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§9.5.4

Repeated Identical Values

The same value appears again—separate cells or one merged cell?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📄 Page ruleCan be applied from the page alone.Read §9.5.4 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

A rowspan MUST be used only where the page genuinely merged the cell. A value printed k times at k distinct vertical positions MUST be rendered as k cells; repeated content MUST NOT be merged.

When it applies

"82.13%" printed nine separate times, "Data Page" repeated down a column, the same rate on every row — the temptation is to collapse them into one spanning cell. That output is non-conforming.

Sketch of the printed page — layout, not output

Printed (9 separate lines):    Non-conforming output:
| 1 | 82.13% |                 | 1 | [rowspan=9]82.13%  |
| 2 | 82.13% |                 | 2 | ROW_SPAN_CONTINUE  |  ← merges a value
| … | 82.13% |                 | … | ROW_SPAN_CONTINUE  |    printed 9 times

Reading the examples. Each one pairs a source page with the output the rule expects. ✅ Sample: the rule applies. ❌ Counter-sample: it looks like it applies and does not, or a rendering got it wrong. A non-conforming output, in red, is shown only for contrast. … marks content left out of an excerpt.

Why merging is wrong, not just different

A rowspan is a claim about the page: "these cells are one cell." When the page printed nine cells, that claim is false — the never invent failure. Anyone counting records downstream then gets one where the document has nine, and the loss is invisible because the output still looks well-formed. A span that cannot be pointed to on the page is an error even when the values under it are right.

Deciding from the geometry

The decision MUST be taken from where the value is printed, not from how the column reads:

one printed occurrence spanning several rows → one cell with a rowspan;
distinct vertical positions → separate cells, one per row.

A column of identical values is exactly where the eye stops resolving lines, so the word positions on the page, not an impression of the column, settle it (see Boxes and Granularity (§3.3)). For the opposite case — where the page really did merge a cell across a multi-line record — see Record Groups and Multi-Line Cells (§9.5.3).

01

✅ SampleThe rule applies

* printed dozens of times down every column`star`

* printed dozens of times down every column, each on its own ruled row, so each is its own cell rather than a rowspan.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — * printed dozens of times down every column. Source page.

Expected output · excerpt

APPLICABILITY CHART
STATE	TERRORISM OPTIONS – INCLUDING PRICING
STATE	VERSION	IMPLEMENTATION CIRCULAR	EFFECTIVE DATE	EXPIRATION DATE
ALABAMA	*	*	*	*
ALASKA	*	*	*	*
ARIZONA	*	*	*	*
ARKANSAS	*	*	*	*
CALIFORNIA	*	*	*	*
COLORADO	*	*	*	*
…
GEORGIA	CS102	CP–SC–2024–381	2/01/25	+
…

02

✅ SampleThe rule applies

523 repeats down a zip-to-zone column for dozens of rows`aao`

523 repeats down a zip-to-zone column for dozens of rows, each on its own ruled row and kept separate — and the run is broken by 323 at 85922 and 423 at 85931, which a merge would bury.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — 523 repeats down a zip-to-zone column for dozens of rows. Source page.

Expected output · excerpt

Zip Code	Zone
85716	523
85717	523
85718	523
85719	523
85721	523
85723	523
…
85920	523
85922	323
85923	523
…

03

✅ SampleThe rule applies

2025 on every row of the Year column, never collapsed`ymm`

Every body cell prints blue, underlined text; the legend above the table says blue means add/change. The underline is rendered as <u>; how the colour itself is carried is governed by Text Colors (§7.3.12) and is not shown here.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — 2025 on every row of the Year column, never collapsed. Source page.

Expected output · excerpt

Year	Make	Model	Body	Wheel	Cyl	Make_Sym	Model_Sym	Style_Sym	Aux_Sym
2025	GMC	YUKON	4 DOOR WAGON	4X2	6	GM	YA	56	L1
2025	GMC	YUKON	4 DOOR WAGON	4X2	8	GM	YA	58	XX
2025	GMC	YUKON	4 DOOR WAGON	4X4	6	GM	YA	5K	KQ
2025	GMC	YUKON	4 DOOR WAGON	4X4	8	GM	YA	5L	XX
2025	HONDA	ACCORD	4 DOOR SEDAN		4	HD	AS	44	LP
2025	HONDA	ACCORD HYBRID	4 DOOR SEDAN		4	HD	AH	44	LP
…

04

✅ SampleThe rule applies

25.0% / 12.0% / 0.0% repeat down whole columns of a headerless table`0p`

25.0% / 12.0% / 0.0% repeat down whole columns of a headerless table, every row its own <tr>.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — 25.0% / 12.0% / 0.0% repeat down whole columns of a headerless table. Source page.

Expected output · excerpt

180	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
181	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
182	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
183	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
184	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
186	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%
…
243	25.0%	12.0%	0.0%

05

✅ SampleThe rule applies

New York Stock Exchange repeated eleven times down the third column, each a distinct cell`10k`

New York Stock Exchange repeated eleven times down the third column, each a distinct cell.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — New York Stock Exchange repeated eleven times down the third column, each a distinct cell. Source page.

Expected output · securities table

Title of each class	Trading Symbols	Name of each exchange on which registered
Class A Common Stock	MDI.A	New York Stock Exchange
Class B Common Stock	MDI.B	New York Stock Exchange
0.000% Senior Notes due 2025	MDI25	New York Stock Exchange
1.125% Senior Notes due 2027	MDI27	New York Stock Exchange
2.150% Senior Notes due 2028	MDI28	New York Stock Exchange
1.500% Senior Notes due 2030	MDI30	New York Stock Exchange
2.000% Senior Notes due 2034	MDI34	New York Stock Exchange
1.625% Senior Notes due 2035	MDI35	New York Stock Exchange
2.375% Senior Notes due 2039	MDI39	New York Stock Exchange
0.500% Senior Notes due 2041	MDI41	New York Stock Exchange
2.625% Senior Notes due 2059	MDI59	New York Stock Exchange

06

✅ SampleThe rule applies

Long runs of 0 in a claims triangle, kept as separate cells`waiox`

Long runs of 0 in a claims triangle, kept as separate cells.

Source page

Repeated Identical Values — Long runs of 0 in a claims triangle, kept as separate cells. Source page.

Expected output · excerpt, table 1 of 2

Medical
Incurred Month
Paid Month	202401	202402	202403	202404	202405	202406	202407	202408	202409	202410	202411	202412
202401	41,539	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
202402	191,691	29,902	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
202403	90,233	324,478	55,730	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
202404	11,157	20,717	326,646	70,804	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
202405	5,533	8,224	429,936	308,025	125,102	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
202406	283	-45,171	36,806	13,870	241,742	52,107	0	0	0	0	0	0
…

Look-alike

Two similar pages that call for different decisions. Synthetic, for teaching the boundary.

One value against several rows. A merged cell, or repeated cells?

A

Repeated identical values

Zip	Zone
85716	523
85717	523
85718	523

The convention

Printed k times is k cells. No rowspan.

B

Record group

Plan	Fee	Rate
A	admin	0.25%
	fund	0.10%
B	admin	0.30%

The convention

Rowspan on the genuinely shared cell.

Look at the structure. What evidence changes the answer?

More

Rule id tables-repeated-identical-values · tables rowspan failure-mode