Animal Plant Health Agency
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You must register within one month of keeping poultry or other captive birds at any premises in England or Wales. This includes any birds you keep as pets.
Youre breaking the law if you do not register.
When you do not need to 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)
- with no access to the open air
You must register if you take your birds outdoors at any time for example, to exercise or train them, or to take them to bird gatherings or shows. You do not need to register to take an exempt bird to a veterinary practice.
How to register
If you have a County Parish Holding (CPH) number
You can register in 2 ways, either by:
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using the form to
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emailing?customer.registration@apha.gov.uk
If you do not have a?CPH?number
You can register online it should take about 10 minutes.
Well 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)
By registering:
- the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) will contact you with updates and guidance if theres a disease outbreak (such as bird flu) in your area
- youll help prevent the spread of disease and protect all kept birds, including back-yard flocks
After you have registered
If your details have changed, youll need to tell APHA within one month when:
- you no longer keep or own birds
- your contact information changes
- you change the species of poultry or other captive birds you keep
- you change the purpose or purposes for which you keep birds
- you start keeping 50 or more poultry or other captive birds
Email customer.registration@apha.gov.uk or call on 03000 200 301. Lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.
Legislation
The requirement to register within one month of keeping poultry or other captive birds at any premises in England or Wales is set out in the:
Get help
If you need help registering contact APHA:
- by email atcustomer.registration@apha.gov.uk
- by phone on 03000 200 301 (lines are open 8:30am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday)
Updates to this page
Last updated 3 December 2024 +show all updates
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Updated the Welsh version of the guidance to reflect recent updates to the English version.
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Added links to the legislation that underpins the requirement to register.
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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.
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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.
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Updated information about the online registration service, which is currently unavailable, and when you must register.
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Updated English and Welsh versions of the guidance to temporarily remove the option to register via the online portal.
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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.
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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.
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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.