Action required: Does your business deal in pesticides?

If your work involves plant protection products (pesticides), you must comply with the Official Controls (Plant Protection Products) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2020/360/contents/made.

This includes registering your details and business activities with the Competent Authority. This authority in Northern Ireland is the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

Who needs to register

You must register by 31 March 2022 if:

• your business is located in Northern Ireland; and
• your business produces, manufactures, processes, imports, distributes, sells, or otherwise places pesticides for professional use or their ingredients and adjuvants on the market.

If you start carrying out any of these activities after 31 March 2022 you must register within 3 months.

Who does not need to register

You do not need to register if:

• you are involved in the supply chain of amateur use (home garden) pesticides only, but you will need to follow a similar process in future. More information will be provided over the coming months;
• you are a professional user of pesticides such as a farmer, amenity contractor or if you spray pesticides at your workplace, but you will need to follow a similar process in future. More information will be provided over the coming months.
• you use pesticides, but not as part of your work - for example in your garden at your home;
• your business is located in Great Britain, but you must register with Defra for inclusion onto the GB Official Controls Regulation 2020 register of operators. Further information is available from the GOV.UK website.

How to register

The Department has launched the online registration process on the DAERA website. Apply online and read the additional guidance.

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