File Guideline and Layout Legend

Layout Column	Column Definition
Data Element ID	Unique identifier representing data element by file type
Data Element	Data element name
Description	Data element definition and associated values with definition
Type	Date – Identifies value as date; must be represented as YYYY-MM-DD Integer – Identifies value as whole number Numeric – Identifies values containing digits from 0 to 9 and a sign and/or a decimal point where required; If dollar amount, represent dollars and cents with decimals (e.g., 25.79) Text – Identifies values as having variable length alphanumeric characters
Format*	char – A fixed-length element of characters. Values must be the same as the specified length column. This can be any type of data but is governed by the type listed for the element, such as Text versus Numeric. One example is a ZIP Code value of ‘3415’ which will be submitted as ‘03415’ because the ZIP Code field has a specified field length of 5. For the ‘char’ format, the length definition is a requirement, and not a maximum. varchar – A variable length field of characters. Values cannot be longer than the specified length column. This can be any type of data but is governed by the type listed for the element, such as Text versus Numeric. int – A variable length field containing numeric values. Values cannot be longer than the specified length column. Records with numeric value formats cannot contain decimal points or leading zeroes. unsigned int – A variable length field containing a non-negative integer. YYYY-MM-DD – Required format for dates with year, month, and day. decimal – Numeric value with up to four digits to the right of the decimal. *The plus/minus (±) symbol preceding the format indicates that a negative can be submitted in the element under the specified conditions.
Length	The definite or maximum width of a data element value. For example, for a dollar amount value of 15.25, the length indicator would be "10,2", representing a 10-digit numeric value (“10”) with up to 2 decimal places allowed (“,2”).
Threshold	Defines the minimum percentage of data element values that are required for submission by submitting entities. IMPORTANT NOTE: It is possible that the coverage in a field is less than the stated threshold. When a submitting entity cannot meet the required threshold, they will request an exception to submit all available data. For example, ZIP Code fields have a threshold of 99% anticipating missing ZIP codes. Some SEs can provide less than 99%, therefore they will ask for an exception to submit available data – typically 95% to 98%.
Required	Indicates if variable is required for initial APCD build.