You can only use the Rural Land Register (RLR) to register agricultural land.

You can register any type of land or property with Land Registry.

You must register your land with both the RLR and Land Registry to claim from most land-based funding schemes, including:

• Environmental Stewardship schemes
• the English Woodland Grant Scheme

Register with your local Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate (RPID) office if your land is in Scotland.

Single Payment Scheme

You don’t have to register with the RLR to apply for the Single Payment Scheme, but it may speed up your claim.

You’ll need to send in a map of your land with your Single Payment Scheme claim form if it isn’t already registered.

Even if you've previously registered land with the Land Registry, you'll still need to register it with the RLR.

What to register

You only need to register land that you want to claim payments on. This includes land that:

• you farm
• qualifies for land-based payment schemes (eg because it has environmental value)

What you’ll get

You’ll get a complete set of maps showing your registered land.

Customer registration

You need to register as a customer with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) before you register your land. You’ll need to tell them:

• the name and address of your business
• who is legally responsible for your business
• the address of your land (including the grid reference or postcode)
• who your main contact person should be and what powers they should have

The main contact person can be yourself, a person legally responsible for your business or someone independent (an agent).

You can give an agent full powers (empowerment) to deal with your land registration, or partial powers (eg they can access information but not change it).

The Rural Payments Agency has produced a leaflet about the different levels of empowerment you can give your contact person.

Download 'Empowerments leaflet' (PDF, 240KB)

Call the RPA to give this information for the first time or change existing contact details for your business.

Rural Payments Agency
Telephone: 0845 603 7777
Find out about call charges

You’ll receive a Single Business Identifier for your business, and each person will get a Personal Identifier. You’ll need these to register your land.

Landlords and tenants

Either the landlord or the tenant can register land on the Rural Land Register, but the land can only be registered once.

However, it’s possible for the landlord to claim funds under one land scheme and their tenant to claim under another.

You can use the RLE1 form to:

• register new land for the first time
• make changes to land already on the Rural Land Register (eg if the boundaries change or if you sell the land to someone else)

Fill in the form and post it to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). You can either download the form below or ask the RPA to send you a pre-printed copy.

You'll need to give your Single Business Identifier - you'll get this when you complete the customer registration process for the first time.

You also need to enclose a map with a visible scale if you’re registering land for the first time, or if your boundaries have changed. Mark your land boundaries clearly with a fine-tipped pen.

RLE1 form and guidance on filling it out

Download 'Form RLE1: Rural Land and Entitlements' (PDF, 122KB)

Download 'RLE1 Guidance' (PDF, 4.3MB)

Contacting the RPA

Rural Payments Agency
csc@rpa.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 603 7777
Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm
Find out about call charges

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 300
Sheffield
S95 1AA

The Rural Land Register only covers land in England.

If your land is in more than one country, you’ll need to register each piece of land separately for each country.

Contact the Rural Payments Agency if you have land in more than one country and have questions about your land in England.

Rural Payments Agency
csc@rpa.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: 0845 603 7777

Use the numbers below if you have land in more than one country and have questions about land in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

Land in Scotland

Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Development
Telephone: 08457 741 741

Land in Northern Ireland

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Telephone: 02871 319 900

Land in Wales

Agriculture Department, Divisional Office of the National Assembly for Wales
Telephone: 02920 752 222

Find out about call charges.