Sheep tagging and the flock register are two halves of one job. The tag identifies the animal, and the register proves where it has been. Most trouble at inspection comes from the gap between them.
In England every sheep must carry an approved tag combination, with one electronic (EID) tag on any animal kept past 12 months. Tag lambs on the holding of birth within 6 months if reared indoors, 9 months if outdoors, or before they leave, whichever comes first. A lamb going for slaughter under 12 months can carry one yellow EID slaughter tag. Replace lost tags within 28 days. Record tagging in your flock register within 36 hours, keep the register for 3 years after the last animal leaves, and return the annual inventory by 31 December. Movement reporting is in our sheep movement reporting guide.
In England every sheep needs to be identified, and electronic identification is the norm. Adult sheep, and any lamb you will keep over 12 months, need an approved combination of two tags, one of which is an electronic (EID) tag. The other is a visual tag that carries the same official ID number.
A pair of adult tags shows UK, a 0 if the tag is electronic, the 6 digit flock mark of the holding where the sheep was tagged, and a 5 digit number unique to the animal. Approved combinations are:
| EID tag | Matching second identifier |
|---|---|
| Yellow EID ear tag | Visual ear tag (any colour except yellow, red or black) |
| Yellow EID ear tag | Tattoo, with UK code and flock mark on one ear and the ID number on the other |
| Yellow EID ear tag | Green pastern band |
| EID bolus | Black ear tag with a B printed on it |
If you buy adult sheep carrying two correct tags, one of them EID, you do not retag them. Cattle EID is a separate story: see our cattle EID from 2027 article and the cattle EID ear tags guide.
Lambs must be tagged on the holding where they were born, with either one slaughter tag or two adult tags. The deadline is within 6 months of birth if reared indoors, within 9 months if reared outdoors, or before they leave the holding if that is sooner. The usual trap is sale day: a lamb that leaves untagged is already late.
The nations are close but not identical. Wales uses the same 6 and 9 months, or before the animal leaves, whichever is first. Scotland gives 9 months, or 6 if reared indoors, or when the lamb leaves the holding of birth.
If a sheep needs to see a vet in an emergency, you can take it off untagged, but tag it as soon as it is back and record the move in your holding register.
A lamb intended for slaughter before 12 months can carry a single slaughter tag. It is a yellow EID tag, showing UK and your flock mark, with an official ID number held in the chip. If you use two adult tags instead, one must be EID.
The catch comes when the plan changes. If you keep a slaughter-tagged lamb beyond 12 months, you must replace the slaughter tag with two adult tags before it reaches 12 months, whether you eventually slaughter it or not. If you are unsure which way a lamb will go, GOV.UK says to use two adult tags from the start.
For a lamb not born on your holding, the replacement tags must be red, and you can only upgrade it if you can trace it back to its holding of birth, which you do by scanning the slaughter tag. If you cannot, the lamb must not be upgraded and must go for slaughter before 12 months. Record the new and old numbers together in the replacement section of your register.
You must replace a lost or damaged tag within 28 days of noticing, and before the sheep leaves the holding if that comes sooner. That includes an EID tag whose chip no longer scans. If you remove a tag because of an infection, replace it as soon as the infection clears.
You have two choices. A replica tag keeps the original official ID number. A replacement tag carries a new number, and it must be red if the animal was not born on your holding.
Record replacement tags in the register within 36 hours, with the date, the new number and, if you know it, the old number. You need not record both numbers for sheep first tagged before 2010, or where the new pair is a true replica.
My advice is to keep a small stock of replica and red tags in the shed. The 28 days run from when you spot the loss, not from when the new tags arrive.
Buy official tags only from suppliers approved by the Rural Payments Agency. The GOV.UK list of approved sheep and goat tag suppliers shows what each makes, and our EID tags and tagging equipment directory is a place to start comparing. You will be asked for your CPH number and flock mark when ordering.
The CPH number comes from RPA, so do not leave it to the week the first ewes turn up. The flock mark is a separate number, issued by APHA, and it is what appears on every tag. For sheep born on a temporary CPH or common land, order tags using the flock mark of your permanent holding.
In Northern Ireland, from 30 June 2025 all newborn sheep and goats must be tagged with XI prefixed tags, not UK, and unused UK stock is obsolete.
The flock register, which GOV.UK also calls a holding register, flock record or herd record, is a legal record you keep for each holding. In England you must record the first time you tag a lamb, replacement tags, movements on and off, and deaths, plus the total on the holding at year end. Tagging and replacements go in within 36 hours, as do movements and deaths.
You can use LIS, farm software, a spreadsheet, a notebook or the Defra template, as long as every required item is there. You must keep it for 3 years after the last animal dies or leaves, and show it when someone asks, for example a council officer or an RPA field officer.
The register ties straight into your other records. Medicine treatments are recorded separately, under the 5-year medicine record rule. For the full species-by-species picture, see our holding register guide.
The inventory is a count of sheep and goats on a set date, returned to the government each winter. In England Defra sends a letter or email at the end of November, you must complete and return it by 31 December, and you must also write the number you had on 1 December into your register.
Wales counts on 1 December, submits to EIDCymru by 31 December and records the figure by 1 January, according to the Welsh baseline. In Scotland the inventory opens on 1 December and closes on 30 January, done online through ScotEID. Northern Ireland's most recent DAERA notice I found asked for an early December count and a late December return, so wait for the letter.
Put the date in the UK livestock deadlines calendar. Movement paperwork is in the sheep movement reporting guide.
FarmHQ is a mobile-first farm office app in pre-launch beta. It aims to keep tags, movements and the year-end count in one record, with Ask Farmer Joe drafting entries for you to confirm.
Adult sheep, and lambs you will keep over 12 months, need two tags, one of them EID. Lambs going for slaughter before 12 months can carry a single yellow EID slaughter tag instead. Sheep first tagged before 2010 are treated differently in places, so check the current GOV.UK guidance if you still have older animals.
In England within 6 months of birth if reared indoors and 9 months if reared outdoors, or before they leave the holding of birth, whichever is sooner. A lamb going to market untagged is already outside the rule, so tag before the move rather than at the deadline.
Replacement tags with a new ID number must be red if the animal was not born on your holding. Animals born on the holding get the normal colour: a yellow EID tag, or a visual tag in any colour except red, black or yellow. Replica tags keep the original number and are not subject to the red rule.
In England you must keep the holding register for 3 years after the last animal dies or leaves the holding. It can be on LIS, in farm software, on a spreadsheet, on paper or on the Defra template, but it has to hold every required item and be available when an officer asks.
No. The CPH number identifies the land and buildings, and comes from RPA. The flock mark is a 6 digit number from APHA that appears on your tags. You need both when ordering tags, and for sheep born on temporary land or common land you quote the flock mark of your permanent holding.