England has BCMS and soon LIS, but the other three nations each run their own cattle system. Here is how a keeper in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland registers and reports, and who to ring.
Scottish keepers register on and report to ScotEID, which also issues cattle passports. Welsh keepers still report to BCMS today, and Welsh Government plans to move cattle to EIDCymru in winter 2026, with exact dates still being finalised. In Northern Ireland, DAERA's NIFAIS records movements, notified online, by phone or on an MC2 form. The deadlines differ by nation, so check the one for your holding. The 3-day rule comparison covers the headline deadline.
England's route is BCMS and the Cattle Tracing System, moving to the Livestock Information Service. The other three nations are on different footings, and the names matter because a report sent to the wrong system has not been reported at all.
| Nation | Where cattle are reported | Run by | First contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | ScotEID (ScotMoves+) | ScotEID, for the Scottish Government | 01466 794323, help@scoteid.com |
| Wales | BCMS and CTS for now; EIDCymru planned | BCMS today; EIDCymru is run by Hybu Cig Cymru | BCMS 0345 050 3456; EIDCymru 01970 636959 |
| Northern Ireland | NIFAIS, through NIFAIS Online | DAERA | 0300 200 7855, or your DAERA Direct office |
Note the Welsh row. EIDCymru will be the Welsh cattle system after the switch, but until then cattle registration and movement reporting in Wales is still done through BCMS. Our 3-day movement guide gives the headline deadline and who reports where. This one is the how-to for each nation, and the English side is in our BCMS to LIS guide.
Scotland has a set order for starting up. You register your land with RPID to get a CPH number, register the species with APHA to get a herd mark, then set up your ScotEID account. When you stop keeping cattle, tell all three within 30 days.
After that the working rules are these:
Scottish markets and abattoirs generally report both sides of a sale, but the legal responsibility stays with the keeper. The usual trap is a private sale arranged through a market: ask whether they are reporting it. Within-business moves between your own holdings use ScotMoves, and additional holdings are valid for 364 days and must be renewed each year. Diary the renewal.
Today, Welsh cattle keepers still use BCMS. Movements must be reported to BCMS within three calendar days and your herd register updated within 36 hours. That is the same Cattle Tracing System England is replacing with LIS, with CTS Online and approved farm software as the usual routes.
The change is coming. EIDCymru is run by Hybu Cig Cymru and already manages sheep, goat and deer movement reporting. Welsh Government's plan is a single system for all Welsh livestock. Its March 2026 leaflet says that from November 2026 all current Welsh cattle information transfers from CTS to EIDCymru, after which births, movements and deaths are reported there.
What I would do now, following the Welsh Government's own advice: keep using BCMS until you are told otherwise, do not try to register cattle on EIDCymru yet, and keep your CPH and contact details up to date with EIDCymru, BCMS and RPW Online. Telephone support is promised for anyone who does not use the internet. The exact switch dates were still being finalised at the last update, so watch for the notice rather than assuming a date.
In Northern Ireland the department, DAERA, runs the Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System (NIFAIS), which replaced APHIS. You register the business with DAERA and apply for a herd number, formally an Animal Group Number, and DAERA inspects before issuing it. DAERA's online services are the preferred route.
Northern Ireland differs in ways that catch GB keepers out. Tags are 'XI' prefixed for newborn cattle from 30 June 2025, and herd and animal statuses such as TB and BVD can stop a movement. A restricted animal needs a licence, not an MC2. For the age-based testing rule, see our BSE testing guide.
The passport is where the nations part company most.
In Scotland, cattle passports have been issued by ScotEID since ScotMoves+ began on 4 October 2021. The passport must still travel with the animal on a change of keeper, and a replacement costs £20 unless you report it not received within six weeks. A passport not received within 14 days of registration is a call to ScotEID.
In Wales, BCMS still issues the passport, and the 27 day application window and CPP35 notice work as they do in England. See the 27-day passport rule and the guide to cattle without a passport. That will change when EIDCymru takes over.
Northern Ireland is the odd one out. DAERA's birth page asks for notification within 27 days and says nothing about applying for a passport. The Cattle Passport Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 provide for a passport for an animal consigned out of Northern Ireland. If you are sending cattle to Great Britain, ask DAERA before the move rather than on the lorry ramp.
A holding's nation decides its system. If you have holdings in Scotland, England and Wales, you register with ScotEID for the Scottish holding and use BCMS and CTS for the English or Welsh ones. Moves between those holdings, even within one business, are external moves on passports, not internal ones.
For private sales, shows and hire moves out of Scotland, you notify ScotEID of the off movement to the destination in England or Wales. For market sales at a Scottish market, the market records the move for you. Markets and abattoirs over the border may not report for you, so ask them. For moves into Scotland, record the departure holding when you record the on movement.
Standstills and disease testing rules differ again by nation, so check with the relevant department before you buy in.
Know the number before the problem. The table at the top has the first contact for each nation. A few more:
Whichever nation you are in, keep your own record too. All three nations expect an on-farm holding register, and an inspector or assessor will compare it with what the system holds. The holding register guide covers what to keep.
Where does FarmHQ fit? FarmHQ is a farm office app for UK livestock farms, in pre-launch beta, with a founding-farms pilot in South-West England, so England is where it starts. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish connections are not live, so use your own nation's system and treat this guide as a map to it.
ScotEID, through the ScotMoves+ system, its website or by phone. A movement must be recorded in your holding register within 48 hours and notified to ScotEID within 3 days. Scottish markets and abattoirs usually report both sides of a sale, but the legal responsibility stays with the keeper, so confirm it when a sale does not go through the ring.
Not as of the last Welsh Government update. Welsh cattle are still reported to BCMS, and Welsh Government planned the move to EIDCymru for winter 2026, with exact dates being finalised. Do not register cattle on EIDCymru until you are told to, and keep your contact details current with EIDCymru, BCMS and RPW Online.
The Northern Ireland Food Animal Information System. DAERA runs it, and it replaced the older APHIS system. Keepers notify births, deaths and movements through NIFAIS Online, which DAERA prefers, or by phone or paper form. Births must be notified within 27 days, deaths within 7 days, and movements on the day they happen.
Not in the same way as Great Britain. DAERA's birth notification page asks for notification within 27 days and does not describe a passport application, while the 1999 Cattle Passport Regulations cover animals consigned out of Northern Ireland. If you are moving cattle to Great Britain, ask DAERA what the animal needs before it travels.