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Cattle Movement Deadline Calculator

Enter the date a movement happened and where your holding is registered. This works out the reporting deadline, a safer submit-by date, and which national system the movement goes to.

Enter a movement date above to see the deadline.

Quick answer

In Great Britain a cattle movement must be reported within 3 days of the move. The official guidance does not say whether the day of the move is day one, so this calculator takes the cautious reading: the move day counts as day one and the report must be received by day 3. Which system the report goes to depends on where the holding is registered: BCMS for England, ScotEID for Scotland, BCMS for Wales until EIDCymru takes over cattle, and NIFAIS for Northern Ireland, which has no 3-day figure (DAERA asks for notification on the day).

How is the 3-day deadline worked out?

GOV.UK says a movement must be reported within 3 days of the movement, but it does not say whether the move day itself is day one. So the calculator counts the day of the move as day one and adds 2 more days to reach day 3, the cautious reading of when the report must be received. It also shows a day earlier as a recommended submit-by date, because the 3-day rule measures when the report is received, not when it was sent, and giving yourself a day's buffer covers a postal delay or a website having a bad day.

Quick win

Report online wherever possible rather than by post. Online submission and receipt happen at the same moment, which removes the guesswork this calculator's buffer date is otherwise protecting you against.

Which system does the movement go to?

The nation that matters is where the holding is registered, not where the animal came from or is going to. A holding registered in Wales sending cattle to an English market reports that movement in the system where the sending holding's own records live, which for cattle is BCMS today and will be EIDCymru after the Welsh switch. If both ends of a movement are on holdings in different nations, each holding reports to its own nation's system separately.

Where can you read the full rule?

This tool only does the date arithmetic and points you to the right system. For everything else, how each system accepts a report, what happens if you're late, and how this differs from the separate standstill rule, see the 3-day movement rule guide.

Worth knowing

This deadline, tracked automatically

FarmHQ records a movement the moment it happens, works out which of the four national systems your holding actually reports to, and drafts the report ready to file well before the 3 days are anywhere close to running out.

See how FarmHQ works
Related reading

Does the day of the move count as day one?

The calculator counts the day of the move as day one and gives day three as the deadline, which is the cautious reading. The official wording is shorter than most people expect. GOV.UK says you or your agent must report movements to BCMS within 3 days, and the regulations say a keeper must notify within three days of any movement, with failure an offence. The Welsh Government says three calendar days.

None of those spells out whether the move day is day one or day zero. GOV.UK does say it for standstill, where day 1 is the day after arrival, but not for reporting. So I treat the calculator's date as the working deadline and would not plan around a spare day. If a report lands right on the edge and it matters, ask BCMS before you assume.

What does the deadline look like on real dates?

These are examples of the arithmetic, not advice for your farm. Cattle that left on Monday 12 October 2026 give a calculator deadline of Wednesday 14 October, with Tuesday 13 October as the safer date. Cattle that left on Friday 16 October 2026 give Sunday 18 October, so the real last working day is the Friday itself. Cattle that left on Saturday 24 October 2026 give Monday 26 October.

Weekends count, and that is where people get caught. CTS Online can be used anytime and the CTS self-service telephone line runs 24 hours, but the BCMS helpline is weekdays only, 8:30am to 5pm. GOV.UK says to keep your receipt or reference number, and that if you got neither, the report failed. Post gives no receipt at all.

If the market or abattoir reports for me, am I covered?

Not automatically. GOV.UK says markets and slaughterhouses may report for you, but you are still legally responsible for it being on time, so check with them and report it yourself if they are not. Scotland says the same, and adds that a market or abattoir over the border in England or Wales may not report on your behalf.

Keep this clock apart from the others. The holding register has its own 36-hour clock, and standstill is a separate rule that stops you moving other animals off. If an animal leaves and comes back on the same day, report off and on separately. Our holding register guide covers what goes in the book, and the 3-day rule guide covers standstill by nation.

Is it the same 3 days in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Scotland is 3 days to ScotEID, per the Scottish Government's cattle guidance, with moves between your own holdings logged in 48 hours. Wales is three calendar days, and Welsh cattle still report to BCMS until the move to EIDCymru, so check which system applies on the day. Our guide to the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish systems tracks that change.

Northern Ireland is different, and I could not find a 3-day rule. DAERA says the seller's MC2A goes in on the day the animals move and the buyer's on the day they arrive. The calculator uses the same 3-day sum for every nation, so for a Northern Ireland holding follow DAERA instead.

What do farmers actually ask?

How does this calculator work out the deadline?

It takes the movement date you enter, counts that day as day one, and adds 2 more days to reach day 3. The official guidance says 3 days from the movement without saying whether the move day counts, so this is the cautious reading of the date the report must be received by the national system. Northern Ireland is different: DAERA asks for notification on the day, so the calculator shows that instead.

Why does it also show a day earlier than the deadline?

Because the 3-day deadline is for the report being received, not sent. Treating day 2 as your real deadline leaves a buffer for a postal delay, a phone queue, or a website having a bad day, so the calculator shows both the latest date and a safer submit-by date.

Which system does it tell me to report to?

Whichever one matches the nation you select: BCMS via CTS Online for England, ScotEID for Scotland, BCMS for Wales for now (the Welsh Government plans to move cattle to EIDCymru from winter 2026), and NIFAIS for Northern Ireland. This is based on where the holding is registered, not where the animal is travelling to or from.

Are the 3 days working days or calendar days?

The Welsh Government's keeper guidance says three calendar days. GOV.UK's England and Wales guidance says only 3 days and does not distinguish, so I would count weekends and bank holidays as days and never rely on a working-day reading. The calculator counts every day on the calendar. The full rule is in our livestock deadlines table.

What happens if I report a movement late?

GOV.UK says failing to record and report on time could mean movement restrictions on your herd, reduced subsidy payments or prosecution. A late report is still better than none, so report it as soon as you notice. If you reported one wrongly, GOV.UK says to correct it on CTS Online, or tell BCMS by email or post if you do not use it.

Do I report moves between my own holdings?

In England and Wales GOV.UK says you do not have to report movements within 10 miles of the main area you keep cattle if the land is registered to your CPH number and the cattle will not mix with anyone else's. In Scotland, moves between your own holdings are logged on ScotMoves within 48 hours.

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