Register a biodiversity gain site
Find out what to do and how much it costs to register a biodiversity gain site.
Applies to England
This page applies to:
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developments that need planning permission
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nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), from 2 November 2026
Who can apply
You can apply to register a biodiversity gain site if you’re:
- a landowner or leaseholder of the biodiversity gain site you’re registering
- an employee or representative acting on behalf of an organisation who is the landowner or leaseholder
An applicant can also appoint an agent to manage the application on their behalf.
If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the applicant
You must be authorised by the applicant, which is either the landowner, leaseholder or another person, to act on their behalf. They will need to complete an ‘authorise an agent to act on your behalf’ form. You must upload this with your application.
If you’re an employee or a representative of an organisation, you do not need to complete an authorise an agent form.
Before you apply
You’ll need:
- documents to prove who owns or leases the biodiversity gain site you’re registering
- a document or image showing the land boundary – this must not include any personal information, like a landowner’s name
- a legal agreement that secures the land for at least 30 years – this must be a planning obligation (Section 106 agreement) or conservation covenant
- a completed statutory biodiversity metric tool calculation that includes information about all the land secured by the legal agreement
- a habitat management and monitoring plan (this may be included within your legal agreement)
- a local land charge search certificate dated within the last 2 months
Registration fees
It costs £639 to register a biodiversity gain site. You must pay within 28 days of submitting your application.
What happens after you apply
We will let you know within 6 weeks if:
- we need more information from you
- your application to register your biodiversity gain site has been accepted or rejected
If we accept your application, you will get an email with a gain site reference number. This is unique to your biodiversity gain site.
If we reject your application, we will let you know why.
Withdrawals and refunds
Once we have made a decision on your application you cannot withdraw it. Refunds will not be given.
You can read the terms and conditions for more information on withdrawals, refunds and how we approve or reject applications.
How to apply
You can use this service to record an allocation of off-site gains.
If you also want to record allocation of off-site gains to a development with planning permission
You can apply to register a biodiversity site and allocate to a development at the same time.
Signing into this service
You’ll need a Government Gateway account and a Defra account to sign into this service.
If you do not already have these accounts or wish to create new ones, you can set these up when you use this service.
You should use your own email address for these accounts, so we can contact you about your application. It can be either your personal email or your work email, if you are applying for an organisation.
Saving your progress
You can save your application and come back to it at any time.
Continue with a saved application
Get help with your application
Email: biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk
We aim to reply within 10 working days.
Updates to this page
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Updated information about who can apply and what documents are needed. Also updated page to apply to nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs). Biodiversity net gain will be mandatory for NSIPs from 2 November 2026.
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Removed the contact telephone number due to changes to the service. If you need help, you should now email biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.
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Updated information on signing into this service to clarify that you should use your own email address to set up Government Gateway and Defra accounts, so we can contact you about your application. It can be either your personal email or your work email, if you are applying for an organisation.
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Opening times to helpline has changed to Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm during October and February.
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First published.