Guidance

Get your disinfectant approved by Defra

Find out about the process and costs to apply for Defra disinfectant approval.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Animal and Plant Health Agency
Published
3 July 2014
Last updated
13 December 2024 — See all updates

If there is an outbreak of a notifiable animal or zoonotic disease, only Defra approved disinfectants can be used to clean and disinfect hard surfaces. Hard surfaces include buildings, farm equipment, crates and vehicles.

You are breaking the law if you market and sell a disinfectant as Defra approved when it has not been tested and listed as approved.

To get your product approved by Defra, it must:

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) approves disinfectants on behalf of Defra.

This scheme is underpinned by The Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) (England) Order 2007.

The costs are set out in:

You will need to follow a different process to get your disinfectant approved for use on fish farms.

Before you apply for approval

You need to decide:

  • which categories you want to apply for approval under
  • which dilution of your product you want to have tested

Defra and APHA cannot advise you which formulation or dilution will pass the tests, or which categories you should apply for.

Check what is covered under approval for:

The swine vesicular disease category only covers approval of disinfectants for use with swine vesicular disease. Other diseases listed within The Diseases of Swine Regulations 2014 are covered under ‘other notifiable disease requirements’, also known as ‘General Orders’.

You must make sure your product meets Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards on:

  • classification, labelling and packaging
  • product safety
  • advertising
  • the GB Biocidal Products Regulation (GB-BPR)

You must also inform the National Poisons Information Service.

Apply for disinfectant efficacy testing

To apply for testing, complete the DDA1 application form and email a signed copy to Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

If you have any questions or need to post your form, email disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

APHA will assess your application and decide if your product can be accepted for testing for Defra approval. They aim to reply within 5 working days.

Download details of the APHA efficacy methodologies (PDF, 189 KB, 7 pages)

Submit samples for efficacy testing

If APHA accepts your product for testing, they will tell you where to send your samples and send you an invoice for the tests you want.

Do not submit a sample until APHA asks you to.

See the DDA1 application form for instructions on how to submit samples and packaging labels.

Pay efficacy testing fees

You must pay in advance for testing. You should wait until APHA has assessed and accepted your application and sent you an invoice.

You can pay by bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

All fees are exempt from VAT.

You should receive the results within 12 weeks of submitting your samples. This may take longer during busy times, such as a disease outbreak.

Efficacy test Fees per test
Foot and mouth disease £4,705
Swine vesicular disease £4,705
Poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals: single dilution test £4,630
Poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals: triple dilution test £5,002
Tuberculosis: single dilution test £2,478
Tuberculosis: triple dilution test £2,656
General Orders (other notifiable disease requirements and all other instances where there’s a legal requirement to use an approved disinfectant): single dilution test £1,605
General Orders (other notifiable disease requirements and all other instances where there’s a legal requirement to use an approved disinfectant): triple dilution test £1,711

The ‘General Orders’ category applies if you’re legally required to use an approved disinfectant for a notifiable disease not covered by the 4 disease-specific approval categories. It also applies to all other instances where there’s a legal requirement to use an approved disinfectant – for example, when doing routine cleaning and disinfecting of: 

Pay administrative fees

You must pay administrative fees when you:

  • make a new application – there’s a fee of £1399 regardless of the number of approval categories you apply for  
  • apply to sell your approved product under an additional trade name (a back-to-back approved trade name) – there’s a fee of £405.06 
  • apply for up to 10 trade certificates in the name of your Defra approved disinfectant – there’s a fee of £202.53 
  • apply for a retrospective disinfectant efficacy test report for your Defra approved disinfectant – there’s a fee of £303.79

You can pay by bank transfer, credit card or cheque.

You must pay in advance. You should wait until APHA send you an invoice.

To keep your ‘parent’ disinfectant approved, you must pay an annual fee of £677 for existing and registered disinfectants to cover the period from 1 September to 31 August.

A parent disinfectant is the product tested and approved by Defra. You do not need to pay an annual fee for each back-to-back approved trade name.

Get your product listed as approved

APHA will send your efficacy test results to the email you provided when applying. If you are happy with the results and wish to have your disinfectant listed as approved, respond to this email.

APHA will then send you a ‘conditions of approval’ letter.
This letter will include a text box with some wording specific to your disinfectant. You must add this to your label. Email Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA for more information about this wording: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

To get your product listed as approved, sign and return the letter with a copy of your prepared label to disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

APHA will usually list your product within 5 working days of receiving your signed letter.

You can only label, market and sell your product as Defra approved when the name of the disinfectant and details of the approval appear on the approved disinfectants list.

Approval lasts for 2 years.

You can renew your approval. APHA will write to you before your approval is due to expire, inviting you to renew. There is no fee and you may not need to submit samples, but APHA will ask you to provide some information.

Report changes to your product

You must tell APHA if you intend to change:

  • the formula of your approved disinfectant
  • any details you supplied during application or renewal, such as disinfectant manufacturing site or company contact details

APHA and Defra may decide to retest your product to make sure it is still effective. You will have to pay for these tests.

If your product fails a random check test

APHA runs random check tests on approved disinfectants.

You may only know if your product has been chosen for check testing if it fails the check tests. You will be told the test results as soon as possible.

Your product may be suspended from the list. To get your disinfectant reapproved, you can resubmit the product for testing. You will need to pay the full test fees.

Apply to get a back-to-back approved trade name

If your ‘parent’ disinfectant is on the approved disinfectants list, other companies can buy it from you, rename and resell it with the same approval.

For other companies to legally sell your renamed product with the same Defra approval, you must apply to have the proposed new trade name added to the approved list. This is a ‘back-to-back’ approved trade name.

The manufacturer of the already approved product must complete the DDA1 application form.

Email the completed form to Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

You will not usually need to provide samples of the disinfectant.

There is an administrative fee for APHA to process the application and list the additional product name as Defra approved. APHA will email you an invoice once the application form has been assessed and the new back-to-back approved trade name can be accepted.

If APHA declines your application, you will not be charged. For example, this could happen if there is already a disinfectant under the same name on the list.

Application for a trade certificate for your approved disinfectant

If you are exporting your product to some non-EU countries, you may need to give proof of your disinfectant’s Defra approval.

Although the approved disinfectants list is the first point of reference, some countries do not accept it.

If you are a manufacturer of a Defra approved disinfectant, you can buy a trade certificate from APHA. This is letter-headed, signed and dated to confirm the Defra approval of the named disinfectant.

There is an administrative fee for this service.

To request a trade certificate, sign the Application for approved disinfectant trade certificate (PDF, 139 KB, 2 pages) and email it to Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

APHA will email you an invoice before issuing the certificates.

Apply for a retrospective disinfectant efficacy test report for your Defra approved disinfectant

If you’re applying to get your disinfectant authorised under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR), you will need to prove any efficacy claims you have made. These claims may appear on your label or in product information.

If your disinfectant is listed as Defra approved, APHA can give you a report stating its efficacy in the tests conducted during approval.

There is an administrative fee for this service.

To request this report, email Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk. APHA can only accept requests directly from the manufacturer of the Defra approved disinfectant.

APHA will email you an invoice when they receive your request, before issuing your report.

Get help

If you need help with your application, email Defra Disinfectants Approvals Administration at APHA: disinfectant@apha.gov.uk.

Updates to this page

Published 3 July 2014
Last updated 13 December 2024 + show all updates

  1. Added Welsh translation.

  2. Corrected a reference to the Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) (England) Order 2007.

  3. Updated to reflect increases in fees from 1 December 2024 (efficacy testing fees and the fee to keep your ‘parent’ disinfectant approved). Clarified information about the 'General Orders' approval category.

  4. The administrative fees have been updated.

  5. Links added for Scottish and Welsh Orders for foot and mouth, diseases of poultry, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals and tuberculosis: Before you apply for approval section.

  6. Efficacy testing and some administrative fees increased on 1 December 2022 and will increase again in December 2023. All fees are exempt from VAT. Reference to the General Industry Charge has also been removed. This no longer needs to be paid.

  7. Application for approved disinfectant trade certificate has been updated to reflect change in fees.

  8. Updated the administrative charges.

  9. Page updated

  10. AHVLA documents have been re-assigned to the new Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

  11. First published.

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