Get a temporary land association (TLA) or temporary county parish holding (tCPH) number
What livestock keepers must do when they intend to use someone else's land or buildings temporarily.
Applies to England
You must register where you keep livestock, including those kept as pets. This is so that the government can trace the animals to prevent and control disease.
If you plan to keep livestock on someone else’s land, or in their buildings, temporarily, you must get either a:
- temporary land association (TLA)
- temporary county parish holding (tCPH) number
You must also get a TLA or tCPH number if you have a 7000 series landless keeper CPH number. You may have this type of CPH number if you do not own the land where you keep livestock.
You do not need a TLA or tCPH number if you have a 7000 series landless keeper CPH number and you only keep poultry. Find out about registration rules for poultry and other captive birds.
Before you start
To apply for a TLA or tCPH number, you must have a county parish holding (CPH) number for land in England.
If your main holding is in Wales, log into Rural Payments Wales (RPW) Online instead.
You must also register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to get a flock or herd mark.
When you cannot apply for a TLA or tCPH number
You cannot apply for a TLA or tCPH number if your livestock will mix with someone else’s. You’ll both need to report livestock movements and record them in your holding registers.
You also cannot get a TLA or tCPH number for common land.
When to get a TLA
A TLA is for land or buildings that:
- are within 10 miles of the main area you keep livestock
- you do not own
- are in England or Wales
- are in the same bovine TB risk area as your CPH number
You must also be the only person who keeps livestock on the land or in the building.
If you have a piece of land that is in both England and Scotland, you cannot get a TLA for any part of that land.
Apply for a tCPH number instead if:
- you want to register, and will operate, your temporary holding separately from your existing CPH number
- the land you wish to use is in a different TB risk area from your CPH number - find a map of bovine TB risk areas on TB hub
What you must do when you have a TLA
A TLA associates the land or building you’re using temporarily to your existing CPH number.
This means you can treat the land or building as part of the CPH number it’s associated with.
You do not need to:
- record or report livestock movements between the TLA land or building and the rest of your CPH number
- follow the standstill rule if you’re moving livestock between the TLA land or building and the rest of your CPH number
You must still:
- follow the standstill rule if you’re moving livestock from the TLA land or building to a different CPH number
- report any livestock movements to the TLA land or building from a different CPH number
Use your CPH number to report the movements. You must also record the movements in your holding register. Find out more about reporting and recording:
Your TLA land or building will be treated as part of your CPH number for disease testing and restrictions.
A TLA will share a flock or herd mark with your CPH number. This means that you:
- do not need to order different identification tags for livestock kept on a TLA
- must use your CPH number when you order new or replacement tags
When to get a tCPH number
A tCPH number is for land and buildings:
- more than 10 miles from the main area you keep livestock
- in England or Wales
- that you do not own
- that are not in more than one CPH number
- that are all rented from the same landowner (if it’s a group of fields or buildings)
It can be used for land and buildings within 10 miles if:
- you want to register, and will operate, your holdings separately
- the land you wish to use is in a different TB risk area from your CPH number
You must also be the only person who keeps livestock on the land or in the building.
What you must do when you have a tCPH number
You must treat the land included in your tCPH number as separate to the land included in any other CPH number you hold. This means that you must:
- keep a separate holding register
- keep livestock reported as being on your tCPH number separate from those reported as being on any other CPH number
- record and report livestock movements between your tCPH number and any other CPH number
- follow the standstill rule when you move livestock between your tCPH number and any other CPH number
- keep identification documents and cattle passports for livestock you move to your tCPH number
A tCPH number will share a flock or herd mark with your CPH number. This means that you:
- do not need to order different identification tags for animals kept on a tCPH number
- must use your CPH number when you order new or replacement tags
Bovine TB testing and tCPH numbers
You must follow the routine bovine TB testing interval for the bovine TB risk area that applies to your tCPH number.
The exception is when your tCPH number is in the low risk area and your CPH number is in the high risk or edge area. Then you must follow the testing interval for your CPH number.
When your tCPH number is in the high risk area and your CPH number is in the low risk area, APHA may ask you to carry out testing on your CPH number more often than once every 4 years.
This will depend on the number and frequency of livestock movements between your CPH number and your tCPH number.
You should test on your tCPH number at the same time as your CPH number wherever possible.
If you lose your TB free status (for example, due to a TB breakdown), APHA will apply movement restrictions.
This means you must not move cattle on or off your CPH numbers and tCPH numbers unless APHA gives you a licence to do so.
APHA will only remove these restrictions after testing or a veterinary risk assessment.
If you need advice, call APHA.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Apply for a TLA or tCPH number
You can apply for more than one TLA or tCPH number. They last for up to one year and you can renew them.
Complete the Application to register temporary use of land or buildings to keep livestock form.
Agents can apply for a TLA or a tCPH number but the applicant must complete the declaration in section 6.
Post or email it to APHA.
Email: [email protected]
Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA)
Cardiff Customer Service Centre
Cromlin West
Cardiff Edge Business Park
Longwood Drive
Whitchurch
Cardiff
CF14 7YU
Renew your TLA or tCPH number or reactivate a TLA
A TLA and a tCPH number last up to one year. Contact APHA one month before it expires to either renew or deactivate.
You can either:
- complete and return the renewal letter form you’ll get from APHA
- call APHA
You can call APHA to reactivate a TLA that has expired as long as the land, buildings and landowner have not changed. You cannot reactivate an expired tCPH number.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Email: [email protected]
Update your TLA or tCPH number details
You must tell APHA when:
- there are any changes to the information you gave in your application
- the landowner changes
- you stop using any of the land or buildings to keep livestock
- you want to add more land or buildings to your TLA or tCPH number
Call or email APHA. If you email, use ‘TLA update’ or ‘tCPH update’, whichever is applicable, as the subject in your email.
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Email: [email protected]
Updates to this page
Published 6 September 2022Last updated 7 October 2024 + show all updates
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Clarified that you cannot apply for a TLA or tCPH number if your main holding is in Wales. Clarified that you cannot get a TLA or tCPH number for common land. Clarified that agents can apply but the applicant must complete the declaration. Added that you must deactivate your TLA or tCPH number if you do not plan to use the land or building in future. Clarified that you must contact APHA if the landowner changes or you want to add more land to your TLA or tCPH number.
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Made it clearer that TLAs and tCPHs are for when livestock keepers intend to use someone else’s land or buildings temporarily. Restructured the guidance to avoid duplication. Added that you can reactivate an expired TLA.
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Made it clearer that the information on this page applies if you keep livestock for any purpose, including as pets. Added that you can get a tCPH for a group of fields and buildings which are all rented from the same landholder, whereas a TLA is for a single piece of land or a building. Added a link to a page explaining the process for getting a flock or herd mark.
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First published.