Skip to main content
Form

Licensed finishing units for cattle: application

Forms to register a licensed finishing unit (LFU) in England and Wales for cattle from officially TB free herds.

Updates to this page

From:
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Published:
30 November 2015
Last updated:
24 April 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated ‘Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (Wales)’ (TR429) in English and Welsh.

  2. Updated to reflect the changes to the testing requirements to LFUs in Wales, to indicate that LFUs can also be authorised in the intermediate TB areas of Wales and the terms and conditions of LFUs in England and Wales have been made clearer.

  3. The latest version of form TB188 to register a licensed finishing unit (LFU) has been uploaded (both English and Welsh versions).

  4. Welsh language version of the page and Welsh language form TR188 has been added.

  5. The terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (England) and terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (Wales) have been updated.

  6. A new TB Order came into force in England on 1 October 2021. Updated the TB188 form, application for a licensed finishing unit.

  7. Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (England) updated

  8. Updated TR429 document

  9. Data protection statement updated on form

  10. Updated Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (Wales)

  11. Added details for LFUs in Wales.

  12. Updated Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit

  13. First published.

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Application for a licensed finishing unit

Ref: TB188

ODT, 47.4 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

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 contentteam@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (England)

Ref: TR429

PDF, 149 KB, 8 pages

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 contentteam@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Terms and conditions of the approval and operation of a licensed finishing unit (Wales)

Ref: TR429w

PDF, 227 KB, 8 pages

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 contentteam@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

Apply to get a licensed finishing unit (LFU) approved in England or Wales.

An LFU is a type of TB unit which can only be located in the low risk area (LRA) of England or the low and intermediate TB areas of Wales.

You can finish negative-testing cattle from multiple officially TB free (OTF) herds from any area of England, Scotland and Wales.

Cattle at LFUs are:

  • permanently under movement restrictions
  • housed under biosecure conditions

Before cattle move to an LFU, they must comply with statutory pre-movement testing requirements.

There are separate conditions of approval and guidance for LFUs in England and Wales.

For LFUs in England:

  • cattle can only move from LFUs direct to slaughter or to slaughter through an approved TB gathering (market or collection) in England
  • cattle cannot move through an approved TB slaughter gathering in Wales
  • TB testing is not required for cattle in LFUs but the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) can test in exceptional circumstances
  • cattle moved from annual or more frequent TB testing herds will need a post-movement test only if a required pre-movement test has not been carried out 60 days before moving to the LFU

For LFUs in Wales:

  • LFUs provide exemption from post-movement testing of cattle moving to a finishing unit in the low and intermediate TB areas of Wales
  • cattle can only move from LFUs direct to slaughter or to slaughter through an approved TB gathering (market or collection) in England or Wales
  • routine TB testing of cattle in LFUs is not needed but the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) can request testing in exceptional circumstances
  • testing is needed if there is a TB breakdown in the unit, for example, following confirmation of TB in a recently slaughtered animal
  • cattle in LFUs must be tested every 6 months
  • any animal without a statutory pre-movement test, when it is required in the 60 days before moving into an LFU in Wales, will need additional testing

Sign up for emails or print this page