Water voles: licence to displace them (CL31)
Register for a licence to displace water voles to allow work that could disturb them or damage their burrows and report your actions.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
You must have a licence to displace water voles.
This licence allows you, as the registered person, to intentionally displace water voles by damaging or destroying their burrows. This includes:
- removing vegetation back to bare earth in spring and autumn
- carrying out a destructive search of water vole burrows after an appropriate monitoring period, after removing vegetation
Intentionally disturbing water voles by displacement is a method of reducing harm to them where work is to take place. Read the licence document on this page for more details.
You can only use this licence for projects that:
- preserve public health or safety
- prevent serious damage
- are for reasons of overriding public interest
You should apply for an individual licence if you cannot follow the terms and conditions of this licence.
Register to use this licence
You must register with Natural England before you can use this licence.
You can only use this licence if you’re an:
- ecological consultant registered to use it - the ‘registered person’
- accredited agent of the registered person
- assistant working under the direct supervision of the registered person or accredited agent
Pay for your licence
You need to pay for a CL31 licence.
New registrations cost £60.
It costs £50 a year to renew your licence registration.
Read the terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence.
How to pay
You can pay using a bank card. Follow the GOV.UK Pay link on the application form.
Report your actions
You must report any actions you took while using this licence. Use the online reporting, monitoring and licence renewal form for CL31 licences.
You must submit your report by 31 January each year, even if you’ve taken no action.
There is a monitoring element to the online form. This information allows Natural England to assess the effectiveness of displacement as a new licensed activity.
Renew your licence
It costs £50 a year to renew your licence.
Complete the online reporting, monitoring and licence renewal form for CL31 licences.
Last updated 1 January 2024 + show all updates
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There is an update to this licence for 1 January 2024.
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Licence updated to cover new purposes and to permit autumn displacement of water voles. Annual updates valid from 1 January 2023.
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Added an online form titled 'Report and monitor your actions and renew your CL31 water vole class licence'. This replaces reporting form LR31 and monitoring form MON-CL31.
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Removed charge form as the way to renew a licence to displace water voles for development will change before the next renewal date.
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Updated guidance on how to register for a licence to displace water voles for development projects.
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Annual licence update, valid from 1 January 2022.
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Condition 12 added to class licence CL31.
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Annual licence update.
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From 7 December 2020 you will need to pay for a CL31 licence. Added charge form and updated CL31 licence application form.
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Accessible licence added - HTML.
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Replaced licence with amended version issued 21 February 2020.
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2020
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2019. Replaced registration and report forms with updated versions.
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Replaced licence with new version issued 1 January 2018. New monitoring form added.
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Annual licence update 2017.
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First published.