Guidance

Guide to earning bat recognition class licence for mitigation work on bat roosts

Updated 19 September 2024

Applies to England

How it works 

The bat ‘earned recognition’ class licence allows bat ecologists to carry out bat roost mitigation work.  

You can only apply for the licence during an application round. The next application round will open later in 2024. 

If you apply for this licence, Natural England will assess your competence to undertake licensed work, including:

• undertaking survey work 
• determining impacts of the proposed work 
• designing and implementing effective mitigation 
• designing and implementing effective compensation 

If you pass the assessment, you’ll be accredited to the appropriate level for your experience and get an accreditation certificate. This certificate allows you to register sites and carry out work under the earned recognition class licence.

You should continue to apply for bat mitigation licences as you normally would while you go through the accreditation process.

You do not have to pay for accreditation. 

Application criteria 

To be eligible to apply, you will need to show you: 

• hold a level 2 (or higher) Natural England bat class survey licence
• are a member of an approved professional body - either The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) or The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) 

For CIEEM membership, your level will need to be either associate, full, or fellowship (also known as fellow). 

You do not need to have previously been a named ecologist on bat mitigation licences, but during assessment you will need to provide examples of your work, including licensed bat mitigation projects.  

Levels of accreditation 

There are 3 levels of accreditation you can apply for. 

Your accreditation level will determine which bat species and roost types you can work on. 

You must be able to provide evidence to prove your competence at the level you apply for.

If you cannot provide evidence, your application may be downgraded to a lower level or rejected.

More details about the accreditation levels and competency requirements will be published later in 2024. 

How to apply 

You can only apply for a bat ‘earned recognition’ licence during an application round. 

The next round is due to open later in 2024.

To apply you must complete the application form, which will be available when the application round opens.

If your application is accepted, you’ll be invited to take part in an assessment process.

More information about the application and assessment process will be published later in 2024. 

Providing evidence 

To prepare for your application and assessment you should keep records which evidence your own work, including:  

• photographs 
• method statements 
• survey records 
• licences 
• reports 
• site visit records 
• email correspondence 
• meeting minutes  
• toolbox talks 

This will help you provide the evidence you need to support your application. 

Registering sites 

Once accredited, you can register sites under the bat earned recognition class licence. You’ll need to submit less information to Natural England than is required for a standard high risk bat mitigation licence (A13).  

Natural England will carry out an assessment on your site registration and issue a licensing decision within 15 working days.

Natural England will carry out compliance checks of your work under the terms of the licence. 

Check if you need to pay for site registration 

From March 2024 you’ll need to pay for a site registration for certain situations. Filling in the charge screening questions on the site registration form will tell you:  

• if you need to pay 
• how much you’ll pay 

Read the terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence. 

When you do not need to pay 

You do not need to pay if the main purpose of the project is: 

• to preserve public health and safety
• to conserve a bat roost in situ
• for the conservation of a listed building   
• for a householder home improvement project

A project will be considered as conserving a bat roost in situ if all the following apply: 

• the proposed work will not affect the roost 
• the roost is a maternity, swarming or hibernation roost, or the roost is a day roost containing 3 or more bats at one time 
• the roosting spaces and pre-emergent flight areas will stay accessible to bats and keep the same length, height and width 
• access points will not be changed 
• for roof roosts, the roof timbers will not be changed 
• no more than 5% of the building materials in the roost space will be replaced 
• the temperature and humidity of the roost will not be changed 
• light levels inside and outside the roost and flight paths to and from the roost will not be affected 

How to pay 

If you must pay for your site registration, you’ll need to pay £130 when you apply. You can pay by bank card using a link to gov.uk/pay in the site registration form.  

VAT does not apply to charges for wildlife licences. 

Once you have paid, take note of the payment reference provided by gov.uk/pay as you will need to provide this on the site registration form. 

If a site registration is not authorised, you will not be charged. 

If a site registration is authorised, there is no further action to take. 

Withdrawing a site registration 

If you withdraw a chargeable site registration before you receive a decision, Natural England will refund the £130 payment.

Natural England will not refund payment once a site registration has been authorised. 

Resubmissions 

If a Further Information Request (FIR) is issued requiring a resubmission, Natural England will refund your initial £130 payment.

If a site registration is authorised following one or more resubmissions, you will be invoiced for £130 for the initial assessment, plus the cost of assessment of the resubmission at a variable rate of £101 per hour.

You will be asked for invoice details when you resubmit a site registration.

Natural England accepts purchase orders for charges including variable rates. If you want Natural England to add a purchase number to your invoice, you must include it in the invoice details in your charge form. 

If my site registration changes 

If you paid for your site registration, you’ll need to pay for the time Natural England spends assessing your modification at £101 per hour (to the nearest quarter of an hour). 

When you submit your modification request, you’ll be asked to provide invoice details. Natural England will invoice you for this work once the fee is calculated.

Natural England cannot take a fixed payment by card for a modification. 

Compliance and enforcement 

Natural England will carry out compliance checks on registered sites across all accreditation levels through targeted and random monitoring.

If you fall below the standards of your accreditation level or breach the class licence you will be investigated and given appropriate sanctions. 

Contact Natural England

For queries about bat earned recognition, email: earnedrecognition.bat@naturalengland.org.uk.