Register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds
Register to keep up to 49 birds, including any you’re keeping as pets.
Applies to England and Wales
We are experiencing a high volume of applications. We aim to process your application within 10 working days.
In England and Wales you must register up 49 poultry or other kept birds by 1 October 2024. This includes any birds you keep as pets.
You’re breaking the law if you do not register.
You do not need to register psittaciformes or passeriformes (such as budgies, parrots, cockatiels and finches) if they are both:
- fully housed in a dwelling (your home or another indoor structure)
- kept indoors at all times with no access to outdoor spaces
By registering:
- the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will contact you with updates and guidance if there’s a disease outbreak (such as bird flu) in your area
- you’ll help prevent the spread of disease and protect all kept birds, including back yard flocks
We’ll ask you for:
- your contact details
- details of the owner of the birds (if this is not you)
- the location where you keep the birds
- details of the birds you keep (species, number and what you keep them for)
Registration should take about 5 minutes.
After you have registered
You’ll need to tell APHA about any changes to:
- the details you’ve provided
- the number and species of birds you keep
Email your changes to poultry.registration@apha.gov.ukCustomer.Registration@apha.gov.uk.
Other ways to register
You can also register by email or post using the form
.Registering 50 or more birds
It’s a legal requirement to register if you are the keeper of 50 or more birds. You must complete the form to register to be a keeper of 50 or more poultry or other captive birds.
Registering a racing pigeon establishment
Registering a racing pigeon establishment is voluntary, unless you want to move pigeons to the EU or Northern Ireland for immediate release for racing back to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales).
Updates to this page
Last updated
-
Updated the email address under 'After you have registered'.
-
Updated the page with information about registering your birds before 1 October 2024.
-
We are experiencing a high volume of applications to register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds. We aim to process your application within 10 working days.
-
First published.
Update history
2024-12-03 14:05
Updated the Welsh version of the guidance to reflect recent updates to the English version.
2024-11-26 08:56
Added links to the legislation that underpins the requirement to register.
2024-11-07 12:06
The online service to register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds is now available. It was unavailable for a temporary period because of technical issues.
2024-10-21 14:48
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.
2024-10-15 16:48
Updated information about the online registration service, which is currently unavailable, and when you must register.
2024-10-11 09:23
Updated English and Welsh versions of the guidance to temporarily remove the option to register via the online portal.
2024-10-02 14:53
The online service to register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds is now available. It was unavailable for a temporary period because of technical issues.
2024-10-01 16:58
We’ve added an updated version of the form ‘register to be a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds’ in English.
2024-10-01 15:05
Our online service is currently unavailable due to technical issues. You can still register by using the form ‘register to be a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds’ or emailing customer.registration@apha.gov.uk.
2024-09-26 16:34
We’ve added an updated version of the form ‘register to be a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds’ in English and Welsh. We’ve also added a Welsh version of the page.
2024-09-23 16:00
We are experiencing an extremely high volume of applications. We currently aim to process applications within 30 days.If you have already submitted an application, do not submit another.
2024-09-12 18:30
Added information about what to do if you have a CPH number or have already registered. Also updated the PDF form. Welsh translations of the form and other information will be available soon.
2024-09-03 13:43
Updated the email address under ‘After you have registered’.
2024-08-01 16:53
Updated the page with information about registering your birds before 1 October 2024.
2024-03-21 14:14
We are experiencing a high volume of applications to register as a keeper of less than 50 poultry or other captive birds. We aim to process your application within 10 working days.
2023-12-12 12:12
First published.