Step-by-step guide to ELS Online
- Check land is registered with Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
- Contact Natural England
- Download ELS Online software
- Activate your account via the Defra website
- Install ELS Online software
- Log-on to ELS Online
- Download farm details
- Complete application
- Submit application
- ELS Online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. Check land is registered with Rural Payments Agency (RPA)
All the land you wish to enter into the scheme must be registered with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) on their Rural Land Register (RLR) before you submit your application. The RLR provides a digital record of all farmed land in England and use of the RLR will help ensure that applications can be processed quickly and efficiently.
You will not be able to include unregistered land in your application and you will not be able to put Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) management options on unregistered land.
Most farmers should have been contacted by the RPA, and supplied with maps to confirm details about land parcels which are included on the RLR. Where this is not the case you should contact the RPA about registering your land before you apply for ELS.
Please note that it is important that all land parcels are registered, including woodland and areas of scrub etc so that they can be included in your ELS application. Please check your registration information and contact RPA to register unregistered parcels if necessary.
ELS is designed to be a whole-farm scheme, and should ideally include all land, which, as described above must be registered on the RLR. However, if you have some small areas which are not registered you may decide to proceed on the basis that your RLR registered land only will be included in your application to the scheme.
2. Contact Natural England
When you agree your land is registered on the RLR, simply contact the Worcester Natural England Office to let them know that you want to use the ELS Online service. A phone call is all that is needed. Within a few days you will receive a letter at your home address with your PIN code.
3. Download ELS Online software
If you have not already done so, download the software application>.
4. Activate your account via the Defra website
Once you have received your PIN code from Natural England go to ELS Online Enrolment.
The Registration and Enrolment process will ask you if you have previously used e-Government services via the Government Gateway, such as e-IACS or Income Tax Returns. If you have used such services before, when requesting please click on the ‘Enrol’ button, here you will enter your User ID and existing password and your ‘Activation PIN’ for ELS Online from the letter you received from Natural England (by pressing the 'Enrol' button, you will be enrolled via the Government Gateway to use ELS Online, in addition to the other services to which you already subscribe).
If you are new to e-Government services, select the ‘Register’ button. Here you will enter your personal details (first name, surname and e-mail address, choose a password, enter your internet PIN (supplied by Natural England), answer a security question (your mother's maiden name)) and select whether you are applying as an individual or organisation. By pressing the ‘Next' button and waiting a few seconds, a new screen will appear with your 'User ID'
5. Install ELS Online software
Once you have downloaded the software, you can install it. To install, please complete the following steps:
Please note if you selected 'run' rather than 'Download' on the prompt box that appears when you go to download the software, it will already be installed.
- Navigate to the file downloaded at step 3.
- Double-click on the installer file icon to start the installation process.
At each stage click Next to continue (or Cancel to Quit), then click Finish once installation is complete.
Once installed the software should place a shortcut icon on your computer's Desktop (if not the software may be accessed through the Windows Start menu).
6. Log-on to ELS Online
Complete the following steps on your PC:
- Ensure you are connected to the internet
- Click on the 'ELS Online' icon on your desktop to open the software
- Enter your user ID and password
(for users who completed the Enrol process above, you will be prompted to supply a personal password. You need to remember this for each subsequent time you log on).
A detailed user manual is included within the ELS software application, and a separate ‘print-friendly’ version of the manual is also available to download.
7. Download farm details
The first stage in completing your application is to download your farm details, using the CPH and land parcel references. An internet connection is not required after you have downloaded the parcel details but is again required when the completed application is to be submitted.
Once logged onto the software, click on the ‘New Application’ button.
You must have to hand:
- your County Parish Holding (CPH) number or field numbers
- any other land parcel numbers that are additional to the CPH number(s)
For example, if you have 30 parcels registered in one CPH number, plus 3 field parcels recently purchased, then you type one CPH number, plus each of the 3 RLR field numbers
Warning - It is important to enter all your CPH and extra parcel details, as it is not possible to add land parcels at a later stage of the application without restarting your application from scratch.
You also enter the name of the farm or applicant (for your records only) on this screen.
Click the ‘Save’ button to return to the main window.
You will see the name of the farm/application in the main window.
If you are ready to continue your application, you should connect to the internet, and click the ‘Request form’ link next to the farm/application name, in the ‘Internet Actions’ column. The software will then download the information Natural England/RPA hold in connection to your ELS application, including a map of the area.
It may take several minutes to compile this information and download it to your PC, dependent on the size of the area you are applying for, and the speed of your internet connection, but you do not have to remain online while waiting. Once you have submitted the request you may log off or close the application and download the file later, when it is ready.
8. Complete application
The next stage in the application may be completed without connection to the internet.
Most of the data is added to the application by drawing using the mouse on the map screens. Use the Help supplied with the software application to understand how to operate the application.
The application can be printed both in draft and final form, however the paper copy is only a copy and is not an application in its own right.
Your may switch between the screens in the software application at any time and complete the screens in any order.
9. Submit application
To submit your application, make sure you are connected to the internet, and have the main window of the software application open. You should then see ‘submit’ application next to the farm/application name, under the internet actions column. When you click this link, your application will be submitted via the internet. An acknowledgement request is returned via e-mail or letter, depending on how you have chosen to communicate with Natural England.
10. ELS Online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Page last modified:
9 July, 2008
Page published: 4 January, 2006