Guidance

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI): completing your annual declaration

Tell the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) you have complied or expect to comply with the terms of your SFI agreement for the year.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Rural Payments Agency
Published
17 November 2025

Applies to England

Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements last either 3 or 5 years, depending on which actions you selected. 

You must submit an ‘annual declaration’ each year of your SFI agreement. This is to confirm you have complied, or expect to have complied, with your agreement’s obligations for that year. 

When you must submit an annual declaration 

You must submit your annual declaration by the end of the relevant agreement year. When you must do this will depend on your SFI agreement’s start date. 

Your annual declaration will usually be available to complete in the Rural Payments service during the last 2 months of each agreement year. The RPA will let you know when it is available. 

If you do not submit your annual declaration, the RPA may: 

  • delay the fourth instalment of your payment for that agreement year 

  • regard it as a breach of your agreement 

Deadlines for submitting annual declarations 

The table shows the usual time period for submitting your annual declaration, based on your agreement start date. 

Agreement year start date Annual declaration available Annual declaration submission deadline
1 January 1 November 31 December
1 February 1 December 31 January
1 March 1 January 28 February (see note after the table)
1 April 1 February 31 March
1 May 1 March 30 April
1 June 1 April 31 May
1 July 1 May 30 June
1 August 1 June 31 July
1 September 1 July 31 August
1 October 1 August 30 September
1 November 1 September 31 October
1 December 1 October 30 November

Note: 29 February in a leap year. 

How to complete your annual declaration 

When the RPA tells you that your annual declaration is available to complete, sign in to the Rural Payments service. 

From your ‘Business overview’ screen, select either: 

  • ‘Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023’ to complete an annual declaration for an SFI 2023 agreement 

  • ‘Apply for the Expanded Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) Offer’ to complete an annual declaration for an SFI 2024 agreement 

Click on ‘View Annual Declaration’. You need to either: 

  • confirm you’ve complied, or expect to have complied, with the obligations under your SFI agreement 

  • tell RPA why you’ve been unable to comply with the obligations under your SFI agreement 

If your agreement includes rotational SFI actions, you’ll need to also complete and submit your rotational actions declaration. 

Further information about the annual declaration 

Read the relevant SFI scheme information for your agreement: 

Updates to this page

Published 17 November 2025

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