DAERA – new mandatory record-keeping requirements for plant protection products (PPPs)
As a Quality Assurance scheme, DAERA is writing to advise that under Regulation (EU) 2023/564, new mandatory record-keeping requirements for plant protection products (PPPs) have taken effect in Northern Ireland from 1 January 2026.
From 1st January 2026 all Professional users should start introducing the following additional content requirements into their PPP records:
- Product authorisation number (MAPP)
- EPPO codes for crops/land uses
- BBCH codes for crop growth stages
This Regulation also states that all records of PPP use must be kept in an electronic, machine-readable format. However, to make the transition easier for everyone, DAERA has triggered an option which allows the mandatory electronic transfer of PPP records to be postponed for one year until 1 January 2027.
This gives professional users more time to prepare and adapt.
Looking ahead – from 1 January 2027, all records of PPP use must be kept in an electronic, machine-readable format. Where records are initially created in paper form, they must be converted within the required timeframe.
Paper records will remain acceptable until 31 December 2026.
A press release was issued by DAERA to the Farming Press on 19 Dec 2025 setting out these new requirements.
For further information and resources regarding these new requirements, visit DAERA’s official guidance page here or contact the Department directly on pesticides@daera-ni.gov.uk.
Kind Regards,
DAERA Pesticides Policy Team
