You can continue using the ‘OCR’ branded stationery materials, such as continuation booklets, until stocks are used up – see our FAQs.

Please check the materials you receive against the packing note provided.

If you’re missing anything or need any more items such as four-page continuation booklets (OCR4), you can request these from us. We don't send four-page continuation booklets (OCR4) as standard for Cambridge Technicals as there’s plenty of answer space already included in the question paper. However, if you find your candidates do need some extra pages, you can request continuation booklets by calling our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998.

You can see everything that we send for each exam in our stationery and equipment listing, which also contains the items you need to provide. For Cambridge Technicals, we provide a separate list of permitted equipment for each exam.

Remember, all exam stationery must be stored in the secure room and returned there at the end of every exam. It’s good practice to store stationery in the secure storage facility if you have the space, but it’s not mandatory.

Stay connected 

We’re here to support you, so if you have any queries about question papers, please contact us on 01223 553998 or email us at support@ocr.org.uk. 

About the author

Jayne joined Cambridge OCR in 2022 as the Customer Support Manager supporting centres in the North East, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. She has worked within the education sector since 1997. She has over 16 years’ experience as an exams manager within secondary schools and sixth form colleges so can relate to the challenges exams officers face on a daily basis but also remembers how rewarding the role can be. Jayne is passionate about providing the highest standard of support to our customers.