Occurrence records should be tabular and shared as a text file. The preferred format is a CSV file but any other delimited text file is also acceptable (e.g. TSV). If your records are held in a spreadsheet we can accept XLS or XLSX files. We do not accept records held in any other formats (e.g. database or geospatial).

We do not accept unformatted records. The NBN Atlas follows the Darwin Core standard for sharing and storing biodiversity data. All required fields in the NBN Atlas Occurrence Record Upload Template must be populated. The template only includes our required and desirable terms. Any terms listed under the Additional Darwin Core terms heading can be included as a field in your data. These terms have been tested on the NBN Atlas and confirmed to process correctly.

Any Darwin Core term can be included as a field within your data, but we cannot guarantee terms that are not listed here will process correctly. The Darwin Core Quick Reference Guide is an easy-to-read reference of the currently (as of 2023-09-18) recommended terms maintained as part of the Darwin Core standard. Terms must be formatted and spelled exactly as provided here.

Please send your occurrence records and completed metadata form to data@nbn.org.uk.

Required and Desirable Terms

When providing multiple values within a field, the recommended best practice is to separate the values with a vertical bar | e.g. “Recorder A | Recorder B”.

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
occurrenceID Required	RecordKey	Definition: The unique and persistent row key or ID of the record that can follow any format. Examples: 2877 record_89 c8d77be
datasetName Required	DatasetTitle	Definition: The title given to the data resource (this should match the name provided in the metadata form).
license Required		Definition: A legally binding licence giving official permission to do something with the record. One of: `CC0` `CC-BY` `CC-BY-NC` `OGL` Additional Information: See the Data licence help guide. See the definition of Creative Commons licences. See the Open Government Licence.
rightsHolder Required		Definition: A person or organisation owning or managing rights over the resource, usually the name of the Data Partner.
taxonID Required	TaxonVersionKey	Definition: The Taxon Version Key (TVK) for the taxon supplied in the scientificName field. Examples: NBNSYS0000004130 NHMSYS0000516660 BMSSYS0000001357 Additional Information: TVKs can be obtained from the UKSI Sandbox.
scientificName Required		Definition: The full scientific name. This should be the name of the lowest level taxonomic rank that can be determined. Examples: Lepidoptera Lycaenidae Polyommatus Polyommatus icarus
identificationVerificationStatus Required		Definition: A categorical indicator of the extent to which the taxonomic identification has been verified to be correct. One of: `Accepted - correct` `Accepted - considered correct` `Unconfirmed - plausible` `Unconfirmed - not reviewed` Additional Information: See the Verification Status Terms help guide for more information.
eventDate Required	StartDate or EndDate	Definition: The date or range during which the occurrence was recorded. Dates or date ranges can be supplied in the following formats: a complete date YYYY-MM-DD (`2008-09-04`) DD/MM/YYYY (`04/09/2008`) partial dates a month and year in YYYY-MM (`2008-09`) format. a year in YYYY (`2008`) format. date ranges a complete date range in YYYY-MM-DD/ YYYY-MM-DD (`2008-01-01/2009-02-25`) format (preferred). a day range within the same month in YYYY-MM-DD/DD (`2008-09-04/05`) format. a month range within the same year in YYYY-MM/MM (`2008-09/10`) format. a year range in YYYY/YYYY (`2008/2009`) format. The year, month, and day can also be supplied in numeric format in fields labelled “year”, “month”, and “day”. These values do not need padding with zeros, e.g. “`7`” not “`07`”. Additional Information: Not suitable for a time in a geological context.
recordedBy Required	Recorder	Definition: Names of people, groups, or organisations responsible for recording the original Occurrence. Examples: John Rodwell Dennis, R. L. H. \| Shreeve, T. G. Volunteer Not Provided
gridReference Required if decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are not supplied	GridReference	Definition: Location of the record using the Ordnance Survey National Grid reference system. British (OSGB) and Irish (OSI) National Grid references are both accepted. Records from Northern Ireland should be supplied with an OSI grid reference or latitude/longitude coordinates. Channel Islands National Grid references are not accepted; CI records should be supplied with latitude/longitude coordinates. Examples: SU122421 SP5405 NT22 Additional Information: Values should not include spaces or any other symbols. This term is not part of the Darwin Core standard.
decimalLatitude Required if gridReference isn’t provided Must be used in conjunction with decimalLongitude		Definition: The geographic latitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Examples: 52.952516
decimalLongitude Required if gridReference isn’t provided Must be used in conjunction with decimalLatitude		Definition: The geographic longitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Examples: -1.144200
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters Required if decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are supplied	Precision	Definition: The horizontal distance (in meters) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location. Additional Information: See the Grid and coordinate based records on the NBN Atlas for more information.
locality Desirable	SiteName	Definition: The specific description of the place or place name where the record was made.
basisOfRecord Required		Definition: The specific nature of the record. One of: `HumanObservation` (default) `PreservedSpecimen` `FossilSpecimen` `MaterialSample` `MachineObservation` `MaterialCitation` `Image`
occurrenceStatus Required		Definition: The presence or absence of individuals in the record. One of: `present` `absent`
vitality Required		Definition: Whether the organism was alive or dead at the time of the occurrence. One of: `alive` `dead` `not recorded` `not applicable`

Additional Darwin Core Terms

Record-level terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
modified		Definition: The most recent date-time on which the resource was changed. Must be in YYYY-MM-DD format. Examples: 2014-08-17
accessRights		Definition: Information about who can access the resource or an indication of its security status. Examples: not-for-profit use only
bibliographicCitation		Definition: A bibliographic reference for the resource. Examples: Rand, K.M., Logerwell, E.A. The first demersal trawl survey of benthic fish and invertebrates in the Beaufort Sea since the late 1970s. Polar Biol 34, 475–488 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0900-2.
institutionCode		Definition: The name (or acronym) of the Data Partner sharing the record.
collectionCode	SurveyKey	Definition: The name, acronym, coden, or initialism identifying the collection or data set from which the record was derived.
informationWithheld		Definition: Additional information that exists, but that has not been shared in the given record. Examples: Recorder and verifier names not shared
dataGeneralizations		Definition: Actions taken to make the shared data less specific or complete than in its original form. Suggests that alternative data of higher quality may be available on request. Examples: Coordinates generalized from original GPS coordinates to the nearest half degree grid cell.
dynamicProperties		Definition: A list of additional measurements, facts, characteristics, or assertions about the record. Meant to provide a mechanism for structured content. Recommended best practice is to use a key:value encoding schema for a data interchange format such as JSON. Examples: {“heightInMeters”:1.5} {“targusLengthInMeters”:0.014, “weightInGrams”:120} {“natureOfID”:”expert identification”, “identificationEvidence”:”cytochrome B sequence”}

Occurrence terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
catalogNumber		Definition: An identifier (preferably unique) for the record within the data set or collection.
recordNumber		Definition: An identifier given to the occurrence at the time it was recorded. Often serves as a link between field notes and an occurrence record, such as a specimen collector’s number.
individualCount		Definition: The number of individuals represented present at the time of the occurrence. Examples: 0 1 25
organismQuantity	Abundance	Definition: A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms. The type of value is described by the organismQuantityType term. Examples: 27 (organismQuantity) with individuals (organismQuantityType) 12.5 (organismQuantity) with % biomass (organismQuantityType) A (organismQuantity) with DAFOR Scale (organismQuantityType) many (organismQuantity) with individuals (organismQuantityType)
organismQuantityType		Definition: The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms. Examples: 27 (organismQuantity) with individuals (organismQuantityType) 12.5 (organismQuantity) with % biomass (organismQuantityType) A (organismQuantity) with DAFOR Scale (organismQuantityType) many (organismQuantity) with individuals (organismQuantityType)
sex		Definition: The sex of the biological individual(s) represented in the occurrence record. Examples: male female unknown
lifeStage		Definition: The age class or life stage of the biological individual(s) at the time the occurrence was recorded. Examples: egg eft juvenile adult adult \| egg
reproductiveCondition		Definition: The reproductive condition of the biological individual(s) represented in the occurrence. Examples: non-reproductive pregnant in bloom fruit-bearing
behavior		Definition: The behaviour shown by the subject at the time the occurrence was recorded. Examples: roosting foraging running
georeferenceVerificationStatus		Definition: Description of the extent to which the capture resolution georeference has been verified to represent the best possible spatial description. The resolution on the NBN Atlas may be at a lower resolution than the capture resolution. One of: `Accepted` `Accepted - correct` `Accepted - considered correct` `Unconfirmed` `Unconfirmed - plausible` `Unconfirmed - not reviewed`
otherCatalogNumbers		Definition: A list (concatenated and separated) of previous or alternate fully qualified catalog numbers or other human-used identifiers for the same occurrence, whether in the current or any other data set or collection.
occurrenceRemarks	Comment	Definition: Comments or notes on the occurrence. Examples: photographed but not collected

Organism terms

Darwin Core Term

NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent

Definition and Examples

organismScope

Definition: A description of the kind of organism instance. Can be used to indicate whether the organism instance represents a discrete organism or if it represents a particular type of aggregation.

Examples:
pack
colony
flock

organismRemarks

Definition: Comments or notes about the organism instance.

Examples:
feeding on Rhododendron
one leg missing

MaterialEntity terms

Darwin Core Term NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent Definition and Examples

preparations

Definition: A list (concatenated and separated) of preparations and preservation methods.

One of:
fossil
DNA extract
acoustic detection

associatedSequences

Definition: A list (concatenated and separated) of identifiers (publication, global unique identifier, URI) of genetic sequence information associated with the record.

Examples:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/U34853.1

Event terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
eventID	SampleKey	Definition: An identifier for the set of information associated with the event (something that occurs at a place and time).
fieldNumber		Definition: An identifier given to the event in the field. Often serves as a link between field notes and the event.
eventTime		Definition: The time or interval during which the event occurred. Examples: 11:00 2:00PM 22:00
verbatimEventDate		Definition: The verbatim original representation of the date and time information for the event. Examples: spring 1910 Marzo 2002 1999-03-XX
samplingProtocol	SampleMethod	Definition: The name of, reference to, or description of the method or protocol used during the event. Examples: UV light trap mist net bottom trawl ad hoc observation \| point count
sampleSizeValue		Definition: A numeric value for a measurement of the size (time duration, length, area, or volume) of a sample in a sampling event. Examples: 5 (sampleSizeValue) with metre (sampleSizeUnit)
sampleSizeUnit		Definition: The unit of measurement of the size (time duration, length, area, or volume) of a sample in a sampling event. Examples: minute hour day metre square metre cubic metre
samplingEffort		Definition: The amount of effort expended during an event. Examples: 40 trap-nights 10 observer-hours 10 km by foot 30 km by car
fieldNotes		Definition: One of a) an indicator of the existence of, b) a reference to (publication, URI), or c) the text of notes taken in the field about the event.
eventRemarks		Definition: Comments or notes about the event. Examples: After the recent rains the river is nearly at flood stage.

Location terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
locationID	SiteKey	Definition: An identifier for the set of location information.
waterBody		Definition: The name of the water body in which the location occurs. Examples: English Channel Lyme Bay River Kent
verbatimLocality		Definition: The British vice-county in which the location occurs. Examples: VC9 Dorset VC22 East Suffolk Additional Information: For every record, the NBN Atlas calculates a vice-county using the Watsonian vice county boundaries GIS layer provided by the Biological Records Centre. This field can therefore retain the historic or current vice-county associated with the record.
verbatimElevation		Definition: The original description of the elevation (altitude, usually above sea level) of the location. Examples: 100-200m
verbatimDepth		Definition: The original description of the depth below the local surface. Examples: 100-200m
locationRemarks		Definition: Comments or notes about the location.
geodeticDatum	Projection	Definition: The ellipsoid, geodetic datum, or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude as based. One of: `EPSG:4326` `WGS84`

Identification terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
verbatimIdentification		Definition: A string representing the taxonomic identification as it appeared in the original record.
identifiedBy	Determiner	Definition: A list of names of people, groups, or organisations who assigned the taxon to the subject. Examples: James L. Patton Theodore Pappenfuss \| Robert Macey
identificationRemarks		Definition: Notes or comments on the identification.

Taxon terms

Darwin Core Term	NBN Data Exchange Format Equivalent	Definition and Examples
vernacularName		Definition: A common or vernacular name.
taxonRemarks		Definition: Comments or notes about the taxon or name.

Guide to the NBN Atlas Occurrence Record Upload Template for species datasets