# Custom extraction fields

> Pull agency-specific information out of every CV automatically — security clearance, driving licence, language proficiency or any field your sector requires.

Source: https://www.remakecv.com/help/ai-tools/custom-extraction-fields
Last updated: 2026-08-21

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Custom extraction fields tell RemakeCV to look for specific information in every CV you process, beyond the standard sections. Agencies use them for security clearance, driving licences, professional registration numbers, language proficiency and visa status — anything their sector screens on but a standard CV parser does not extract.

## What do agencies extract?

In practice, custom fields cluster into three kinds:

| Kind | Fields agencies actually use |
|---|---|
| **Location** | Suburb, current location, region |
| **Skills roll-ups** | Top skills, IT skills, system skills, key expertise, key highlights |
| **Career summary values** | Total years of experience, education summary, qualifications |

Some agencies also extract demographic fields such as nationality or citizenship where their market requires it.

The test is simple: **if your consultants read every CV hunting for the same detail, that detail is a custom field.**

> **Warning:** 
Think carefully before extracting demographic data — nationality, age, gender. It is technically straightforward, but it puts protected characteristics into a document that goes to a client, which cuts directly against [blind hiring](https://www.remakecv.com/help/anonymisation-and-compliance/auto-anonymisation.md) and may create obligations under your local employment law. Have a reason beyond "it might be useful".

## How do I set one up?

Email support@remakecv.com with:

1. **The field name** as you want it labelled.
2. **What it means**, precisely enough that an extraction rule can be written.
3. **How it appears in real CVs.** Send two or three examples. "SC Cleared", "Security Check (SC)" and "Clearance: SC (expires 2027)" are all the same field, and the examples are what make the rule reliable.
4. **Whether it should infer.** Should the field stay empty when the CV does not say so explicitly, or may it be deduced from context? Decide this deliberately.
5. **Where it should appear** in the output document.

## Does it guess when a CV doesn't say?

**That depends on how the field is defined, and it is the most important decision you make when setting one up.**

Each field carries its own instruction, and that instruction decides the behaviour:

- **Strict** — "if the location is not explicitly stated, leave blank." The field comes back empty, which is a genuine prompt to ask the candidate.
- **Permissive** — "only if explicitly mentioned *or strongly inferable* from the CV." The field may be populated by inference.

There is no system-wide rule forcing one or the other.

> **Warning:** 
For anything carrying legal or safety weight — clearance levels, registration numbers, licence categories — ask us to define the field as **strict**, and verify the value before relying on it. An inferred security clearance is considerably worse than an empty one.

Where a field comes back empty, fill it in from your screening call — see [adding information that wasn't on the original CV](https://www.remakecv.com/help/formatting-cvs/adding-missing-information.md).

## Do custom fields work on scanned CVs?

Yes, but with the usual OCR caveat: character-level errors are more likely, and registration numbers are exactly the kind of string where a misread digit matters. Check them. See [scanned PDFs and OCR](https://www.remakecv.com/help/troubleshooting/scanned-pdfs-and-ocr.md).

## Frequently asked questions

### What happens if the information isn't in the CV?

It depends how the field was defined. A strict field comes back empty; a permissive one may infer a value from context. Ask for strict definitions on anything with legal or safety weight.

### How do I set up a custom field?

Email support@remakecv.com describing the field, how it typically appears in CVs, and whether it should infer or stay strictly literal. Custom extraction is configured per company by our team.

### Do custom fields work on scanned CVs?

Yes, though accuracy depends on OCR quality. Always verify extracted values on image-based CVs.