Get a temporary land association (TLA) or temporary county parish holding (tCPH) number
What livestock keepers must do when they temporarily use extra land or buildings and their livestock will not mix with someone else’s livestock.
Applies to England
If you plan to use extra land or buildings temporarily (for less than a year) to keep livestock, you must apply for either a:
- temporary land association (TLA) - if they’re within 10 miles of your county parish holding (CPH) number’s main livestock gathering area
- temporary county parish holding (tCPH) number - if they’re more than 10 miles from your main livestock gathering area
This includes if you plan to keep livestock for any purpose (including as pets).
You must do this so the government knows where the livestock are kept. This is so they can be traced to help contain disease.
You must also get a TLA or tCPH if you have a 7000 series (landless keeper) CPH number. This is because this type of CPH is for your home address. A TLA or tCPH links the land where you’ll be keeping livestock with your CPH.
You cannot apply for a TLA or tCPH if your livestock will mix with someone else’s. Instead, you’ll both need to report the movement and record it in your holding registers.
You can apply for more than one TLA or tCPH and you can renew them.
Getting a TLA: what it means for you
A TLA is for a single piece of land or a building.
A TLA associates the land or building you’re using temporarily to your existing CPH number.
This means you can treat the land or building as part of the CPH it’s associated with.
You do not need to:
- record or report livestock movements between the TLA land or building and the rest of your CPH
- follow the standstill rule if you’re moving livestock between the TLA land or building and the rest of your CPH
You must still:
- follow the standstill rule if you’re moving livestock from the TLA land or building to a different CPH
- report any livestock movements to the TLA land or building from a different CPH against your CPH and record them in your holding register
Your TLA land or building will be treated as part of your CPH for disease testing and restrictions.
A TLA will share a flock or herd mark with your CPH. This means that you:
- do not need to order different identification tags for livestock kept on a TLA
- must use your CPH number when you order new or replacement tags
Apply for a tCPH number instead if you want to register, and will operate, your temporary holding separately from your existing CPH number.
The standstill rule
The standstill rule protects the health of the national herd and flock. It reduces the spread of infectious diseases.
If you move cattle, sheep or goats onto your land from a different CPH, you must not move any:
- cattle, sheep or goats off your holding for 6 days
- pigs off your holding for 6 days
If you move pigs onto your land from a different CPH, you must not move any:
- pigs off your holding for 20 days
- cattle, sheep or goats off your holding for 6 days
Day 1 is the day after the arrival of an animal. If an animal arrives on a Monday, day 1 is Tuesday and day 6 is Sunday. You can move your animals after the sixth day, which would be Monday.
When you move deer or poultry, you do not need to follow a standstill rule.
You can move livestock off your land during the standstill period if you move them directly to slaughter. This includes a red (slaughter only) livestock market.
Read all the exemptions to the standstill rule.
Check you can apply for a TLA
You can apply for a TLA if:
- you have a CPH number
- any part of the land or building you want to associate with your CPH is within 10 miles of your main livestock gathering area
- your livestock will not mix with livestock kept by someone else on that land or in buildings
- the land or buildings are in England or Wales
- the land you want to associate is in the same bovine TB risk area as your CPH (if you keep bovine animals)
If you have a piece of land that is in both England and Scotland, you cannot get a TLA for any part of the land.
If you have a permanent CPH number
You must also register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to get a flock or herd mark before applying for a TLA.
Getting a tCPH number: what it means for you
A tCPH can be for a group of fields and buildings which are all rented from the same landholder.
You must treat the land included in your tCPH as a separate to the land included in any other CPH you hold. This means that you must:
- keep a separate holding register
- keep livestock reported as being on your tCPH separate from those reported as being on any other CPH
- record and report livestock movements between your tCPH and any other CPH
- follow the standstill rule when you move livestock between your tCPH and any other CPH
- keep identification documents and cattle passports for livestock you move to your tCPH
A tCPH will share a flock or herd mark with your CPH. This means that you:
- do not need to order different identification tags for animals kept on a tCPH
- must use your CPH number when you order new or replacement tags
Bovine TB testing and tCPHs
You must follow the routine bovine TB testing interval for the bovine TB risk area that applies to your tCPH.
The exception is when your tCPH is in the low risk area and your CPH is in the high risk or edge area. Then you must follow the testing interval for your CPH.
When your tCPH is in the high risk area and your CPH is in the low risk area, APHA may ask you to carry out testing on your CPH more often than once every 4 years.
This will depend on the number and frequency of livestock movements between your CPH and your tCPH.
You should test your tCPH at the same time as your CPH wherever possible.
If you lose your TB free status (for example, due to a TB breakdown), APHA will apply movement restrictions.
This means you must not move cattle on or off your CPHs and tCPHs unless APHA gives you a licence to do so.
APHA will only remove these restrictions after testing or a veterinary risk assessment.
If you need advice, call APHA.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Check you can apply for a tCPH number
You can apply for a tCPH number if:
- you have a CPH number
- the land and buildings are in England or Wales
- the land and buildings are all rented from the same landholder
- your livestock will not mix with livestock kept by someone else on that land or in buildings
- the land and buildings are not in more than one CPH
- all the land and buildings you want to cover with the tCPH are within 10 miles of the place you’ll gather livestock on the temporary holding
If you have a permanent CPH number
You must also register with APHA to get a flock or herd mark before applying for a tCPH.
Apply for a TLA or tCPH number
Complete the application to register temporary use of land to keep livestock form.
Post or email it to APHA.
Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
Cardiff Customer Service Centre
Cromlin West
Cardiff Edge Business Park
Longwood Drive
Whitchurch
Cardiff
CF14 7YU
Email: temporaryland@apha.gov.uk
When you get your TLA or tCPH
APHA aims to process applications within 10 working days. It may take longer if:
- your application is inaccurate
- the form is incomplete
- they need to carry out an assessment, for example a bovine TB veterinary risk assessment
If you have a 7000 series (landless keeper) CPH number
You must register with APHA to get a flock or herd mark.
Renew your TLA or tCPH number
A TLA and a tCPH last up to one year. If you’re planning to use the land or buildings for longer, you must renew it before it ends. You need to either:
- complete and return the renewal letter form by email or post
- call APHA one month before the expiry date
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Email: temporaryland@apha.gov.uk
Update your TLA or tCPH number details
You must tell APHA when:
- there are any changes to the information you gave in your application
- you stop using any of the land or buildings to keep livestock
Call or email APHA. If you email, use ‘TLA update’ or ‘tCPH update’, whichever is applicable, as the subject in your email.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Email: temporaryland@apha.gov.uk
Last updated 15 June 2023 + show all updates
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Made it clearer that the information on this page applies if you keep livestock for any purpose, including as pets. Added that you can get a tCPH for a group of fields and buildings which are all rented from the same landholder, whereas a TLA is for a single piece of land or a building. Added a link to a page explaining the process for getting a flock or herd mark.
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First published.