Who needs to join

You must be a member of the PHS if you want to:

• export or move more than 20 birds or hatching eggs from Great Britain to the EU or Northern Ireland
• sell birds or hatching eggs to other PHS members
• sell birds or eggs to a Northern Ireland Poultry Health Assurance Scheme (NIPHAS) member
• export birds or hatching eggs to certain non-EU countries that require compliance (in full or partially) with EU Regulation 2019/2035, Council Directive 2009/158/EC or equivalent

Members of the PHS are approved poultry establishments.

Exporting to non-EU countries

Check your export health certificate (EHC) to export to non-EU countries.  You must be a member if the EHC says your premises must be part of a government supervised Poultry Health Scheme.

You must comply with the rules set out in the relevant export health certificate.

How to join the Poultry Health Scheme

You can join the scheme as an individual poultry producer or as a poultry company. You must have a registered business address.

If you have several poultry premises you must join the scheme for each one.

There are different categories of membership, depending on your type of business. They are:

• flock
• hatchery
• combined flock and hatchery

Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to join the Poultry Health Scheme.

Poultry Health Scheme handbook

Read the Poultry Health Scheme members handbook (PDF, 454514 KB, 47 pages).

After you’ve applied

The PHS team will contact you to arrange for an APHA vet to inspect your premises.

You’ll need to pay the annual membership fee and vet inspection fee if the APHA vet approves your premises and working methods.

APHA will add you to the PHS list of approved poultry establishments once you’re a member. An official vet will refer to this list when completing the export health certificate.

Renew your membership

Membership lasts for one year. You can renew your membership annually.

The first inspection will be done by an APHA vet, but after that, renewal inspections can be done by APHA or a suitably trained private vet.

Fees for approval and to join the PHS

You must pay:

• a fixed annual membership fee
• a fee for approval or renewal inspections
• a variable fee to cover the inspection and travel time if you are inspected by an APHA vet

Some fees will increase on 1 July 2024.

How APHA charge for time spent

You must pay £22 per quarter hour or less for APHA’s time spent inspecting your premises.

APHA calculates your inspection and travel fees to the next full quarter hour of work. For example, if APHA spends 20 minutes on your inspection, you will pay for half an hour.

Travel time is capped at 45 minutes each way, so you will not pay more than £132 for travel costs.

Fees

Service	Fees from 1 July 2023	Fees from 1 July 2024
Veterinary officer time for licensing or approval	£22	£22
Veterinary officer travel time	£22	£22
AnnualRegistration membership fee	£82	£108
First year approval of a scheme member’s flock or hatchery, or combined flock and hatchery,hatchery on one site, where the inspection is carried out by an APHA vet	£49	£71
Annual renewal of a scheme member’s flock or hatchery or combined flock and hatchery, on one site, where the inspection is carried out by a veterinary surgeon who is not an APHA vet	£61	£67
Annual renewal of a scheme member’s flock or hatchery or combined flock and hatchery, additional site, where the inspection is carried out by a veterinary surgeon who is not an APHA vet	£34	£39
Annual renewal of a scheme member’s flock or hatchery or combined flock and hatchery, on one site, where the inspection is carried out by an APHA vet	£62	£67
Annual renewal of a scheme member’s combined flock and hatchery, additional site, where the inspection is carried out by an APHA vet	£35	£39

Fees for laboratory operators to get approval

Laboratory operators must pay fees to apply for approval to carry out testing for the PHS. You must pay for renewal every 2 years. APHA approves laboratories for carrying out testing as part of the Poultry Health Scheme.

Approved laboratories must also pay fees for carrying out proficiency tests.

See the list of Poultry Health Scheme approved laboratories.

Service	Fees from 1 July 2023
Application for an initial laboratory approval or renewal	£86
Proficiency test for Salmonella bacteriology (pullorum, gallinarum and arizonae)	£158 per test
Proficiency test for Salmonella serology (pullorum, gallinarum)	£310 per test
Proficiency test for Mycoplasma chicken serology (gallisepticum)	£310 per test
Proficiency test for Mycoplasma culture (gallisepticum and meleagridis)	£280 per test
Proficiency test for Mycoplasma turkey serology (gallisepticum and meleagridis)	£310 per test

Leaving the Poultry Health Scheme

You can leave the scheme at any time, but you will not be entitled to a refund on your approval or membership fees.