Guidance

Buy statutory biodiversity credits

Find out how to buy statutory biodiversity credits.

Applies to England

This page applies to:

  • developments that need planning permission

  • nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs), from 2 November 2026

Buying statutory biodiversity credits is a last resort option for developers if you are unable to use on-site or off-site units to deliver biodiversity net gain (BNG). 

You cannot use an agent or representative to act on your behalf to buy statutory biodiversity credits. 

You can read additional guidance about statutory biodiversity credits (this additional guidance only applies to developments that need planning permission).

How to buy statutory biodiversity credits

  1. You will need to buy statutory biodiversity credits.

  2. We will process your application. A third-party supplier will use your information for customer due diligence checks. These are to check you are who you say you are and to carry out anti-money laundering checks. Our privacy notice tells you how we will be sharing your information.

    We aim to contact you within 4 weeks of receiving your order to tell you if you’ve passed the initial checks. If more checks are needed, we will let you know. This could take up to 8 weeks in total. 

  3. If you pass the checks, you will receive a proforma invoice with instructions on how to pay for your credits.

    If you do not pass the checks, you will not be able to continue with your application. 

  4. After you pay for your credits, you will receive a proof of purchase. You can senduse this toas part of meeting your BNG requirements.

    If your development needs planning permission, you can send the proof of purchase to the local planning authority (LPA)). asIf partyour ofdevelopment meetingis youran BNGNSIP, requirements. you can send it to the relevant discharging authority.

Cancellation of orders and refunds 

You can cancel your order any time before paying for your credits.  

Find more information about refunds in our terms and conditions

Get help with your application 

Email: biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk

We aim to reply within 10 working days.

Give feedback on this guidance by completing a short survey.

Updates to this page

Published 12 February 2024
Last updated 262 June 20252026 + show all updates
  1. Removed the contact telephone number due to changes to the service. If you need help, you should now email biodiversitynetgainenquiries@naturalengland.org.uk.

Sign up for emails or print this page