Rural Payments service: how to register land and update digital maps
How to use the Rural Payments service to register land and update digital maps.
Applies to England
For certain rural payments schemes that the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) administers, you must register rural land on the Rural Payments service and keep your land details up to date.
The Rural Payments service is the quickest and most secure way to do this. Find out about registering on the Rural Payments service.
Use the Rural Payments service to:
- register land
- transfer or remove land, unless you are a tenant, or you own less than 100% of the land
- merge or split land parcels
- change permanent boundaries
- change land cover
- edit hedgerows
If you’re unable to use the Rural Payments service, use the RLE1 form instead. Read the guidance RLE1 form: register land and update digital maps.
If the Rural Payments service shows your holding type as tenant or that you own less than 100% and this is not correct, fill in the change land tenure form.
If a land parcel is already registered with the RPA, you should use the ‘add land’ service to link registered land to your single business identifier (SBI).
Before you start
Some change requests ask you to provide a sketch map. If you need to provide a sketch map through the Rural Payments service, the file name must:
- be unique
- be fewer than 20 characters
- contain no spaces
Scan and upload your map. Check its:
- total file size is 10MB or less
- file type is jpg, jpeg, png, pdf, docx or doc
Read the guidance creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
How to use the Rural Payments service
There are different changes you can ask for depending on what you want to do. These are called ‘change requests’.
Register a land parcel
Register a new land parcel to your SBI. You can register up to 10 parcels in one change request.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your Customer Reference Number (CRN) and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘Register new land’. You cannot register a new land parcel through any other change request type.
You will be asked to upload a sketch map. Upload one map at a time and select ‘Continue’. You need to provide a sketch map for each land parcel you want to register. Read the guidance creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
If you do not know your parcel ID, you need to estimate it. You can use the map on the MAGIC website to help you do this. The estimated Parcel ID is shown on the MAGIC website as the ‘National Grid Field No’, as 2 letters and 8 numbers, for example, SP 4178 2432. Read the guidance on Using the Where Am I Tool.
Add the date you want to register the land parcel.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Merge land parcels
Merge land parcels that are next to each other. There are different options to:
- merge up to 5 land parcels into a single new parcel
- merge more than 5 land parcels into a single new parcel
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’.
To merge up to 5 land parcels, select ‘Merge land parcels’. You do not need to provide a sketch map.
To merge more than 5 land parcels, select ‘All other land changes’. You will need to upload a sketch map for each land parcel you wish to merge. Read the guidance on creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels you want to merge. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Split land parcels
Split a land parcel into one or more new land parcels.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map for each land parcel you wish to split. Read the guidance creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels you want to split. You can either:
- tick the land parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Change land covers
For full land cover changes only. This is where the total area of a land parcel has a single land cover, and will change to another single land cover, for example, arable land changing to permanent grassland. You can change up to 20 parcels with a single land cover for each request.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘Full land cover change’.
Your screen will show all land parcels with a single land cover that are linked to your SBI. Select the land parcels you want to update. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Select the new land cover from the drop-down list.
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Change multiple land covers in a single land parcel
For a single land parcel with more than one land cover.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map for all land cover changes. Read the guidance on creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Change a permanent boundary
Change the location of a land parcel boundary.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map for the boundaries that are changing. Read the guidance on creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map: the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Add hedgerows
Add hedgerows to your digital maps.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map for any hedgerow changes.
Select the land parcels. You can either:
- tick the land parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Add or remove a permanent non-agricultural area or feature in an agricultural land parcel
Change a permanent non-agricultural area or feature.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map to add or remove a non-agricultural area or feature. Read the guidance on creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the change to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Transfer or remove land
Use this if you want to:
- transfer land you’ve sold, gifted or leased to another person or business
- remove a land parcel, for example, because you no longer farm it
You can also use it to remove a land parcel incorrectly linked to your SBI if the Rural Payments service shows:
- your holding type is ‘owner’
- you own 100% of the land parcel
You should not use this if the land is in an existing rural payments scheme. The land will no longer be linked to the SBI and may cause issues with payments.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. Within the business overview, select ‘Land’, then select ‘Transfer land’.
From the drop-down menu, select either:
- sale/gift
- lease
- remove
If you selected ‘sale/gift’ or ‘lease’, write the SBI of the person or business you are transferring the land to in ‘Transferee customer SBI’.
If you selected ‘remove’, you do not need to write anything in ‘Transferee customer SBI’.
In ‘Effective from’, select the date you want the transfer or removal to take place. This will either be:
- the date the land was legally transferred or leased
- when you want to remove the land
You can filter for the land parcel you want to transfer or remove by:
- Ordnance Survey sheet reference
- National Grid field number
Select all that apply, and then select ‘Proceed’.
Make more than one change
You can make more than one change if you need to request multiple changes to your land at the same time, except registering land. You cannot use this option to register a new land parcel.
Sign in to the Rural Payments service using your CRN and password. In the business overview, select ‘Request rural land change’, then select ‘All other land changes’.
You will need to upload a sketch map with all of the changes you wish to make marked up. Read the guidance on creating a sketch map to register land or update your digital maps.
Select the land parcels. You can either:
- tick the parcel ID from the list
- click the land parcel on the map – the parcel will turn blue when selected
Enter the date from which you want the changes to take place.
Select the funding schemes your update relates to.
You must read and agree to the declaration and review your request before submitting.
Get help to update your digital maps
Email: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges