Spray record rules for 2026 and 2027

What is changing

Professional users have long had to keep records of every plant protection product they use and keep them for at least three years (Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, Article 67). Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 now sets out exactly what each record must contain and requires records to be kept electronically in a machine-readable format.

The new record content applies from 1 January 2026. Member States were allowed to defer the move to electronic, machine-readable records until 1 January 2027 (Regulation (EU) 2025/2203). Records must be made without undue delay.

What each record must include

The main details for every use of a professional product are:

• The product name and its authorisation number (MAPP number in the UK, PCS number in Ireland)
• The date and, where relevant, the time of application
• The dose applied
• The area, volume, weight or number of seeds treated
• The crop, situation or land use, identified by its EPPO code
• The crop growth stage using the BBCH scale, where the product label restricts use to certain stages
• Where the treatment took place, such as an IACS land parcel or another location method accepted in your country

Contractors who spray for someone else must also give their client access to, or a copy of, the records without undue delay.

Northern Ireland

Under the Windsor Framework the EU rules apply in Northern Ireland, and DAERA is the competent authority. The new content requirements apply from 1 January 2026, and DAERA has said it will not apply penalties for non-compliance with them during 2026. From 1 January 2027 all records must be in a machine-readable electronic format, and paper records must be converted by 31 January of the following year. See DAERA’s guidance.

Ireland

Regulation 2023/564 applies directly in Ireland, with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) as the competent authority. Records must be kept electronically in a machine-readable format by 1 January 2027 at the latest. Check DAFM record-keeping guidance for national templates and updates.

Great Britain

Great Britain is not bound by Regulation 2023/564. Under the Plant Protection Products (Sustainable Use) Regulations 2012 professional users must still keep records of pesticide use for at least three years, and HSE is the regulator. Assurance schemes and customers may ask for more detail or for records in a particular format.

What counts as machine-readable

Machine-readable means a structured file that software can read, such as CSV, Excel, JSON or XML. A PDF, a photo or a scan of a paper sheet is not machine-readable on its own, although a PDF is still useful as a human-readable copy.