Make changes to your rural land maps online or get an RLE1 form
If you’re a farmer, landowner or grower, you can request changes to your digital maps and register new land online. You can also transfer or remove land.
Applies to England
You can now request all your land changes to your digital maps online using the Rural Payments service. This is the quickest and most secure way to make your land changes.
Use the Rural Payments service to:
- register new land parcels - if you already have land linked to your Single Business Identifier (SBI)
- merge land parcels
- make full land cover changes
- make all other land changes
You can view all the ‘rural land change’ requests you’ve submitted online in the ‘See previous mapping requests’ screen.
You can also use the Rural Payments service to:
- view land
- transfer or remove land
- update land use
If you’re unable to use the Rural Payments service, you should use the rural land and entitlements (RLE1) form.
How to make rural land changes
Sign in to the Rural Payments service. From the ‘Your businesses and messages’ overview screen, select ‘View business’ on the business linked to the parcels you want to change or register new land to. In the Business overview screen, select ‘Land’ and choose ‘Request Rural Land Changes’. Then select the change you want to make.
Register new land
You can register up to 10 land parcels on each registration request. To register more than 10 parcels, you need to make further registration requests. You will need to upload a map to support your request.
You cannot use the Rural Payments service to register new land if you have no land linked to your SBI. You would need to register the new land by submitting an RLE1 form instead.
Watch the ‘Register new land’ video.
Merge land parcels
You can merge up to 5 parcels. To merge more than 5 parcels, use ‘All other land changes’.
Watch the ‘Merge new land’ video.
Full land cover change
You can only use ‘Full land cover change’ if there is a single land cover across the whole parcel. You can change the land cover on up to 20 parcels for each request.
If there’s more than one land cover for a land parcel, use ‘All other land changes’.
Land cover is not the same as land use. Read more about land cover changes to understand the difference.
Watch the ‘Full land cover change’ video.
All other land changes
You can make other changes to your land, except to transfer or remove land or to update land use. You can make up to 10 changes for each request. For more than 10 changes, you need to make multiple requests.
Use ‘All other land changes’ to:
- make permanent changes to a land parcel, including changing the size and shape
- add or remove a permanent boundary to split or merge parcels
- add or remove a permanent non-agricultural area or feature
- link a registered land parcel to another Single Business Identifier (SBI) at the same time as it is linked to your SBI
- merge more than 5 parcels
- change land covers where there’s more than one land cover for a land parcel
- map hedges, amend and remove them
- make any other land changes (except to transfer or remove land or to update land use)
You will need to upload annotated supporting maps for all parcels that are included within each submission. On the maps you need to tell us the type of land change you’re requesting and give us all the information we need to be able to check and complete your request.
We can accept jpg, jpeg, png, pdf, docx or doc files, up to 10MB each. The file names must be unique, contain no spaces and be 20 characters or less.
Do not use ‘All other land changes’ to:
- transfer or remove land – you do this in the transfer or remove land screen in the Rural Payments service
- change your land use in a land parcel – you do this in the update land use screen in the Rural Payments service
- map any features or options you have in a Rural Development Programme agreement or domestic agri-environment or woodland scheme unless it is to change the land cover of your land parcel
- tell us about temporary ineligible non-agricultural areas or features – you can tell us about these areas or features in your application
Watch the ‘All other land changes’ video.
See previous mapping requests
You can view all the ‘rural land change’ requests you submitted online, for up to 5 years. Mapping updates will show from the ‘effective date of change’ or the ‘date of registration’ that you requested. If this is not possible, updates will show as soon as they are completed.
Watch the ‘See previous mapping requests’ video.
View land, transfer or remove land or update land use
You should continue to use the separate options available to:
- view maps of your land (digital maps and aerial photography)
- transfer land to another business or remove it from your business
- make changes to your land use
Sign in to the Rural Payments service. From the ‘Your businesses and messages’ overview screen, select ‘View business’ on the business linked to the parcels you want to view, transfer or remove or update land use on. In the Business overview screen, select ‘Land’ and select the change you want to make:
- view land
- transfer or remove land (available all year)
- update land use
You may be unable to use the Rural Payments service to transfer or remove land if your holding type is shown as tenant or you own less than 100% of the land parcel. If this information is incorrect, use the Change land tenure form to update it before proceeding in the Rural Payments service.
Do not use the ‘Remove land’ option if you still have management control of the land parcel. Instead, you should correct the ‘land use’.
Further help to complete your RLE1 form
The RLE1 guidance gives more information to help you complete your RLE1 form. It can also help you submit an online rural land change request.
This guidance currently contains details about the Basic Payment Scheme and entitlements which ended on 31 December 2023. We will update this guidance.
Read the guidance on Digital maps in the Rural Payments service check and change mapping updates for more information about updating digital maps.
You can find all our Rural Land Change Requests videos on YouTube.
Rural land and entitlements (RLE1) form and guidance
You can complete the RLE1 form on paper or electronically. This year we will remove the option to send an RLE1 to us by email as the online options now replace this. We will continue to accept paper RLE1 forms.
We cannot accept handwritten RLE1 forms that are scanned and returned as an email attachment.
Do not use an RLE1 form to tell us about:
- changes to your land uses in a land parcel – you do this in the ‘Update land use’ screen in the Rural Payments service
- any features or options you have in a Rural Development Programme agreement or domestic agri-environment or woodland scheme unless it is to change the land cover of your land parcel
- temporary ineligible non-agricultural areas or features – you can tell us about these areas or features in your application.
Last updated 22 March 2024 + show all updates
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Amended to say that if customers need to register new land but do not have land already registered against their SBI, they will need to complete an RLE1. This update cannot be done in the Rural Payments service.
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Change to title to add 'or get an RLE1 form'.
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First published.