Apply for a bat survey, conservation or project licence

Application for a licence to disturb or take bats, damage, destroy or obstruct access to any place used by them for breeding, shelter or protection.

The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) (WCA)

This application form is for:

1. Personal survey licences (scientific/education purposes) to:

• Disturb bats while they are occupying a roost
• Capture or handle bats

2. Project specific licences (conservation/scientific/education purposes) to:

• Capture or handle bats
• Ring or mark bats
• Temporarily possess bats or derivatives of bats
• Disturb bats while they are occupying a roost
• Obstruct access to, damage or destroy bat roosts
• Photograph, including filming

A project specific licence application must be supported by a method statement. Guidance for preparing your method statement is available on our website. The method statement should include a location map of relevant scale. A scale of 1:10,000 would be advisable and/or a GIS layer such as Shapefile if available.

Possession

• If you wish to apply for a licence to keep bats in captivity in the long term or possess specimens of bats or derivatives of bats, use the application form for a licence to possess European Protected Species (opens in new tab).

Photographing Bats

A licence to photograph (including filming) bats is not required if the photography is an incidental part of other licensed bat work and it causes no extra disturbance above that caused by the licensed activities. Such photography includes:

• Non‑flash photography (i.e. using only natural light or low‑level artificial light such as a domestic torch or low output LED) of roosting bats and of people carrying out licensed work in and around roosts
• Flash photography in roosts and hibernacula only when no bats are present
• Photography of bats caught at traps during survey work
• Flash photography of individual bats for identification purposes or of groups of bats for survey purposes, where the licence holder considers that this would cause less disturbance than handling or prolonged illumination of bats.

It is recommended that there is only one designated photographer at any one time to reduce disturbance.


A specific licence to photograph (including filming) bats is required for:

• Flash photography in bat roosts or hibernacula, or entering bat roosts or hibernacula for the primary purpose of photography (including filming). As disturbing bats specifically for the purpose of photography is potentially very disturbing to bats, licences will be given only where NRW agrees there is a clear need for the photographs and only to experienced photographers who can demonstrate their ability to work efficiently with minimal disturbance to the bats.

NRW does not consider that it is necessary for consultants to photograph bats in roosts to demonstrate their presence in survey reports.