Bovine TB rules decide when your cattle can be sold, bought and moved, and they change often. This guide is checked against GOV.UK and APHA material as of 7 October 2026, so confirm anything time-critical with APHA or your vet.
As of October 2026, English herds are routinely TB tested every 6 months in the High Risk Area, every 6 or 12 months in the Edge Area, and every 4 years in the Low Risk Area. Before cattle move, they need a negative pre-movement test within the previous 60 days, unless they are under 42 days old, come from a 4-yearly herd, or the move is exempt. Cattle moving into the Low Risk Area from higher-risk areas need a post-movement test 60 to 120 days after arrival. A breakdown stops all moves without an APHA licence. For policy, see our bovine TB strategy explainer.
APHA writes to you with the test type, the earliest start date and the date the test becomes overdue. Routine tests are free, and the interval depends on where your parish sits. The default intervals are:
| Area | Default routine test | Who may differ |
|---|---|---|
| High Risk Area | Every 6 months | Annual if no breakdown for 6 years, or in a CHECS licensed TB health scheme |
| Edge Area | Every 6 or 12 months, by parish | Annual rewards as above; radial testing near a new breakdown |
| Low Risk Area | Every 4 years | Annual or more often for open farms, raw milk, dealers, heifer rearers and others |
Lower-risk herds in six-monthly areas can earn annual testing by meeting one criterion, and CHECS entry level membership does not count. Herds in a TB hotspot or Enhanced Surveillance Area may be tested every 6, 12 or 24 months. Rely on the letter APHA sends for your own herd, not the table.
Policy and rules are different things. On 10 June 2026 an independent steering group published recommendations for a new bovine TB strategy, and ministers said they would consider them. They include more frequent testing for high-risk herds in the Edge and Low Risk Areas, and more sensitive movement testing for cattle leaving higher-risk areas. Our strategy explainer covers the policy side.
What I could confirm as in force is narrower. GOV.UK's intervals page, last updated 17 April 2026, still shows the intervals above, and the pre-movement and post-movement guidance I read dates from February 2024. The recommendations themselves say some changes need new regulation.
One change is dated: from 1 July 2026, TB Hub says all new breakdown herds with lesion or culture positive animals across the Edge Area require a mandatory gamma test. I found no published date for changed intervals or movement tests, so check GOV.UK before you buy or sell.
Cattle from herds in England must test negative within 60 days before they move. The 60 days run from the injection date, which is day zero. If you move cattle to Scotland, the test must be within 30 days, and not taken while the herd was under restriction.
There are exemptions. Cattle under 42 days old, and cattle from English herds on 4-yearly testing, need no pre-movement test. Others include AI centres, direct-to-slaughter moves, certain finishing units, short outdoor shows, vet treatment and APHA written exemptions. The full exemptions table lists the evidence to keep.
Keep evidence for 3 years if you rely on an exemption, and keep TB52c test charts for 3 years and 60 days. The test is a private cost between you and your vet. Our farm animal vets directory helps you find a TB-testing practice.
In England you must arrange post-movement tests for cattle moved to herds in the Low Risk Area from the High Risk Area, the Edge Area or Wales. The same applies to annual-testing parts of the Edge Area, from the High Risk Area, six-monthly Edge parishes and Wales. You pay for it, and the test must be between 60 and 120 days after arrival.
Until the negative result is in, the cattle cannot leave, except directly to slaughter within 120 days, a slaughter gathering, an approved or licensed finishing unit, or under an APHA licence. A government-funded herd test counts if the cattle have been there at least 60 days.
Skipping it is expensive, because APHA can restrict your whole herd until the cattle are tested. The usual trap is bought-in calves: they are exempt from pre-movement testing under 42 days, but still need the post-movement test once they pass 60 days on your holding.
Your herd loses officially TB free status if an animal fails a test, a slaughterhouse finds typical lesions, two skin tests in a row are inconclusive, or a test goes overdue. Then you must not move cattle on or off without a licence from APHA.
A general licence allows cattle direct to slaughter, and through a red market if the licence was issued after 30 September 2024. For other moves you apply for a TB movement licence online. Applications can take up to 5 working days, and APHA cannot process one while reactors are still on the farm, results are awaited, or testing is overdue.
To regain status APHA runs short-interval tests every 60 days. You normally need two consecutive clear skin tests, or one for a lower-risk breakdown in the Low Risk Area. Resolved inconclusive reactors in the High Risk or Edge Area are restricted for life, with slaughter or an approved finishing unit the only moves allowed.
APHA arranges valuation and slaughter of reactors, repeat inconclusive reactors and direct contacts. Compensation is paid if the animal has the correct ear tags and passport, even if the carcass is condemned. Defra bases it on a monthly table of average market prices across 51 categories.
Pedigree rates need the certificate sent to APHA within 10 days of the animal being identified. An animal that dies on the holding before removal earns nothing.
The reductions are where farmers lose money. If a test is overdue by 61 to 90 days you get 25% less, 91 to 180 days 50% less, and more than 181 days 95% less. Animals brought in during your current breakdown get 50% less, unless you were in a CHECS TB scheme before losing status. A reactor too dirty to slaughter also takes 50% off, and reductions can stack.
Passport and tag records matter in cash terms: see the cattle passport 27-day rule.
Scotland has been officially TB free since September 2009, and low-risk herds are exempt from routine testing, with the rest on a default 4-year test. Cattle coming into Scotland from England or Wales need a negative test within 30 days. In Scotland, cattle from the High Risk Area, the Edge Area, Wales and Northern Ireland also need a post-movement test.
Wales tests annually everywhere, with 6-monthly testing only in the Intensive Action Area. Since 1 February 2024, herds in the low TB area of Wales are no longer exempt from pre-movement testing.
Northern Ireland runs its own programme through DAERA, so check DAERA for its rules. Cattle from Northern Ireland moving to Wales or Scotland need post-movement tests. On a cross-border move, you follow your own country's pre-movement rules and the receiving keeper checks the destination's. Systems by nation are in our nations cattle movement systems guide.
Before a test, APHA expects correct tags and accurate movement, passport and medicine records. Discuss routine drugs in the 60 days before the test with your vet, and avoid giving wormers or vaccines once testing has started until each animal is finished.
Treatment entries go under the 5-year medicine record rule, and moves under the cattle 3-day reporting rule.
FarmHQ is a mobile-first farm office app for UK livestock farms, in pre-launch beta. It aims to log a TB test result against the same animal record as its passport, movements and medicines, with Ask Farmer Joe drafting entries for you to confirm. This is general information, not veterinary advice: confirm specific cases with APHA or your vet.
In England and Wales a negative pre-movement test is valid for 60 days from the date of the injection, which counts as day zero. Cattle must move within that window unless they are exempt, for example because they are under 42 days old or come from a herd on 4-yearly testing in England.
Yes if your herd is in the Low Risk Area, or an annual-testing part of the Edge Area, and the cattle come from the High Risk Area, the Edge Area or Wales, unless an exemption applies. The test must be done between 60 and 120 days after arrival, and you arrange and pay for it.
Only with an APHA licence, unless a general licence covers the move, such as direct to slaughter. APHA issues licences for approved movements, for example to an approved finishing unit, and applications can take up to 5 working days. Moving restricted cattle without a licence can mean a fine or prosecution.
Defra uses monthly average market prices across 51 categories. Animals need the correct ear tags and passports. Your payment is cut by 25%, 50% or 95% if your test was overdue, and by 50% for animals brought into a breakdown herd or too dirty to slaughter. Reductions can stack.
Not as far as I could confirm. The June 2026 strategy is a set of recommendations, and GOV.UK still showed 6-monthly, 6 or 12 monthly, and 4-yearly intervals when last updated in April 2026. APHA writes to you if your own interval changes, so follow that letter.