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Document exchange is run by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), an executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE).
This user guide tells you how an external user can:
To access the Document exchange service, you need a DfE Sign-in account.
If you have a DfE Sign-in account, you need to request access to this service: Document exchange and the role Document exchange user
To request access, email an approver at your organisation with your request. You can find a list of approvers under ‘organisations’ on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
Create an account in four simple steps:
Once you have created an account, you can request access to your organisation and the services you need.
You might have noticed the term ‘approver’ during account creation. An approver is someone at your organisation responsible for controlling who has access to DfE Sign-in and the services within the system. It is usually a senior person, such as an administrator, manager, or headteacher.
For security reasons you will need the approval of your organisation’s approver before you can access services.
Once your organisation request has been approved, you can find a list of all recognised approvers under ‘organisations’ on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
Once you have a DfE Sign-in account you need to request access to this service: Document exchange
To request access, email an approver at your organisation with your request. You can find a list of approvers under ‘organisations’ on the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
To give users access you need to add the service Document exchange and the role Document exchange User to each user’s account.
Here's how to add the service and role to a user:
If you are having problems using the DfE Sign-in service, follow DfE Sign-in Help. You will be able to request further assistance if required.
Select ‘sign out’ in the top right-hand corner of the screen to sign out and return to the 'Start' page. For security reasons you should always sign out when you have finished using the service.
If you are signed in but are inactive for 20 minutes you will be signed out.
You can change your password at any time in your profile. If you forget your password you can reset it using the forgotten your password page.
You can change your email address at any time in your profile. Once you have changed your email address you need to activate it on a verification email. For security you also need to request the email address change on an email sent to your old account.
You can visit the service at Document exchange
You can publish new documents by uploading them from your own device:
If you have any general questions about using our service you can contact us.
GOV.UK