Guidance

Report sheep and goat movements

How to report sheep and goat movements to the Livestock Information Service.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and Animal and Plant Health Agency
• Published: 1 June 2014
• Last updated: 4 September 2023 — See all updates

Applies to England

• Guidance for Northern Ireland
• Guidance for Scotland
• Guidance for Wales

Before you can report movements, you must register the place you keep livestock (a holding). This may be:

• your farm
• land you rent from another farmer to keep the animals
• any place where you keep sheep and goats as a pet

You must record and report movements every time you move sheep or goats on or off one of these places.

Read moving sheep and goats: what keepers need to know to find out more about:

• what a movement is
• who needs to report movements
• when you do not have to report movements
• what you need to do before you move sheep and goats

There’s different guidance for:

• reporting movements if you’re a market, showground or collection centre operator
• what slaughterhouse operators need to do when animals arrive

Following these rules means that animals can be traced at all times to help prevent and contain disease.

It’s your responsibility to follow the rules to avoid penalties such as movement restrictions, reduced subsidy payments, fines or prosecution.

You must also record movements on and off your holding in your holding register within 36 hours. Find out what you need to record in your holding register.

Report off movements

You can choose to report off movements either:

• online
• by using a paper LIS-1 movement document

Report off movements online

You can use either:

• the Livestock Information Service (LIS) – you’ll need to create an account to use the service for the first time
• your farm software package if it’s linked to LIS – check with your provider

You’ll need to print:

• one copy of the LIS-1 movement document for the haulier moving the animals
• 2 copies of the LIS-1 movement document for the receiving keeper, unless you know the receiving keeper has a LIS account and uses it to report movements onto their holding

If you need help with creating a LIS account or advice on reporting a movement, call the LIS helpline.

Livestock Information Service
Telephone: 03300 416 577
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm
Find about call charges
Email: [email protected]

Report off movements using the LIS-1 movement document

You might get a paper copy of the document from a market, slaughterhouse or local council. This comes as a ‘quadruplicate’ - 4 identical pages. Keep one for yourself and give the other 3 to the haulier.

You can also complete and print the editable LIS-1 movement document on the LIS website.

You’ll need to:

1. Print 4 copies.
2. Keep one for yourself.
3. Give 3 copies to the haulier – they’ll keep one and give the other 2 to the receiving keeper (unless the keeper reports online)

Report off movements to approved central point recording centres

A central point recording centre (CPRC) is usually a market that has been approved to scan animals’ electronic identification (EID) tags when they arrive. They’ll give you a list of official identification numbers, which you can use to update your holding register.

On the LIS-1 movement document make sure you:

• put the total number of animals you’re moving
• include the date you move them
• tick the CPRC box

Report on movements

You must report on movements within 3 days of the animal arriving on to your holding.

You can choose to report on movements either:

• online
• by posting the LIS-1 movement document to LIS

Livestock Information Service
c/o Defra
Curwen Road
Workington
CA14 2DD

The sending keeper cannot report the on movement for you.

Report on movements online

Report on movements online using either your:

• LIS account
• farm software package if it’s linked to LIS - check with your provider

You can either:

• confirm the on movement if the sending keeper reported the off movement online.
• report the whole move (the on and off movement) if the sending keeper reported the move on the paper LIS-1 movement document only.

Complete the destination section of the document. You must keep a paper (or scanned digital) copy of this document for 3 years from the date the animal arrives on your holding.

If both the on and off moves were reported online, you do not have to keep copies.

Report on movements using the LIS-1 movement document

Complete the destination section of the document that arrives with the animal if:

• you do not have a LIS account
• your farm software is not linked to LIS
• the sending keeper has not reported the off movement on LIS

You’ll need to either:

• post a copy to LIS
• scan and email it to LIS

Livestock Information Service
c/o Defra
Curwen Road
Workington
CA14 2DD
Email: [email protected]

As the receiving keeper, you must keep copies of movement documents for 3 years from the date the animal arrives on to your holding.

If you’re moving animals for exhibition or performance reasons

You might want to move animals to locations that do not have a CPH number, such as:

• a school or other education facility
• a TV studio
• other venues for performance-related activities

If so, you need to contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to get a permit.

Animal and Plant Health Agency
Email: [email protected]
Telephone (Defra rural services helpline): 03000 200 301
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

A condition of that permit is that they’re the only animals involved.

If there are animals from other keepers involved, the venue becomes a ‘gathering’ and will need an animal gathering licence.

You need to report both movements as a round trip:

• off your holding to the venue
• on to your holding when they return

You’ll need to tick the ‘destination exhibition or performance with permit (Non CPH)’ in section 1’ box for the receiving address on the LIS-1 movement document.

You must also record the movements in a holding register.

If you need help or advice

Contact LIS for help with reporting movements.

Livestock Information Service
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 03300 416 577
Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm
Find about call charges

Published 1 June 2014
Last updated 4 September 2023 + show all updates

1. 4 September 2023

   Contact details for the Livestock Information Service have been updated.

2. 15 June 2023

   Content has been reviewed for accuracy. New information includes what to do when moving sheep and goats for entertainment and education reasons.

3. 28 March 2022

   Due to the launch of a new movement reporting system, updated the guidance and links from the Animal Reporting and Movement Service (ARAMS) to the Livestock Information Service (LIS). Renamed section ‘what to include in an off-movement notification’ to ‘what to include in a movement document’. It’s no longer recommended you re-tag animals identified before 2010 with a pair of identifiers that includes an electronic identifier (EID) to make recording and reporting easier. Updated email contact details from [email protected] to [email protected]

4. 18 April 2016

   Updated standstill restrictions to add link to full list of exemptions.

5. 18 November 2015

   Added the requirement for receiving keepers to retain copies of movement reports for 3 years from the date of an animal arriving on their holding unless both off and on movements have been recorded electronically.

6. 1 June 2014

   First published.