Modified Papers FAQs

We offer the below modifications: 

• 18pt Bold Font on A4 paper 
• 24pt Bold Font on A4 paper 
• 24pt Bold Font on A3 paper 
• 36pt Bold Font on A3 paper 
• Interactive Electronic Question Paper (for use with electronic readers or word processor)
• Unified English Braille – Grade 1 (Uncontracted)* and Grade 2 (Contracted) 
• Tactile Diagrams & 3D models
• Subtitles on video clips 

All large print papers are supplied in Arial Bold font with 1.5 line spacing.

* AAO and PAAO only allow orders for Grade 2 braille. If you require Grade 1 braille place an order for Grade 2 braille, then email additional_requirements@pearson.com providing your order number and your request for Grade 1 Braille.

We can’t advise you on the appropriate modification for your candidate. If you don’t work directly with the candidate concerned, seek advice from a specialist teacher or SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator).

The paper should match what the candidate has been using throughout the academic year and should be their normal way of working.

Students should be given the opportunity to practice using our past papers, prior to them sitting their exams. This will enable them to become familiar with the layout and format of our papers. 

No. The standard font is Arial Bold font with 1.5 line spacing and the colour is always black.

We only supply exam papers on plain white paper. If your student requires coloured or squared paper, then please follow the process below:

PDF copies of Standard A4 Papers (non-interactive PDF), for printing on coloured/squared paper are not a modified paper so are not available to order on AAO/PAAO. These can be accessed in the following ways:  

Requests for PDF copies of Modified Large Print Papers, for printing on coloured/squared paper can be emailed to the Modified Formats Team at additional_requirements@pearson.com. Please supply the team with your order number from AAO/PAAO so they can log the correct information. The order must be placed first  before emailing your request. This will be sent by the Modified Formats Team via Secure File Transfer on the day of the exam, 60 minutes before the allocated start time.

For a candidate to use coloured paper in their exam it must be their normal way of working and it is a 'centre delegated' arrangement. You do not need to apply for an access arrangement. 

An interactive electronic question paper is for students who use a word processor to type their answers or for students who use a computer reader. The answer gridlines are removed and replaced with text boxes during the modification process. This makes the paper unsuitable for printing on coloured paper. These are a modified paper and should be ordered on AAO or PAAO.

A non-interactive question paper is a PDF copy of a standard A4 question paper. This should be used for printing on to coloured paper. Please refer to the guidance above on how to request this. These are not a modified paper. 

No. All our standard exam papers are modified at source, to ensure that the language used is in its simplest form. Pearson works alongside BATOD to ensure that all our papers are modified in language so that they do not need to be adapted again. Due to this we do not produce a modified language version of the papers as there is no need for us to do so.

For more information regarding access arrangements for a language modifier please refer to the JCQ Access Arrangement and Reasonable Adjustments Booklet. 

Not all exam papers are modified, only those that are the most common, for example GCSE Maths and English, and those that centres order via the online portal. If we were to create all papers in all modifications, this would be more than 6000 unique papers in the summer series which would be impossible to do.

No. As the entry deadlines are after the modified paper deadline you do not need to make your entries before. If the paper is no longer needed after the entry has been made you can cancel the order on AAO/PAAO.

Deadlines for ordering modified papers are as follows: 

• 20th September –November series 
• 4th October – January Series 
• 31st January – May/June series 

We may not be able to provide question papers in a modified format if we receive your application after the deadline.

Modified papers can take up to 10 weeks to create. Each modification takes a considerable amount of time to create and goes through an extensive quality check process before being signed off for use by a candidate. Why is the deadline for ordering modified papers before the entry deadline?   

Yes. We still accept orders on AAO and PAAO up until the day of the exam however we are not always able to fulfil them. If the paper has already been created from another centre order, we will be able to send this either as a hard copy, time permitting, or a PDF copy of the paper will be sent via Secure File Transfer. We will not proceed with an order unless it has been placed on AAO or PAAO.

If a late order is placed, please email additional_requirements@pearson.com to notify the team and supply your order number and centre number. Please ensure that all modified papers are requested before the deadline so that the candidate is not disadvantaged in any way. 

Modified Papers should be ordered through JCQ Access Arrangements Online (AAO) and Pearson Access Arrangements Online (PAAO) as below:

• Access Arrangements Online – GCSE, GCE, Edexcel Award, L3C, PLSC 
• Pearson Access Arrangements Online – BTEC, International A Level, International GCSE

Within the correct online portal, you should select ‘Access Arrangements Online’ then ‘Order modified papers’. The candidate should have been created within the respective portal prior to you attempting to place an order. If you are ordering both GQ and VQ modified papers, you will need to create the candidate on both AAO and PAAO as these are separate systems and the information does not transfer across both.

You must ensure that you submit the order and do not just save and close as this will not send to order through to the team for processing. The save and close option will just save the order in your drafts, and they will be unable to view or access this. You will know that your order has successfully been placed as you will be allocated with an order number which is prefixed by the letters ‘MP’ (e.g. MP123456).

To order a modified Functional Skills paper you need to email additional_requirements@pearson.com. We require the following information:  

1. Centre Number 
2. Candidate Registration Number 
3. Candidate Name 
4. Subject 
5. Level 
6. Date of Exam 
7. Modification 

For Functional Skills Level 1 & 2 On Demand exams we require a minimum of 4-8 weeks’ notice, and the exam must be booked before you place your order with us.

For Entry Level Functional Skills exams, we require around 8-10 weeks’ notice. As the Entry Level exams are internally assessed, no official booking is required but we require the proposed exam date, so we know what we are working towards.

Yes, you can order both tiers. Once the candidate has been entered for the exam you will need to cancel the tier that is no longer needed.   

We strive to deliver papers to centres a minimum of 5 days before an examination date. We’ll try to send as many of your requested materials in the same package as possible to reduce any administrative burden for you.

Where physical papers cannot be delivered due to late orders, or the centre cannot accept papers, we will send it on a Secure File Transfer (SFT) for the centre to download and print. This will be advised via email to the centre.

If your paper still has not arrived 5 days prior to the exam, please contact the Customer Services team or email additional_requirements@pearson.com

Grade 1 braille translates each individual print letter, number, or punctuation mark into a braille sign. Grade 2 braille uses the same letters, punctuation, and numbers as Grade 1 braille but adds a series of special signs to represent common words or groups of letters, a bit like a kind of shorthand.

To order Grade 1, please place an order Grade 2 and then email the team at additional_requirements@pearson.com to request this be changed to UEB Grade 1.

During the modification process, the paper may go through significant changes to enable us to make the paper accessible. It may be necessary to change the questions or diagrams. We may also split the question paper, creating a separate diagram booklet, source booklet or formula booklet.

Due to these changes, you should not allow candidates to use a mixture of modified and/or standard papers. The only modified paper that can be used alongside a standard question paper is the Interactive Electronic Question Paper.

If you are receiving a paper by way of SFT, please ensure that you have a Pearson Secure File Transfer account and that it is accessible. If you have not received an SFT in the past, you can register to access the system prior to receiving your paper here or via the link in your first delivery notification email.

Papers that are due to be sent via secure file transfer (SFT) will be sent 60 minutes before the allocated start time. Centres are not permitted to open papers for the session prior to the 60 minutes.

There are various versions of software that you can use. We are not able to recommend these but please see a list of commonly used software below:  

• Read and Write Gold 
• JAWS Adobe 
• Texthelp 
• NVDA 

If you have software installed, you can download a past interactive electronic question paper to test it.

Yes. Past papers can be found on the Pearson Qualifications website here, (scroll to the section 'Search for past papers in modified formats').

Modified papers are created by orders from centres at the time of the live exams, so we may not have all papers available in all modifications it all depends on whether it was ordered at the time.

For the subjects that have been modified there will be a zip file containing all modifications that were created for that series. Where papers have been modified in braille the Duxbury file may be supplied within the zip file.

If you cannot find a paper, require printed copies of braille or tactile papers, or would like a set of past 3D models then please contact additional_requirements@pearson.com and the team will be able to support with your request.

Students should be given the opportunity to practice using our past papers, prior to them sitting their exams. This will enable them to become familiar with the layout and format of our papers. 

Modified papers data is uploaded to the online system before a deadline and after the close of a previous session. There are normally only 2 sessions live at any time to reduce the possibility of materials being ordered for an incorrect session. 

First, check that you are using the correct portal. Please see below:

• Access Arrangements Online – GCSE, GCE, Edexcel Award, L3C, PLSC Pearson Access Arrangements Online – BTEC, International A Level, International GCSE 

The online search criteria can be very specific. The next thing to try is reducing the number of parameters you are using to search. Begin by selecting 'Pearson' as the awarding body, then leave all other fields blank. Go to the 'Exam Code (if known)’ and enter the first few characters of an exams component code. If your candidate is sitting Mathematics 1MA1 1F, for example, you need only put 1MA into the search and this will bring up all papers that begin with '1MA'.

This is especially useful when you’re ordering papers that either have multiple parts or have an early/pre-release item associated with them, as you will see all available parts.

If you have any difficulties, please contact the team on additional_requirements@pearson.com who will be able to support you.

First, check that you’re searching for paper codes and not specification codes. The online system works at paper level, so you must use the code for the individual examination that the candidate will be sitting.

Secondly, check that the item you’re searching for isn't a piece of coursework, controlled assessment, or other non-secure (that is, with no specified exam date) release. We only provide material that centres have no access to before an assessment. In all other instances, you should modify the material as appropriate to your candidate's needs and in line with the JCQ Access Arrangements and Reasonable Adjustments regulations.

Finally, check that the item you’re searching for is not a Functional Skills paper. These do not fit into the online system’s available examination slots as they are on demand exams. These items should be requested by emailing additional_requirements@pearson.com

You will need to cancel the order as soon as possible on AAO/PAAO and reorder the correct tier. Please note that the cancelling and re-ordering after the published deadlines may jeopardise delivery of your replacement request.

You can cancel modified paper orders using the Access Arrangements Online Tool (AAO or PAAO). If you no longer require a paper, or you wish to change an application, please cancel your original request and re-order the replacement materials. 

There are no confirmations. As soon as you submit an application, we can access it instantly. You can return at any time to review your orders - either by all centre orders or by specific candidate orders.

Please ensure that you submit the order and do not just save and close as this will not send to order through to us for processing. The save and close option will just save the order in your drafts, and we will be unable to view or access this. You will know that your order has successfully been placed as you will be allocated with an order number which is prefixed by the letters ‘MP’ (e.g. MP123456).

Yes, please contact the team to let us know as soon as possible. As the ordering of modified papers is not linked to the entry system, your paper will be despatched to the centre under which the order was placed, unless you let us know otherwise.

Please email the team at additional_requirements@pearson.com and supply them with your Transferred Candidate Application Number. We can then liaise with the Special Requirements Team and make the necessary arrangements for the modified paper despatch.

You can cancel an existing order on AAO/PAAO via Edexcel Online. Please follow the instructions below: 

1. On Edexcel Online Select Access Arrangements Online,
2. Select AAO or PAAO > Access Arrangements Online > Find Modified Papers,
3. Find the order using the order number or centre and candidate details,
4. Click on the Candidates Last name - this will be underlined.

This will bring up the list of papers ordered for this candidate. You can Cancel/Delete the papers that are no longer required.

If the candidate has changed tier or requires a different modification, you will then need to order the new papers as a matter of urgency.

Please be aware that cancelling and re-ordering after the published deadlines may jeopardise delivery of your replacement request.