Form

Poultry and other captive birds: registration rules and forms

How and when you must register as a bird keeper (including for any birds you keep as pets).

From:
Animal and Plant Health Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Published
6 November 2018
Last updated
21 October 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Register as a keeper of 50 or more poultry

Ref: IRA81

PDF, 247 KB, 6 pages

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Register as a keeper of 50 or more other captive birds

Ref: IRA90

PDF, 283 KB, 6 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email contentteam@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This guidance is for keepers of 50 or more poultry or other captive birds.

There’s different guidance to register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds in England and Wales.

You must register within one month of keeping poultry or other captive birds at any premises in England or Wales.

You’re breaking the law if you do not register.

If you’ve already registered, you do not need to register again.

Keeper of 50 or more poultry

You’ll need this information to complete the form:

  • your contact details
  • details of the person or company that owns or rents your site
  • your site’s location and county parish holding (CPH) number - (find out how to get a permanent CPH number in England and Wales)
  • details of the birds you keep and how you farm them (species, number you usually keep, what you keep them for, your farming system)
  • how many birds of each species you usually keep each month (your stocking arrangements)
  • a list of other livestock you keep on the site

Keeper of 50 or more other captive birds 

You’ll need this information to complete the form: 

  • your contact details 
  • name and address of the owner of the site
  • your site’s location  
  • details of the birds you keep (species, number you usually keep, what you keep them for) 
  • how many birds of each species you usually keep each month (your stocking arrangements)

After you have registered  

If you’ve registered but your details have changed, you’ll need to tell  APHA within a month  if:  

  • you no longer keep or own birds 
  • the contact information you gave changes 
  • the size of any of your flocks changes by 20%  
  • you change the species you keep 

Email your changes to  customer.registration@apha.gov.uk or call on 03000 200 301. Lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

Get help

If you need help completing registration forms, contact the Customer Registration Team:

Disease alerts

You do not need to sign up to receive disease alerts for notifiable poultry diseases if you are registered on the kept bird register.

To receive email and text alerts for other exotic notifiable diseases, register with the APHA alerts service.

Pollution prevention and control (PPC) permits

If your premises can hold more than 40,000 birds, you may need to apply for a PPC permit. Read guidance from:

Updates to this page

Published 6 November 2018
Last updated 21 October 2024 + show all updates

  1. Updated introduction to clarify that you must register within one month of keeping poultry or other captive birds at any premises in England or Wales.

  2. Updated information in the introduction about when you must register.

  3. We've added updated versions of the forms 'Register as a keeper of 50 or more poultry' and 'Register as a keeper of 50 or more other captive birds'. We've also added a Welsh version of the page.

  4. Updated the PDF forms and details section. Welsh translations of the forms and other information will be available soon.

  5. Added a link to the Scottish Government website to register your birds if in Scotland.

  6. Updated the phone number in Get Help.

  7. Added a link under the details section to the online service to register under 50 birds. You need to register by 1 October 2024.

  8. Updated the forms and guidance. Added a link to new online service for voluntary registration.

  9. Removed coronavirus (COVID-19) references relating to applications.

  10. Updated the forms with a new office address.

  11. Added coronavirus statement on sending application by email.

  12. Disease alerts section updated

  13. Documents updated with email address

  14. Document IRA81 and IRA81(Welsh) updated

  15. Documents updated

  16. Added translation

  17. First published.

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