Rural Payments Agency
We want to assure customers that were continuing to deliver vital services to agricultural and rural communities across the country during periods of industrial action across the public sector.
We have made changes to adapt to the current situation.
Check this page regularly for updates on the contingency arrangements were making to support our customers.
Customer service helpline opening hours
The helpline will be open as normal from Monday to Friday, between 8.30am and 5pm.
There may be some increased waiting times during these periods. If you are offered a call back, please leave your details as requested and we will call you back as soon as we can.
We will keep reviewing the situation and publish further updates when available.
What you need to do
We are focused on making vital payments to the rural community and helping customers submit their claims and applications.
How to submit your applications, claims, evidence and other supporting documents
If you need to send any documents to us, please continue to do this as you would normally. You can read a list of documents and the ways we can accept them. We encourage you to email documents to us wherever possible.
If you are unable to post a document that requires a physical signature, you can send a copy via email. You should then post the signed document to us as soon as youre able to.
The Rural Payments service is available and you should use this wherever possible.
Its the quickest and most secure way for you to send your applications, claims and supporting documents to us, and it will help us to start processing your application or claim quickly.
Where theres no option to use Rural Payments or you are unable to access the online service, you have 2 options.
Option 1: use email
You can email us at ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk where the guidance confirms there is an existing email service. We recommend you use this.
When you email us make sure you include the name of the scheme in the subject heading, for example Countryside Stewardship Mid Tier query. This will help your email get to the right department quickly. Read more information about emailing documents to RPA.
Remember, we can only accept emails from email addresses that are registered in the Rural Payments service.
Its important that we have your most up-to-date personal and business contact details. We may contact you by email or telephone, so check your details in the Rural Payments service and update them or register if necessary.
Also, please make sure your permission levels for Countryside Stewardship (CS) and the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) are set and are correct. You can find more information about how to do this in our blog.
Its a good idea to regularly check your spam or junk email folder so you dont miss important emails that weve sent to you. You should also read ourFraud information page as we are aware of scams targeting those receiving subsidy payments.
We cannot accept supporting documents and evidence that we need to access from links to an external shared drive facility, for example Dropbox or Google Drive.
Option 2: use post
If you need to post documents to us, we would encourage you to do so as soon as you can. You may want to consider getting proof of postage or using tracked delivery.
If you are unable to get online or post a paper application form or supporting documents to us before the application deadlines, please call our helpline on 03000 200 301.
If your documents arrive to us late and you had a reasonable expectation they would be delivered on time, we will consider accepting these in certain circumstances. Keep any proof of postage that you have, as we may ask to see it.
Please do not bring any documents to our offices (even if they are listed as accepting postal deliveries). We are unable to accept correspondence or documents in person.
RLE1 forms
If you need to submit an RLE1 form to tell us about entitlement transfers, land transfers and land changes, you can now do this electronically, by email.
You can download an RLE1 form, complete it electronically following the RLE1 guidance, and return it to us as a pdf email attachment.
If you are unable to get online or email it to us, you can print an RLE1 form, complete it by hand, and post it to us.
Rural payments, grants and services
CS capital grants applications
Applications remain open throughout the year.
CS capital claims
You can submit a capital claim at any time of year. However, this must be:
- within 3 months of the end of your agreement
- after the capital work is finished
- after you have paid for it and the money has left your bank account
You can claim online using the Rural Payments service.
If you are unable to claim online, call us on 03000 200 301 to request a Countryside Stewardship capital claim form.
Woodland support grants
The following grants are open for applications all year:
Postal addresses
Where there is no email option available, use the following addresses for anything urgent.
CS customers
Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 324
Worksop
S95 1DF
BPS customers and all RLE1 forms
Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 352
Worksop
S80 9FG
Environmental Stewardship (ES) customers
You can find details of addresses on the Environmental Stewardship page.
British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) customers
Rural Payments Agency
British Cattle Movement Service
Curwen Road
Workington
Cumbria
CA14 2DD
More information
Were continuing to monitor and review our business continuity processes and will update our customers if things change.
How to keep up to date
You can sign up to get email alerts when information is updated on the Rural Payments Agency pages.
You can also follow us on: