Teams that play in the FA Women's Premier League Division One were given exemption to the third round qualifying, while teams in the Northern and Southern Division entered at the second round proper.
The first round proper saw one tie cancelled due to the withdrawal of Basingstoke Town after an initial postponement.
Most matches were played on Sunday 17 September 2017, the only exception being Woodley United v Alton, which was delayed for a week due to the late disqualification of Oxford City.
Most matches were played on Sunday 3 December 2017, the only exception being Brighouse Town v Wolverhampton Wanderers which were postponed from the original scheduled date due to a waterlogged pitch,[11] and then postponed again the following week due to safety concern following an Amber weather warning from the Met Office.
[13] Eleven matches were played on Sunday 7 January 2018, with Derby County v Brighouse Town postponed to the following week due to an unplayable pitch.
Fifteen matches were played on Sunday 4 February 2018, with Plymouth Argyle v Leicester City Women postponed to the following week due to an unplayable pitch.
[4] The four matches of the quarter-finals were scheduled to be played on Sunday 18 March 2018[18] but only one was completed on this date, with the other three postponed till the following week.