How to submit DIDS v2.0

For DIDS v2.0 the data platform for DIDS submissions is changing from the DIDS portal to the National Data Integration Tenant (NDIT). 

All in scope activity from 1 April 2026 onwards must be submitted in DIDS v2.0 through the NDIT. 

See the DIDS v2.0 submission timetable published on the NHS England website for the latest information on reporting periods and when the relevant submission window opens and closes.

Data submissions for DIDS v2.0 are based upon fixed reporting periods. There is a period of six months for each final submission to be undertaken for the first year of DIDS v2.0 being implemented.

The six-month period to make final submissions is in place to support the sector in implementing the changes required for the new version of the data set.

Data submissions are required every month starting from 1 May 2026, for submission of April 2026 data.

For DIDS v2.0 NHS England will use the ‘last good file’ that passed validation, by either the provisional processing deadline or once the submission deadline window has closed, for national analysis and reporting.

This means that:

• during the relevant submission window, providers can make as many submissions as are needed for a reporting month
• submissions ahead of the provisional processing deadline are strongly encouraged to enable timely data to be available for operational decision making and planning purposes
• there will be no requirement for providers to do any further submissions after provisional processing if the quality of their existing submission is sufficient and no data has changed
• any files submitted to and accepted by NDIT overwrite previously submitted files for DIDS v2.0 data. It is therefore imperative that providers thoroughly check their data submission, as there are no opportunities to re-submit data for a time period once the submission window has closed
• providers must not split a submission for a reporting month into different files (for example do not split activity for ‘April 2026’ into two files; providers must send activity for the whole reporting month in one file)
• Where data is resubmitted for a reporting period, all records must be resubmitted in the file (not just any changes)

Following the first year of DIDS v2.0 being implemented, DIDS will move to a three-month period to make final submissions instead of the six-month period mentioned above.

CODED PROCEDURE START TIMESTAMP and CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP in DIDS v2.0 replace DIAGNOSTIC TEST DATE which was included in DIDS v1.0.

CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP defines the activity in an activity month/reporting period for DIDS v2.0.

 ‘April 2026’ activity in DIDS v2.0, is where the CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP is:

>=2026-04-01T00:00:00+01:00, and,

<=2026-04-30T23:59:59+01:00

‘May 2026’ activity in DIDS v2.0, is where the CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP is:

>=2026-05-01T00:00:00+01:00, and,

<=2026-05-31T23:59:59+01:00

‘June 2026’ activity in DIDS v2.0, is where the CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP is:

>=2026-06-01T00:00:00+01:00, and,

<=2026-06-30T23:59:59+01:00

All activity which takes place in the relevant month needs to be included in the DIDS submission for that activity month/reporting period.

CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP is being used rather than CODED PROCEDURE START TIMESTAMP to flow activity which has completed.

Users should take the necessary time to understand how they will implement this change, including having discussions with any other teams and/or with IT system providers as appropriate, to ensure the relevant imaging activity is submitted in DIDS v2.0 in the correct reporting period.

Where an imaging procedure has been abandoned without any images being acquired then this data must not be submitted in DIDS.

The NHS Standard Contract requires commissioned service providers to submit data when national data collections are appropriate to their services, and are specified in the Data Alliance Partnership Board (DAPB) Schedule of Approved Collections.

DIDS v2.0 includes the data item ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (CODE OF PROVIDER) which was not present in DIDS v1.0.

To support implementation of DIDS v2.0, the below table provides 4 scenarios showing what is required to be submitted in each case for the data items of:

ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (CODE OF PROVIDER)

ORGANISATION SITE IDENTIFIER (OF IMAGING)

ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (CODE OF SUBMITTING ORGANISATION)

Users are advised to read the validations in the ETOS carefully relating to all ORGANISATIONAL IDENTIFIER data items.

This includes that the ORGANISATIONAL IDENTIFIER codes submitted in DIDS v2.0 must be valid at the time of the REPORTING PERIOD START DATE, except for ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (REFERRING ORGANISATION) which must be valid at the time of the referral.

The relevant DIDS v2.0 XML and CSV schemas are available on TRUD for which an account is required.

Users should carefully review the schemas, including relevant supporting information on how to construct a file and the sample data examples to understand what is required in each case.

Users should consider whether the implementation of DIDS v2.0 provides an opportunity to change submission format (for example to submit as XML rather than CSV).

Submitting data as an XML file provides a number of benefits, such as the ability to validate the file structure offline and only submit one set of ‘Header’ data for the whole file, thereby reducing duplication of data.

Feedback has been received from the sector on the challenges of reporting the three new ‘timestamp’ data items as part of the implementation of DIDS v2.0.

These data items are the CODED PROCEDURE START TIMESTAMP, CODED PROCEDURE END TIMESTAMP and SERVICE REPORT ISSUE TIMESTAMP.

In response to the feedback, additional guidance is included on the expectations of data to be submitted in the initial implementation phase of DIDS v2.0.

The guidance (below) aims to balance the move towards full conformance with the DIDS v2.0 Information Standard with provider implementation workload and timelines for technical changes, given the hard cut-over transition from DIDS v1.0 to DIDS v2.0.

For these timestamp data items, providers should therefore focus on the following in the early implementation period:

• ensuring that relevant imaging activity is not lost and is submitted in DIDS v2.0
• submitting data in the correct format for these timestamp data items (i.e. is in the Diagnostic Imaging Data Set Release 2.0 XML Schema / CSV Format)
• where challenges are encountered with the accuracy of these data, providers should prioritise ensuring that the date that the activity takes place is accurate over the precise time of the activity
• providers should work to submit the most accurate approximation of the time relevant for the data item wherever possible (where the exact time cannot be obtained)

These arrangements are in place until the DIDS v2.0 full conformance date of 31 October 2026.  Once the early submissions have been received then this guidance will be reviewed in light of the data quality of those submissions.

An overall file naming convention is not mandated in DIDS v2.0 and providers may use their local file naming conventions already in place (in conjunction with requirements of the landing platform).

However, it is recommended that providers make their file names meaningful to understand what data has been submitted and this will then assist when reviewing data quality feedback for those files.

It is recommended that providers consider including the following in the file name:

DIDS

ORGANISATION IDENTIFIER (CODE OF SUBMITTING ORGANISATION)

Year of the Reporting Month

Reporting Month

Version of the file submitted.

For example, a file name for the reporting month of April 2026 may be as below:

DIDS_ORGID_202604v1.xml

Filenames should only contain:

• Letters
• Numbers
• Dashes (-)
• Underscores (_)
• Dots (.)

Filenames cannot contain any spaces.