The women's tournament uses a similar qualification format. The top six teams in the IIHF Women's World Ranking after the 2012 IIHF Women's World Championship received automatic berths into the ice hockey event. Lower ranked teams had an opportunity to qualify for the event. Teams ranked 19th and below were divided into two groups where they played in a preliminary qualification round in the autumn of 2012. The two winners and teams ranked 13–18 were divided into two groups where they played in the pre-qualification round in November 2012. The two group winners from the round advanced to the final qualification round, where the teams ranked seventh through twelfth joined them.