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How bat earned recognition works聽

The bat earned recognition class licence allows bat ecologists to carry out bat roost mitigation work.听听

If you apply for this licence, Natural England will assess your experience and competence to undertake licensed work, including:

• undertaking survey work聽
• determining impacts of the proposed work聽
• designing and implementing effective mitigation聽
• designing and implementing effective compensation聽

If you pass the assessment, you鈥檒l be accredited to the appropriate level for your competence and get an accreditation certificate. This certificate allows you to register sites and carry out work under the earned recognition class licence.

You should continue to apply for bat mitigation licences as you normally would while you go through the accreditation process.

Application criteria聽

To be eligible to apply, you鈥檒l need to show that you:聽

• hold a level 2 (or higher) Natural England bat class survey licence
• are a member of an approved professional body - either The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), or The Institute of Chartered Foresters (ICF)听

贵辞谤听CIEEM聽membership, your level will need to be either associate, full, or fellowship (also known as fellow).听

贵辞谤听 ICF membership your level will need to be professional member.

For RSB membership you鈥檒l need to be listed on their professional register.

To pass accreditation you will need to provide examples of your work, including from licensed bat mitigation projects. Your examples will need to be from projects where you have:

• visited the sites
• found and impacted bats
• written the reports or licence application
• received planning permission or a licence decision using your reports and application

You will need to have been the named ecologist on a mitigation licence for at least one of your examples, and you must have completed that project from start to finish.

Levels of accreditation聽

There are 3 levels of accreditation you can apply for.听You must hold the previous level of accreditation to be able to apply for the next level. This means that if you鈥檙e not currently accredited you鈥檒l need to apply for Accreditation Level 1 first.

Within each accreditation level are annexes which cover specific species and roost types. Some annexes are mandatory for that accreditation level whilst others are optional.

Your accreditation level and annexes will determine which bat species and roost types you can work on.听

You must be able to provide evidence to prove your competence at the level you apply for.

If you cannot provide evidence, your application may be rejected.

You can request more details about the accreditation levels and competency requirements by completing the .

How to apply聽

You can only apply for a bat earned recognition licence when applications for your accreditation level are open.

We are currently accepting applications for Bat ER Accreditation Level 1. We will be opening for applications to upgrade to Accreditation Levels 2 and 3 in 2026.

You can follow this page for updates on timings of future application dates.

To apply you must first complete the .

If you鈥檙e eligible then we鈥檒l send you guidance on applying and an application form. If you apply using this form and your application is accepted, you鈥檒l be invited to take part in an assessment process.

Providing evidence聽

To prepare for your application and assessment you should keep records which evidence your own work, including:聽聽

• 辫丑辞迟辞驳谤补辫丑蝉听
• method statements聽
• survey records聽
• 濒颈肠别苍肠别蝉听
• 谤别辫辞谤迟蝉听
• site visit records聽
• email correspondence聽
• meeting minutes聽聽
• toolbox talks聽

This will help you provide the evidence you need to support your application.

Charges for earned recognition accreditation

You鈥檒l need to pay 拢1,070 for earned recognition Accreditation Level 1. The costs for accreditation levels 2 and 3 will be announced once applications are open.

There is also a charge 聽to add optional annexes to your accreditation level聽. The fee for this will depend upon the annex being added. Fees will be announced at the same time as the fees for Accreditation Levels 2 and 3.

You must provide invoicing information when you apply for accreditation. You鈥檒l only need to pay if your application is successful and you gain earned recognition accreditation.

Registering sites聽

Once accredited, you can register sites under the bat earned recognition class licence. You鈥檒l need to submit less information to Natural England than is required for a standard bat mitigation licence (A13).听听

As an accredited ecologist it鈥檚 important that you ensure information submitted to Natural England is true and accurate. The site registration may not be valid if it is approved based on false information.

Natural England will carry out an assessment on your site registration and aims to issue a licensing decision within 15 working days.

Natural England will carry out compliance checks of your work under the terms of the licence.听

Check if you need to pay for site registration聽

You鈥檒l need to pay for a site registration for certain situations. Filling in the charge screening questions on the site registration form will tell you:聽聽

• if you need to pay聽
• how much you鈥檒l pay聽

Read the聽terms and conditions for paying for a wildlife licence.听

When you do not need to pay聽

You do not need to pay if the main purpose of the project is:聽

• to preserve public health and safety
• to conserve a bat roost in situ
• for the conservation of a listed building聽聽聽
• for a householder home improvement project

A project will be considered as conserving a bat roost in situ if all the following apply:聽

• the proposed work will not affect the roost聽
• the roost is a maternity, swarming or hibernation roost, or the roost is a day roost containing 3 or more bats at one time聽
• the roosting spaces and pre-emergent flight areas will stay accessible to bats and keep the same length, height and width聽
• access points will not be changed聽
• for roof roosts, the roof timbers will not be changed聽
• no more than 5% of the building materials in the roost space will be replaced聽
• the temperature and humidity of the roost will not be changed聽
• light levels inside and outside the roost and flight paths to and from the roost will not be affected聽

How to pay for site registration

If you must pay for your site registration, you鈥檒l need to pay 拢410 when you apply. You can pay by bank card using a link to GOVUK Pay in the site registration form.听听

VAT does not apply to charges for wildlife licences.听

Once you have paid, take note of the payment reference provided by GOVUK Pay as you鈥檒l need to provide this on the site registration form.听

If a site registration is not authorised, you will not be charged.听

If a site registration is authorised, there is no further action to take.听

Withdrawing a site registration聽

If you withdraw a chargeable site registration before you receive a decision, Natural England will refund the 拢410 payment.

Natural England will not refund payment once a site registration has been authorised.听

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If a Further Information Request (FIR) is issued requiring a resubmission, Natural England will refund your initial 拢410 payment.

If a site registration is authorised following one or more resubmissions, you鈥檒l be invoiced for 拢410 for the initial assessment, plus the cost of assessment of the resubmission at a variable rate of 拢121 per hour.

You鈥檒l be asked for invoice details when you resubmit a site registration.

Natural England accepts purchase orders for charges including variable rates. If you want Natural England to add a purchase number to your invoice, you must include it in the invoice details in your charge form.听

If your site registration changes聽

If you paid for your site registration, you鈥檒l need to pay for the time Natural England spends assessing your modification at 拢121 per hour (to the nearest quarter of an hour).听

When you submit your modification request, you鈥檒l be asked to provide invoice details. Natural England will invoice you for this work once the fee is calculated.

Natural England cannot take a fixed payment by card for a modification.听

Compliance and enforcement聽

Natural England will carry out compliance checks on registered sites across all accreditation levels through targeted and random monitoring. Compliance checks may also be undertaken on material you submitted as part of your accreditation evidence.

If you fall below the required standards of your accreditation or breach the class licence you鈥檒l be investigated and given appropriate sanctions.听

Contact Natural England

For queries about bat earned recognition, email:聽EarnedRecognition.Bat@naturalengland.org.uk.