Guidance

Guide to earning bat recognition class licence for mitigation work on bat roosts

Updated 1 December 2025

Applies to England

How bat earned recognition works 

The bat earned recognition class licence allows bat ecologists to carry out bat roost mitigation work.  

You can only apply for the licence when applications for earned recognition are open.

We’re currently accepting applications for Bat ER Accreditation Level 1.

If you apply for this licence, Natural England will assess your experience and competence to undertake licensed work, including:

• undertaking survey work 
• determining impacts of the proposed work 
• designing and implementing effective mitigation 
• designing and implementing effective compensation 

If you pass the assessment, you’ll be accredited to the appropriate level for your competence and get an accreditation certificate. This certificate allows you to register sites and carry out work under the earned recognition class licence.

You should continue to apply for bat mitigation licences as you normally would while you go through the accreditation process.

Application criteria 

To be eligible to apply, you’ll need to show that you: 

• hold a level 2 (or higher) Natural England bat class survey licence
• are a member of an approved professional body - either The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), or The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF) 

For CIEEM membership, your level will need to be either associate, full, or fellowship (also known as fellow). 

For  ICF membership your level will need to be professional member.

For RSB membership you’ll need to be listed on their professional register.

To pass accreditation you will need to provide examples of your work, including from licensed bat mitigation projects. Your examples will need to be from projects where you have:

• visited the sites
• found and impacted bats
• written the reports or licence application
• received planning permission or a licence decision using your reports and application

You will need to have been the named ecologist on a mitigation licence for at least one of your examples, and you must have completed that project from start to finish.

Levels of accreditation 

There are 3 levels of accreditation you can apply for. You must hold the previous level of accreditation to be able to apply for the next level. This means that if you’re not currently accredited you’ll need to apply for Accreditation Level 1 first.

Within each accreditation level are annexes which cover specific species and roost types. Some annexes are mandatory for that accreditation level whilst others are optional.

Your accreditation level and annexes will determine which bat species and roost types you can work on. 

You must be able to provide evidence to prove your competence at the level you apply for.

If you cannot provide evidence, your application may be rejected.

You can request more details about the accreditation levels and competency requirements by completing the bat earned recognition expression of interest form.

How to apply 

You can only apply for a bat earned recognition licence when applications for your accreditation level are open.

We are currently accepting applications for Bat ER Accreditation Level 1. We will be opening for applications to upgrade to Accreditation Levels 2 and 3 in 2026.

You can follow this page for updates on timings of future application dates.

To apply you must first complete the express an interest in earned recognition form.

If you’re eligible then we’ll send you guidance on applying and an application form. If you apply using this form and your application is accepted, you’ll be invited to take part in an assessment process.

Providing evidence 

To prepare for your application and assessment you should keep records which evidence your own work, including:  

• photographs 
• method statements 
• survey records 
• licences 
• reports 
• site visit records 
• email correspondence 
• meeting minutes  
• toolbox talks 

This will help you provide the evidence you need to support your application.

Charges for earned recognition accreditation

You’ll need to pay £1,070 for earned recognition Accreditation Level 1. The costs for accreditation levels 2 and 3 will be announced once applications are open.

There is also a charge  to add optional annexes to your accreditation level . The fee for this will depend upon the annex being added. Fees will be announced at the same time as the fees for Accreditation Levels 2 and 3.

You must provide invoicing information when you apply for accreditation. You’ll only need to pay if your application is successful and you gain earned recognition accreditation.

Registering sites 

Once accredited, you can register sites under the bat earned recognition class licence. You’ll need to submit less information to Natural England than is required for a standard bat mitigation licence (A13).  

As an accredited ecologist it’s important that you ensure information submitted to Natural England is true and accurate. The site registration may not be valid if it is approved based on false information.

Natural England will carry out an assessment on your site registration and aims to issue a licensing decision within 15 working days.

Natural England will carry out compliance checks of your work under the terms of the licence. 

Check if you need to pay for site registration 

You’ll need to pay for a site registration for certain situations. Filling in the charge screening questions on the site registration form will tell you:  

• if you need to pay 
• how much you’ll pay 

Read the terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence. 

When you do not need to pay 

You do not need to pay if the main purpose of the project is: 

• to preserve public health and safety
• to conserve a bat roost in situ
• for the conservation of a listed building   
• for a householder home improvement project

A project will be considered as conserving a bat roost in situ if all the following apply: 

• the proposed work will not affect the roost 
• the roost is a maternity, swarming or hibernation roost, or the roost is a day roost containing 3 or more bats at one time 
• the roosting spaces and pre-emergent flight areas will stay accessible to bats and keep the same length, height and width 
• access points will not be changed 
• for roof roosts, the roof timbers will not be changed 
• no more than 5% of the building materials in the roost space will be replaced 
• the temperature and humidity of the roost will not be changed 
• light levels inside and outside the roost and flight paths to and from the roost will not be affected 

How to pay for site registration

If you must pay for your site registration, you’ll need to pay £410 when you apply. You can pay by bank card using a link to GOVUK Pay in the site registration form.  

VAT does not apply to charges for wildlife licences. 

Once you have paid, take note of the payment reference provided by GOVUK Pay as you’ll need to provide this on the site registration form. 

If a site registration is not authorised, you will not be charged. 

If a site registration is authorised, there is no further action to take. 

Withdrawing a site registration 

If you withdraw a chargeable site registration before you receive a decision, Natural England will refund the £410 payment.

Natural England will not refund payment once a site registration has been authorised. 

Resubmissions 

If a Further Information Request (FIR) is issued requiring a resubmission, Natural England will refund your initial £410 payment.

If a site registration is authorised following one or more resubmissions, you’ll be invoiced for £410 for the initial assessment, plus the cost of assessment of the resubmission at a variable rate of £121 per hour.

You’ll be asked for invoice details when you resubmit a site registration.

Natural England accepts purchase orders for charges including variable rates. If you want Natural England to add a purchase number to your invoice, you must include it in the invoice details in your charge form. 

If your site registration changes 

If you paid for your site registration, you’ll need to pay for the time Natural England spends assessing your modification at £121 per hour (to the nearest quarter of an hour). 

When you submit your modification request, you’ll be asked to provide invoice details. Natural England will invoice you for this work once the fee is calculated.

Natural England cannot take a fixed payment by card for a modification. 

Compliance and enforcement 

Natural England will carry out compliance checks on registered sites across all accreditation levels through targeted and random monitoring. Compliance checks may also be undertaken on material you submitted as part of your accreditation evidence.

If you fall below the required standards of your accreditation or breach the class licence you’ll be investigated and given appropriate sanctions. 

Contact Natural England

For queries about bat earned recognition, email: EarnedRecognition.Bat@naturalengland.org.uk.