Form

Temporary certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals

Apply for a temporary certificate of competence (CoC) to slaughter or kill animals under Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Food Standards Agency
• Published: 15 October 2015
• Last updated: 5 February 2024 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Apply for a temporary certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals

https://submit.forms.service.gov.uk/form/477/apply-for-a-temporary-certificate-of-competence-to-slaughter-or-kill-animals

Get an activity code

HTML

Temporary certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals (paper version)

MS Word Document, 320 KB

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Request an accessible format.

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Temporary certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals (Welsh paper version)

MS Word Document, 132 KB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

You can apply for a temporary certificate of competence (CoC) if you:

• work in a slaughterhouse
• do not have a full CoC for an operation you’re doing
• have registered on a Food and Drink Qualifications (FDQ) approved training course
• want to add new species or activities to your current CoC

The temporary CoC is only valid for 3 months. During this period, you must be supervised by someone who holds a full CoC for the species and operations that your temporary CoC is valid for.

Before you start

Before you apply for a temporary CoC, you’ll need to:

• know your Food and Drink Qualifications (FDQ) registration number
• read the guidance on applying for a certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals
• get an activity code for each activity you’ll carry out under your temporary CoC
• get your slaughterhouse’s 4-digit establishment approval code from your employer

If you want to add new species or activities to your existing CoC, you’ll need to know your current CoC ID number.

Other ways to apply

You can also apply for temporary CoC by post. Send the completed form to:

WATOK CoC
Transactions Team
Food Standards Agency
Foss House
Room 112
Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PR

Get help

For help with this form, contact the Food Standards Agency by:

• email: watok@food.gov.uk
• telephone on: 03303327149
• post at:

WATOK CoC
Business Support Team
Food Standards Agency
Room 112
Foss House
Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PR

Published 15 October 2015
Last updated 5 February 2024 + show all updates

1. 5 February 2024

   Added an online form to apply for a temporary certificate of competence to slaughter or kill animals.

2. 18 October 2019

   Updated with the latest versions of the forms.

3. 23 August 2019

   Updated with the latest version of the form and added a Welsh version.

4. 15 October 2015

   First published.