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CALPADS error brief · IVR

IVR0036

Invalid Country and State-Province Combination
Severity Fatal
Error type Input Validation
Record type IVR

Official CALPADS rule

What CALPADS is rejecting

Student Birth Country Code and Student Birth State Province Code must be a valid combination

Focus fields

Fields validated

1.20 - Student Birth State Province Code 1.21 - Student Birth Country Code

Recommended correction path

Suggested resolution

Read the complete validation

CALPADS rule: Student Birth Country Code and Student Birth State Province Code must be a valid combination as defined in the CALPADS Valid Code Combinations document.

Severity: Fatal   Type: Input Validation

Fields validated:

  • 1.20 Student Birth State Province Code
  • 1.21 Student Birth Country Code

The California/Canada trap

The same letters have different meanings in different fields
Location intendedBirth Country CodeBirth State/Province CodeWhy
California, United StatesUSUS-CACalifornia is a U.S. subdivision; CA by itself is not the California state/province value.
Ontario, CanadaCACA-ONIn the country field, CA means Canada—not California.
Baja California, MexicoMXMX-BCNThe subdivision prefix identifies Mexico; BCN distinguishes Baja California.

These fields describe birthplace—not current residence. Do not use the student’s present address, school location, citizenship, nationality, home language, immigration history, or parent’s birthplace to manufacture the pair. Return to authorized student identity or cumulative-file information.

Valid versus invalid pair examples

Examples illustrate the country-prefix relationship; confirm current Version 18 combinations before submitting
CountryState/provinceCombinationExplanation
USUS-CAValid exampleUnited States paired with California.
USUS-NYValid exampleUnited States paired with New York.
MXMX-BCNValid exampleMexico paired with Baja California.
CACA-ONValid exampleCanada paired with Ontario.
USCAInvalidCA is a country code here, not the required state/province code for California.
USMX-BCNInvalidThe state/province value belongs to Mexico.
MXUS-CAInvalidThe state/province value belongs to the United States.
CAUS-CAInvalidThe country says Canada while the subdivision says United States/California.
USAUS-CAInvalid before pairingUSA is not the required two-character country value; GERR0002 may occur first.

What source information actually establishes

Separate the factual place from its CALPADS translation
Source informationTranslation questionCommon mistake
Birthplace says Los Angeles, California, USACountry US; state/province US-CA.Entering CA in field 1.20 or interpreting CA as California in field 1.21.
Birthplace says Toronto, Ontario, CanadaCountry CA; province CA-ON.Rejecting CA because staff assume it always means California.
Birthplace says Tijuana, Baja California, MexicoCountry MX; subdivision MX-BCN.Pairing Mexican birth country with US-CA because both names contain “California.”
Country known, subdivision absent or unclearDetermine the currently permitted CALPADS treatment without inventing a province.Using the student’s current state, a generic local value, or the country code in both fields.
Birthplace information conflicts across recordsResolve the identity evidence and student record before selecting codes.Choosing whichever combination clears the validation without resolving the underlying discrepancy.

What commonly produces IVR0036

Symptoms, likely causes, and durable corrections
What you findLikely causeDurable correction
CA in both fieldsOne local abbreviation was reused for California and country.Return to the birthplace: use the correct country and subdivision values in their respective fields.
Country changed; state did notStaff corrected one half of the pair only.Review fields 1.20 and 1.21 together whenever either changes.
Written names in the fileSIS exports “United States,” “California,” or “Mexico” instead of coded values.Repair the Version 18 crosswalk; GERR0002 may accompany or precede IVR0036.
Current address used as birthplaceRegistration or extract mapping points to residential state/country.Map the birth-location fields separately from residential and mailing addresses.
Different local code systems combinedCountry uses ISO/CALPADS while state/province uses a postal abbreviation or vendor code.Translate both fields through the current CALPADS reference sets and valid-combination table.
SIS and CALPADS disagreeSINF holds a newer or older demographic value than the SENR extract.Resolve the authoritative birthplace and correct the SIS, SINF history, and SENR transmission consistently.
A code was retired or changedThe crosswalk uses an outdated Version 18 value or effective period.Confirm both values and their effective dates using the current and retired code-set resource.

Choose the diagnostic pathway

  • Inspect the literal submitted values
    • What exact characters appear in fields 1.20 and 1.21?
    • Are country and state/province in the correct columns?
    • Does field 1.20 contain a full subdivision value such as US-CA rather than CA?
    • Is field 1.21 exactly the required two-character country value?
    • Are there spaces, case changes, or spreadsheet transformations?
  • Confirm the factual birthplace
    • Does the record belong to the intended student and SSID?
    • What authorized identity or cumulative-file information establishes the birthplace?
    • Are city, state/province, and country internally coherent?
    • Did staff infer birthplace from residence, citizenship, language, or family information?
    • Is the source genuinely unknown or conflicting?
  • Validate each code and then the pair
    • Does the country appear in the current Country reference set?
    • Does the state/province appear in the current State/Province reference set?
    • Does the subdivision prefix agree with the country?
    • Does the exact pair appear in the Valid Code Combinations document?
    • Were both values effective for the applicable submission period?
  • Trace SIS, SINF, and SENR
    • What birth-location values does the authoritative SIS store?
    • What does the latest effective SINF record contain?
    • Did the SENR extract translate or default either value differently?
    • Do separate crosswalks own country and state/province?
    • Will the next scheduled extract recreate the mismatch?
  • Handle unknown information carefully
    • Is birthplace truly unavailable after authorized review?
    • What does the current SENR specification require for unknown country?
    • What does the SINF pathway require?
    • How will staff document the difference between source fact and submission convention?
    • Is CALPADS clarification needed before changing the demographic record?

Translate the place without changing the fact

  1. IdentifyConfirm student and source.
  2. CountrySelect the supported code.
  3. SubdivisionSelect the matching code.
  4. CrosswalkRepair SIS and extract.
  5. VerifyConfirm SINF and SENR.

Primary participants

  • Registrar or authorized student-records staff
  • CALPADS coordinator
  • Parent/guardian or authorized enrollment contact when appropriate
  • SIS demographic-data owner
  • Extract, integration, or vendor support

Separate facts from translation

  • Factual birthplace: authorized student record.
  • CALPADS country code: current Country reference set.
  • CALPADS subdivision code: current State/Province reference set.
  • Permitted pair: Valid Code Combinations document.

Recommended correction path

  1. Preserve the rejected evidence

    Capture the submission ID, SSID, Local Student ID, raw row, and exact values in fields 1.20 and 1.21.

  2. Confirm the student and factual birthplace

    Use authorized identity or cumulative-file information; do not infer birth location from current residence or citizenship.

  3. Validate the country code

    Confirm field 1.21 contains the current two-character value that represents the supported birth country.

  4. Validate the state/province code

    Confirm field 1.20 contains the complete CALPADS subdivision value—not a postal abbreviation, name, or country code.

  5. Confirm the pair

    Match the subdivision prefix to the country and verify the exact combination in the current Valid Code Combinations document.

  6. Correct the authoritative record and crosswalk

    Repair the SIS demographic record, SINF history, or extract mapping that first introduced the mismatch.

  7. Regenerate and compare SINF/SENR

    Ensure both transmission pathways express the same supported birthplace and do not overwrite one another.

  8. Resubmit and broaden the check

    Confirm IVR0036 clears, then inspect other students sharing the same local codes, default, registration source, or crosswalk.

Before closing the issue

  • Confirm fields 1.20 and 1.21 describe the same documented birthplace.
  • Verify the country code and state/province code are each current and recognized.
  • Confirm the exact pair is permitted in the current Valid Code Combinations document.
  • Verify the latest SINF demographic record and SENR extract agree.
  • Document any use of an official unknown-value convention separately from the factual source record.
  • Review other students affected by the same mapping or default.

Official SENR IVR0036 troubleshooting page  |  SDLA CALPADS Code Sets V.18—including current and retired codes  |  Current CALPADS system documents