Guidance

Digital maps in the Rural Payments service: check and change your maps

Check the land details you have registered on the Rural Payments service.

From:
Rural Payments Agency, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Forestry Commission
Published
12 March 2018
Last updated
8 August 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) asks you to:

  • check the land details you have registered on the Rural Payments service for rural payments are correct
  • ask the RPA to update these details if they are not correct

This includes if you:

  • will be applying for a funding scheme, such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) or Countryside Stewardship (CS) Higher Tier or Capital Grants
  • already have an agreement for schemes such as Countryside Stewardship, Environmental Stewardship or certain woodland schemes

If your land details are not up to date:

  • you may not be able to apply for funding or actions
  • if may affect your agreement’s payment value

What to check

You need to check your digital maps show all agricultural and non-agricultural land parcels that:

  • you want to include in your funding application
  • is already in an agreement for a rural payments scheme

A land parcel is an area of land that is both:

  • surrounded by a permanent boundary
  • 0.01 hectares or more

For each land parcel, you need to check the following details are correct:

  • the total area in hectares, which is set by its permanent boundary (see ‘Permanent boundaries’)
  • permanent agricultural and non-agricultural areas or features, known as ‘land covers’, which are at least 0.01 hectares (see ‘Agricultural and non-agricultural land covers’)
  • hedgerows, if they’ve been entered into Countryside Stewardship option BE3 (management of hedgerows)

‘Permanent’ means you expect the boundary or land cover to be present for at least 3 years.

When to check

You can check your registered land details or your digital maps in the Rural Payments service at any time.

Before applying for certain rural payments

For funding schemes such as SFI, CS Higher Tier or Capital Grants, you need to check your registered land details are correct before you apply. If your registered land details are not up to date, this may prevent you from applying for actions or funding.

Relevant funding scheme guidance will tell you if you need to check your registered land details before you apply for other funding.

If you’ve made changes to your land

If you change a land parcel’s permanent boundary or land cover, you need to check the Rural Payments service and ask the RPA to update the registered land details on your digital maps.

For permanent boundaries this includes if you:

  • move a permanent boundary
  • remove a permanent boundary to merge 2 or more land parcels
  • split a land parcel with a new permanent boundary

For land cover, this includes if you:

  • create a new non-agricultural feature, such as a farm building, on land that’s registered with an agricultural land cover
  • use land that’s registered with a permanent grassland land cover to grow permanent crops

When RPA changes your registered land details

Throughout the year, RPA uses a variety of data sources to review registered land details and identify any changes. For example, if aerial photography shows a permanent boundary has been removed between land parcels, RPA may merge these parcels.

If RPA identifies that your digital maps need to be updated, you will get a message in the Rural Payments service to tell you what has changed.

If you do not agree with a change RPA has made, you will need to raise a change request using the Rural Payments service or rural land and entitlements (RLE1) form. You should do this as soon as possible to ensure:

  • you are able to apply for SFI, CS Higher Tier or Capital Grants
  • any rural payments you claim are correct

How to check

  1. Sign in to the Rural Payments service.

  2. From the ‘Your businesses and messages’ page, select ‘View business’, for the business you want to check.

  3. From the ‘Business overview’ page, select ‘Land’, then select ‘View land’.

  4. Click on each land parcel. View the ‘Parcel details’ page to check details of the land parcel and digital map.

If you need to update your digital maps

The Rural Payments service is the quickest and most secure way to update your digital maps. Read the guidance Rural Payments service: how to register land and update digital maps.

If you are unable to use the Rural Payments service, use the RLE1 form instead. Read the guidance RLE1 form: how to register land and update digital maps.

Contact RPA

Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays

Find out about call charges

Updates to this page

Published 12 March 2018
Last updated 8 August 2024 + show all updates

  1. Page updated to focus on why you need to check the Rural Payments service, what you need to check and when to check. It also signposts to what you should do if you need to update your digital maps. Removed guidance on what to register. This is now covered in new guidance on how to register rural land on the Rural Payments service. Removed guidance on sketch maps. This is now covered in new guidance on creating a sketch map to register land and update digital maps. Updated and simplified how and when RPA may make a change your digital maps. It covers what you need to check and how to make a change.

  2. Guide updated to remove BPS references

  3. Simplified and restructured guidance.

  4. 'How to check your digital land maps' section updated to include instruction to enable 'pop ups' in internet browser.

  5. Refresh for 2022. Minor edits, update links etc.

  6. No further change to this page but an update to the previous change note which should have stated: Updated the information about the RLE1 form. Added information about when to use the Change land tenure form.

  7. Updated the information about the RLE1 form. During the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the RLE1 form can either be downloaded, filled in electronically and then returned as a PDF attached to an email or it can be printed, filled in by hand and returned by post. Added information about when to use the Change land tenure form.

  8. Updated date references for 2020.

  9. Removed some information about merged land parcels as no new merged parcels were created by 2019 yearly updates. Removed information about the temporary grass conversion carried out in a previous year. Added new information to ‘How to check your digital land maps’ and removed out of date instructions. Added new information to ‘Land parcels incorrectly linked to your holding’.

  10. Changes to: hedge information; land cover - table and telling RPA about changes where there is only one land cover. Information added: Farm Environmental Record maps; if you request a change after the annual map updates; land parcels incorrectly linked; splits and mergers. Information removed: BPS application information.

  11. Information about how to check and change hedges

  12. Image added - example of a map and photo that do not match. Image added - example of a map and photo that do match.

  13. First published.

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