Agri-Environment Climate Scheme
Date published: 12 November, 2025
Introduction
On this page you will find information about the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS). It explains the aims of the scheme and how it is managed and provides guidance on how to participate in the scheme.
AECS promotes land management practices which protect and enhance Scotland’s magnificent natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk and help to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
The scheme is being delivered jointly by the Rural Payments and Inspections Division (RPID) of the Scottish Government and NatureScot.
For further information please click on the grey boxes below.
- Overview
- Updates
- Who can apply
- What management can be funded
- How to apply
- How your application is assessed
- Contracts
- How to claim payments
- Inspections, breaches and penalties
- Reviews, appeals and complaints
- How to contact us
- Reports on scheme outcomes
Please click on the grey boxes to the left to find out more about how to take part in AECS.
Application dates for 2025 AECS round:
- Agri-Environment applications: 3 February - 12 June
- Organics applications: 3 February - 31 July
- Irrigation Lagoons applications: 17 February - 12 June
- Agri-environment combined with Organics and/or Irrigation Lagoons in the same application: 3 February - 12 June
The 2026 AECS round will open early in 2026. The opening and closing dates will be published in due course.
Updates to the AECS guidance webpages
The webpages were updated for the 2025 round. At the end of each page there is a summary of the recent changes.
This table has a summary of the main updates for the 2025 round.
You can find previous versions of each webpage in the archive.
Application results for the 2024 round
View the results of the 2024 round.
The scheme is open to farmers, groups of farmers, crofters and other land managers with land in Scotland.
To apply, you must be registered with us and have a Business Reference Number (BRN).
You must meet the scheme Eligibility and Occupancy of Land requirements.
You will also need to meet Fair Work First requirements.
We fund two types of activity - management options and capital items.
The Management Options page has guidance on the management activities that we support. It also has links to each individual management option. Management options normally run for five years.
The Capital Items page has guidance about capital items. It also lists all the capital items and has links to each individual item.
Please read the pages for each option or capital item you wish to apply for, to check if you can meet all the requirements. Most options and items also have a Supporting Guidance page. This can help you decide if the options or items are suitable.
Some options are only available in certain parts of Scotland. You can check which options are available on your land by entering your Holding Code(s) in the Targeting tool. You cannot apply for an option or capital item outwith its target area unless you have obtained an Endorsement from NatureScot.
Please note that you can no longer apply for Slurry Stores or Improving Public Access (IPA).
The How to Apply page provides a step-by-step guide to the application process.
AECS applications are submitted using the online Rural Payements and Services (RP&S) system. The Online Application guidance provides instructions and screenshots.
You will also have to prepare some documents offline and submit these with your online application. Please see Checklist of Documents required.
Further guidance for applicants:
Farm Environment Assessment (FEA) guidance:* nearly all applications require an FEA covering the entire holding.
Diffuse Pollution Assessments:* most applications require this.
Mapping: how to produce the maps for your application.
Designations: guidance for nature sites and historic sites
Endorsements:* guidance on seeking endorsements from NatureScot
Double Funding and Option Incompatibility
Licences, Consents and Protected Species
Advice on Calculating Stocking Densities
* Note: these pages are not relevant if you are only applying for Organics.
To understand how we assess applications, please see the Application Assessment guidance.
We have also published the Scoring Criteria we use to assess applications in this competitive scheme.
The following types of activity each have their own separate scoring criteria:
Agri-environment
Organics
Irrigation Lagoons
The links below provide information on receiving an AECS contract offer, how to accept a contract and how to change or end a contract.
Contracts Information: how contract offers are made and the process for accepting a contract.
How to Request a Variation to a Contract
Contracts Successions: how to pass on a contract to a new owner or occupier.
Withdrawing from the Scheme: what to do if you need to leave your contract.
Management Diaries and Advice on Calculating Stocking Densities: information on the diaries that you must complete for each year of your contract. This only applies to agri-environment contracts.
The Funding, Claims and Payments guidance covers the following:
- Management option payments
- Capital item payments
- Farm Environment Assessments (FEA) payments
- Moorland and Lowland Bog Management Plans payments
Management option payment claims are done through your Single Application Form (SAF) each year and payments are made the following year.
Capital item payments are made upon receipt of a valid claim and following any necessary inspection or administrative checks. Your claim must include any relevant supporting documentation.
You will receive payments in sterling by BACS into your nominated bank account.
We may carry out inspections as part of AECS contracts.
In the instance of breaches, penalties may apply.
How to request a review of our decision about whether to fund your application.
How to appeal a decision about a payment under your AECS contract.
If you have any questions about this scheme, please get in touch.
Contact Us (Rural Payments and Inspections Division)
Contact details for NatureScot
You can also book an appointment at your local RPID office if you need any help to use this guidance, or with the online application system.
Evaluation and monitoring of AECS
AECS formed part of the ex-post evaluation of the Scottish Rural development Programme 2014-2020 published in December 2024. Annex A 1 provides a summary report on AECS.
Reports on the biodiversity outcomes of AECS:
- in 2019-20 NatureScot commissioned the James Hutton Institute to examine the biodiversity benefits and impacts of the scheme through a selection of case studies. View the case study report
- geographic uptake: in 2019-20 NatureScot produced a series of heat maps showing the geographic uptake of AECS options: AECS heat maps report
- you can also view a Summary of the results of these two projects
Improving Public Access (IPA): AECS provided funding in 2015 to 2022 for footpaths and associated works to improve access to the countryside, involving over 250km of pathwork. You can find more details in the IPA scheme evaluation report.