Animal Plant Health Agency
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:
- comply with biocide regulations read the guidance on the HSE website
- pass efficacy tests at a Defra approved laboratory
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) approves disinfectants on behalf of Defra.
This scheme is underpinned by the The Diseases of Animals (Approved Disinfectants) (England) Order 2007.
The costs are set out in Article 3 and Schedule 1 of The Animal Health (Poultry Compartments, Approved Disinfectants and Animal Gatherings) (Fees) (England) (Amendment) Order 2022.
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:
- foot and mouth disease The Foot-and-Mouth Disease (England) Order 2006
- poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals Diseases of Poultry (England) Order 2003 and The Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (England) (No.2) Order 2006
- tuberculosis The Tuberculosis in Animals (England) Order 2021
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 a General Order.
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:
- 48 hours if you apply by email
- 10 working days if you apply by post
Download details of the
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.
Fees will increase on 1 December 2023.
| Efficacy test | Current fees per test | Fees per test from 1 December 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Foot and mouth disease | 2,543 | 3,166 |
| Swine vesicular disease | 2,543 | 3,166 |
| Poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals: single dilution test | 2,409 | 3,778 |
| Poultry diseases, avian influenza and influenza of avian origin in mammals: triple dilution test | 2,786 | 4,172 |
| Tuberculosis: single dilution test | 1,483 | 1,666 |
| Tuberculosis: triple dilution test | 1,835 | 2,050 |
| Other notifiable disease requirements: single dilution test | 874 | 1,032 |
| Other notifiable disease requirements: triple dilution test | 973 | 1,131 |
The Other notifiable disease requirements category is also known as General Orders. This category applies if you are legally required to use an approved disinfectant for a notifiable disease not covered by the 4 disease-specific approval categories.
You should receive the results within 12 weeks of submitting your samples. This may take longer during busy times, such as a disease outbreak.
Pay administrative fees
You must pay administrative fees when you apply:
- for new tests there is a fee of 1,199 per application, regardless of the number of categories you apply for (increasing to 1,399 on 1 December 2023)
- to sell your approved product under an additional trade name (a back-to-back approved trade name) there is a fee of 355.21
- for up to 10 trade certificates in the name of your Defra approved disinfectant there is a fee of 177.60
- for a retrospective disinfectant efficacy test report for your Defra approved disinfectant there is a fee of 512.48
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 product approved, you must pay an annual fee of 482 per approval category per product. This fee will increase to 590 on 1 December 2023. APHA will send you an invoice each year, which you must p