Guidance

Protected species licences: references for applications

Find out when you need a reference to support your application or registration, the experience you and your referees need and the form they should use.

Published 6 October 2014
Last updated 29 October 2018 — see all updates
From:
Natural England and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Applies to:
England

Documents

References and experience needed to support your protected species application or registration

HTML

Form for referees (A01): template to support an application (Word format)

MS Word Document, 62.4KB

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Form for referees (A01): template to support an application (Open Document Format)

ODT, 36.2KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

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Details

You must give written references to support a photography, survey, science, conservation, research or European protected species mitigation licence application or registration if you:

  • have not held a licence for the species (or a similar species) in the last 3 years
  • have a licence but want to add new activities

Use this guidance to find out about who can be your referee and the experience you both need.

Published 6 October 2014
Last updated 29 October 2018 + show all updates
  1. Referees for a protected species licence can include approved volunteer trainers of volunteer bat roost visitors, where appropriate.
  2. Clarification on guidance to upgrade a survey class licence.
  3. Update to the 'References and experience needed to support your protected species application or registration' page. Survey class licences are now included in the list of licences you need references for. Notes added that you cannot ask a trainer of a course you need a reference from to be your referee. Referees now required to include method experience in references.
  4. Added reference requirements for class survey and research licence upgrades.
  5. Corrections to the discretion and exceptions that may apply to this guidance.
  6. Removed the requirement to 'hold a certificate of training that covers the activity you have applied for' from the guidance page.
  7. First published.