New Requirements for plant protection product (PPP) record-keeping by professional users

Update: Delayed Start for Mandatory E-Transfer Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2203, adopted on 31 October 2025 and effective immediately, allows Member States to defer the requirement to transfer PPP usage records into the electronic format until 1 January 2027. These adjustments aim to accommodate implementation readiness challenges, such as training needs, especially for non‑agricultural users and small-scale operations.  Accordingly, the Department is delaying the mandatory electronic transfer for PPP use until 1 January 2027

Requirements that apply from 1 January 2026

What Professional Users Must Do:

1. Record each use of a plant protection product without undue delay. Until 1 January 2027 records can remain in paper format
2. Familiarise yourself with the new requirements and start introducing the mandatory contents in your PPP records including:

• name of the product and authorisation number (MAPP).
• date and time of application.
• dosage (weight or volume per area).
• area/volume treated (in hectares, m², m³, etc).
• crop or situation/ land use.
• type of use (e.g. treatment of agricultural fields, amenity areas, stores or greenhouses)
• location or identification of treated area or unit (geospatial ID e.g., field number, plot/greenhouse number, site address or an approved alternative)

3. Familiarise yourself with and start applying the standardised codes for crop/use type and growth stages if applicable:
   • EPPO codes for crop names and land use.
   • BBCH codes for crop growth stages.
4. Provide records to the Department, or to agents/inspectors acting on its behalf, within 10 working days of a request, unless an alternative timeframe is specified by the Department.
5. Contractors must ensure that the person or business they are working for has access to all relevant PPP usage records related to the contracted work.

During 2026 DAERA will not apply penalties to users who are found to be in non-compliance in terms of the new content requirements. This will allow the Department time and opportunity to provide any necessary guidance to users. However, this does not remove existing record keeping requirements already in place under Regulation (EC) 1107/2009, which will still be applicable.

Requirements that apply from 1 January 2027

What Professional Users Must Do:

1. All PPP professional Users MUST comply fully with ALL the mandatory requirements including compliance with the electronic, machine-readable standards.
2. Where the records are not initially created in the prescribed electronic format, they must be transferred into such a format no later than 30 days from the date of use of the plant protection product, unless an alternative timeframe is permitted by the Department.

Timeline Summary

Date	Requirement / Action
2 April 2023	Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 entered into force; with its requirements applying from 1 January 2026.
31 Oct 2025	Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2203 entered into force; allows deferral of e-transfer until 1 January 2027.
1 Jan 2026	New content requirements set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/564 apply: professional users must record PPP use promptly, including all mandatory fields (product name, MAPP number, date/time, dosage, area treated, crop/use type, location, EPPO & BBCH codes). Records can remain in paper format.
Throughout 2026	DAERA will not apply penalties for non-compliance with new content requirements; guidance and templates will be provided.
1 Jan 2027	Full compliance required: records must be stored electronically and machine-readable. If initially created in another format, transfer to prescribed electronic format within 30 days of use.

Useful Guidance

• Lists of crop names and land uses and their corresponding EPPO codes (Coming Soon).
• You can read more about EPPO Codes by accessing the EPPO global database at What is EPPO Global Database?.
• You can search for specific EPPO Codes for the uses of plant protection products by crop group at EPPO Computer codes for the uses of plant protection products.
• Growth stages of mono-and dicotyledonous plants - BBCH Monograph (2. Edition, 2001), Edited by Uwe Meier, Federal Biological Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry.

Template (coming soon)

Click here to access a downloadable excel template, with guidance, to record PPP usage electronically. This will support users without access to specialized software or mobile applications and guarantees that all required data fields are captured correctly and in line with Regulation (EU) 2023/564.

Data protection  DAERA adheres to UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR 2016), Data Protection Act 2018, Freedom of Information Act 2000 and Environmental Information Regulations 2004. These laws require that; Personal data is only shared when there is a lawful basis, data is anonymised or pseudonymised before being shared or published. When DAERA divisions share data internally, for example with Agents working on their behalf, safeguards access is role-based and limited to staff with a legitimate need, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) are conducted for high-risk data sharing activities and Information Management Branch oversees compliance.