Poultry Health Scheme: membership and fees
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-26)

How poultry producers can join and pay fees for the Poultry Health Scheme, and how to pay fees to become a PHS approved laboratory.

Members of the poultry health scheme (PHS) are known as approved poultry establishments (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-health-scheme-list-of-members).

Who needs to join

Your premises must be an approved member of the PHS if you keep poultry and want to:
- export or move more than 20 birds or hatching eggs from Great Britain to the EU or Northern Ireland
- sell birds or hatching eggs to other PHS members
- sell birds or eggs to a Northern Ireland Poultry Health Assurance Scheme (NIPHAS) member (https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/northern-ireland-poultry-health-assurance-scheme-niphas)
- export birds or hatching eggs to certain non-EU countries that require compliance (in full or partially) with EU Regulation 2019/2035 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2019/2035/oj), Council Directive 2009/158/EC (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32009L0158) or equivalent
You must be a member if the relevant export health certificate (EHC) (https://www.gov.uk/export-health-certificates) says your premises must be part of a government supervised Poultry Health Scheme.

You do not need to join the PHS if you:
- keep poultry used only for exhibitions, shows or contests
- produce table eggs or poultry meat
- export or move less than 20 birds or hatching eggs at a time from Great Britain to the EU or Northern Ireland
How to join the Poultry Health Scheme

You can join the scheme as an individual poultry producer or as a poultry company. You must have a registered business address.

If you have several poultry premises you must join the scheme for each one.

There are different categories of membership, depending on your type of business. They are:
- farm
- hatchery (including egg distribution centres)
- combined farm and hatchery
Contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to request an application form to join the Poultry Health Scheme.

Email: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx

APHA will send you:
- an application form
- a copy of the PHS member’s handbook
- information about how to pay the membership fee
After you’ve applied

The PHS team will contact you to arrange for an APHA vet to inspect your premises.

If the APHA vet approves your premises and working methods you’ll need to pay the annual membership fee and vet inspection fee. APHA will then send you a membership number and certificate.

APHA will add you to the list of approved poultry establishments (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-health-scheme-list-of-members) once you’re a member. An official vet will refer to this list when completing the export health certificate.

Newly approved premises cannot export to the EU and Northern Ireland until they have been members of the PHS for at least 6 weeks (known as the ‘6 week wait period’). Read the PHS handbook for more information on the 6 week wait period.

You must also comply with the rules set out in the relevant export health certificate (https://www.gov.uk/export-health-certificates).

Manage your membership

Membership lasts for one year. It does not automatically renew.

If a member’s premises is sold or transferred, the premises will not automatically continue to be a member of the scheme. The new occupant must apply to become a member of the PHS.

Renew your membership

You have to renew your membership annually to stay part of the scheme. APHA will send you a reminder letter one month before your renewal is due.

Before the end of your annual membership, you must:
- complete and send a renewal form to APHA
- pay APHA the annual membership fee
- be inspected by an APHA vet or trained private vet
When APHA has received your renewal form and fee, they will send you a renewal letter which is valid for the next year.

Leave the Poultry Health Scheme

You must give written notice to APHA if you want to leave the scheme.

Email: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx) Telephone: xx-xxxx-xxxx

You can leave the scheme at any time, but you will not be entitled to a refund on your approval or membership fees.

If you want to rejoin the scheme, you will need to reapply and pay a further registration fee.

Read the handbook for PHS members

You should read the poultry health scheme handbook (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-health-scheme-handbook-for-members) for information on:
- what happens after you apply (including the initial inspection visit, testing and the 6 week wait period before you can export)
- annual inspection requirements
- requirements you have to follow as a member of the PHS (including biosecurity, facilities, medicines and vaccinations)
- tests and samples you must take and how often
Fees: membership fee, approval and renewal inspections

You must pay:
- a fixed annual membership fee
- a fee for approval or renewal inspections
- a variable fee to cover the inspection and travel time if you are inspected by an APHA vet
How APHA charge for time spent

You must pay £22 per quarter hour or less for APHA’s time spent inspecting your premises.

APHA calculates your inspection and travel fees to the next full quarter hour of work. For example, if APHA spends 20 minutes on your inspection, you will pay for half an hour.

Travel time is capped at 45 minutes each way, so you will not pay more than £132 for travel costs.

Fees

Fees for laboratory operators to get approval

APHA approves laboratories to carry out diagnostic testing for the Poultry Health Scheme. Each laboratory is approved to carry out specific types of tests for the purpose of the PHS.

See the list of Poultry Health Scheme approved laboratories (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/poultry-health-scheme-approved-testing-laboratories).

Laboratory operators must pay fees to carry out testing for the PHS. You must pay for renewal every 2 years.

Official laboratories must also pay fees for carrying out proficiency tests.