Statutory guidance

About sheep carcase classification and how to register

Published 2 October 2025

Applies to England

The Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (England) Regulations 2025 were signed into law on 9 July 2025. The Sheep Carcass (Classification and Price Reporting) (Wales) Regulations 2025 are due to be signed into law later in 2025.

This guidance applies to approved slaughterhouses in England which either:

• slaughter at least 2,000 sheep per week as a rolling annual average
• slaughter between 1,000 and 1,999 sheep per week as a rolling annual average, and volunteer for the regulations to apply to them

Find out more about the sheep carcase classification requirements.

Regulatory criteria

Approved slaughterhouses in England with a throughput of at least 2,000 sheep per week must register with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) and comply with the regulations.

The number of sheep per week is calculated on a rolling annual average basis. RPA will monitor this using data provided by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). If your weekly throughput is over 2,000, or rises above 2,000 at any point, and you have not registered, RPA will contact you to ask you to register.

Approved slaughterhouses are those which:

• are used for slaughtering sheep for meat
• meet EU and UK requirements for hygiene rules for food of animal origin

If you slaughter fewer than 2,000 sheep per week

You can volunteer for the regulations to apply to your slaughterhouse if your average throughput is between 1,000 and 1,999 sheep per week. To do this, you will need to register with RPA. Once registered, you must meet all the regulatory requirements for at least 12 months.

If you slaughter fewer than 1,000 sheep per week, you cannot volunteer to register with RPA.

Regulatory requirements

The majority of the regulatory requirements relate only to sheep aged less than 12 months at the time of slaughter.

However, you must allocate a unique kill number to every sheep carcase slaughtered in your approved slaughterhouse, regardless of age. The kill number must identify the carcase and the batch of animals it came from.

Sheep aged less than 12 months at slaughter

A sheep is deemed to be ‘aged less than 12 months’ if it does not have a permanent incisor erupted through the gum.

You must categorise and grade (classify) all carcases from sheep aged less than 12 months at the time of slaughter based on fat and conformation.

You must follow the rules on:

• categorising, presenting (hanging and dressing) and weighing
• labelling
• communicating classification results to suppliers
• record keeping
• inspections, enforcement and penalties
• licencing of classifiers
• licencing of automated classification methods (from 2027)
• price reporting

Registering with RPA

You must register your approved slaughterhouse with RPA and comply with the regulations if, on a rolling annual average, it has a throughput of:

• at least 2,000 sheep per week
• between 1,000 and 1,999 sheep per week and you want to volunteer for the regulations to apply to your slaughterhouse

If you have an approved slaughterhouse that meets the mandatory throughput requirements on 28 January 2026, you must register it with RPA by 25 February 2026.

If your slaughterhouse meets these requirements after 28 January 2026, you must then register it with RPA within 28 days.

If your slaughterhouse’s throughput is over 2,000 sheep per week on a rolling annual average, and you do not register, RPA can take enforcement action against you.

To register, you will need to give RPA:

• the address, telephone number and approval number of the slaughterhouse
• the full name and address of the operator
• the full names and addresses of all partners or joint owners of the business, if applicable
• the registration number of the body corporate, if applicable

How to register

To register with RPA, follow these steps:

1. Download a copy of the SCC1 - Sheep Carcase Classification Registration form.

2. Complete the form, giving us all the required information.

3. Email your completed form to mts.carlisle@rpa.gov.uk. 

If your details change after registering

You must tell RPA in writing within 28 days of any changes to the information you give us. This includes a change to the:

• name or address of the operators
• address, telephone number or approval number of the slaughterhouse
• registration number of the business

You must tell RPA in writing within 10 days if either your:

• slaughterhouse ceases trading
• slaughterhouse’s throughput reduces consistently to below 1,000 sheep per week (voluntary registration)
• slaughterhouse’s throughput reduces consistently to below 2,000 sheep per week (mandatory registration)

Contact us

You can get in touch with the RPA Meat Technical Schemes team if you have any questions about the regulatory requirements.

You can email us at mts.carlisle@rpa.gov.uk.

You can call us on 03300 416 508.