Livestock keepers: update your details
Who to contact if you keep livestock (including as pets) when your registered details change.
Applies to England
When you started keeping livestock, you will have:
- applied to the Rural Payment Agency (RPA) to get a county parish holding (CPH) number
- registered with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to get a flock or herd mark (or register poultry premises)
You will also have registered with the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) if you keep cattle, bison or buffalo. This is so that you can register cattle births and report movements and deaths.
You must keep your details up to date with the organisations you registered with. This helps to ensure livestock can be traced to help prevent and control disease.
You do not need to register with any of these organisations if you keep fewer than 50 poultry and no other livestock. But you may have chosen to register with APHA to help prevent the spread of disease.
When you must update your details
If your details or circumstances change, you must contact RPA and APHA as soon as possible (and within 30 days).
This includes a change to:
- your address
- your telephone number
- the name of your business
- where you plan to keep livestock (for example, taking on, or giving up, land)
- the species of livestock you keep
You must also contact them if you plan to stop keeping livestock (including if someone else takes on your farm).
If you keep poultry
You must also contact APHA if the size of your flock changes by 20%.
If you keep cattle, bison or buffalo
You must also contact the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS) to update them about any change.
If your telephone number has changed, you will not be able to use the CTS self-service helpline until you update it.
Who to contact
Contact the Defra rural services helpline to update RPA and APHA.
Defra rural services helpline
Telephone: 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
You can also email:
- RPA: ruralpayments@defra.gov.uk - use ‘CPH number update’ as the subject in your email
- APHA: customer.registration@apha.gov.uk
If you keep cattle, bison or buffalo
Contact BCMS by email or telephone.
British Cattle Movement Service
Email: bcmsenquiries@rpa.gov.uk
Telephone (England): 0345 050 1234
Telephone (Wales): 0345 050 3456
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Last updated 11 July 2023 + show all updates
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Broadened the page to include all livestock keepers, not just cattle keepers, as all keepers must update RPA and APHA if their details change.
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Clarified who you need to contact to update your holding details and how to contact them.
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First published.