Hello, farmer, hospitality owner or rural landowner. A campsite licence exemption can help you host camping or caravanning on your land. But each route has its own conditions.
This guide maps the main campsite licence exemptions UK 2026 rules. Check the exact wording of the legislation and ask your local authority before opening. This is general information, not legal advice.
Two laws, two licences
Start by identifying what guests will use.
For tents, section 269 of the Public Health Act 1936 sets the tented camping licence rules.
For caravans, including touring caravans, the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 sets the site licensing rules. Its First Schedule lists cases where a caravan site licence is not required.
Do not treat planning permission as a licence exemption. Planning rules and site licensing are separate checks. Our guide to temporary campsite planning rules explains the planning side.
The tented campsite licence you did not know about
Section 269 applies to camping in tents and other qualifying moveable dwellings. Its definition includes tents, vans and other conveyances, and some sheds or similar structures used for human habitation. It excludes caravans, which fall under the 1960 Act.
A licence is generally required if land is used for camping for more than 42 consecutive days, or more than 60 days in any 12 consecutive months. Count actual camping days, and keep a rolling record.
Section 269 also provides specific exceptions. The rules do not apply to a moveable dwelling kept by its owner on land connected with their home and used only by them or their household. They also do not apply to one kept on the owner’s agricultural land and used seasonally only by people employed in farming there. A moveable dwelling not used for human habitation can also fall outside the rules, subject to the statutory conditions.
A qualifying recreational organisation may hold a section 269 exemption certificate. While it is in force, the certificate has the effect of a licence for the organisation’s camping grounds and members’ use. Check the organisation’s status and the certificate before relying on it.
The 42-day and 60-day rules and your Class BC season
A 60-day planning allowance does not give you 60 licence-free consecutive camping days.
For example, a 60-day continuous tent season exceeds the 42-consecutive-day threshold. You would need a relevant licence or exemption. A season split into separate periods may avoid that consecutive-day limit, but still exceed 60 days in a rolling 12-month period.
Check both tests against your calendar. Do not assume that a gap resets the rolling 12-month count.
In England, eligible temporary recreational campsites may use Class BC planning rights, subject to the rules and conditions. In Wales, planning rights differ and may depend on location. Neither planning route replaces the Public Health Act licence check.
Caravan licence exemptions: the full Schedule 1 list
Section 2 of the 1960 Act says no caravan site licence is required in the circumstances listed in Schedule 1. These exemptions are conditional.
- Paragraph 1, Home grounds: Land within a dwellinghouse’s curtilage, where caravan use is incidental to enjoying the home.
- Paragraph 2, One or two nights: A traveller may bring a caravan onto land for no more than two nights. No other caravan can be stationed for habitation on that land or adjoining land in the same occupation during the stay. Caravan use must also have stayed within 28 days in the previous 12 months.
- Paragraph 3, Five acres: A holding of at least five acres, including adjoining unbuilt land in the same occupation, may be used for up to three caravans at any one time, subject to a 28-day limit in a 12-month period. An order can change the acreage or dates for specified areas.
- Paragraph 4, Organisation-run land: Land occupied and supervised by an exempted organisation may be used for recreation.
- Paragraph 5, Organisation-approved land: An exempted organisation may certify land for its members’ recreational use, with no more than five caravans stationed at once. See the section below.
- Paragraph 6, Club meetings: An exempted organisation may supervise a members’ meeting or rally lasting no more than five days.
- Paragraphs 7 and 8, Farm and forestry workers: Seasonal accommodation may be provided for agricultural workers on agricultural land, or forestry workers on land used for forestry, in the same occupation.
- Paragraph 9, Building and engineering workers: Land forming part of, or adjoining, an active building or engineering site may accommodate people employed on those works, where the statutory conditions are met.
- Paragraph 10, Travelling showmen: A qualifying travelling showman who belongs to a certified organisation may use land while travelling for business or during the statutory winter-quarter period.
- Paragraph 11, Local authority land: Land occupied by the local authority may qualify. The Schedule also contains a specialist provision for certain county council accommodation.
Check the relevant paragraph in the revised Schedule before you rely on it. Some exemptions have narrow definitions and conditions.
The certified location route: five vans, members only
A paragraph 5 certificate is a route to a caravan site licence exemption for an approved site. The organisation must qualify as an exempted organisation under paragraph 12. It issues the certificate to you, the land occupier, for use by its members.
Keep the certificate current. It can run for no more than one year. Do not exceed five caravans stationed for human habitation at any one time. Keep the site for the stated recreational, members’ use.
This is not a general public site licence. Ask the organisation about its inspection, membership and operating requirements. Check planning permission separately, especially before adding hardstanding, tracks or permanent facilities.
The three-caravan, five-acre, 28-day route
Paragraph 3 may suit a landowner with at least five acres of qualifying land. It allows no more than three caravans at once and no more than 28 days of use in the relevant 12-month period.
Do not confuse this with paragraph 5. Paragraph 3 has an acreage requirement and a 28-day limit. Paragraph 5 relies on an organisation’s valid certificate and allows up to five caravans, subject to its conditions.
Rallies and exempted organisations
A club rally may qualify under paragraph 6 if an exempted organisation arranges and supervises it, it is for members, and it lasts no more than five days.
Paragraph 4 is different. It covers land occupied and supervised by the exempted organisation itself. Confirm which route fits your arrangement. Do not assume that a club booking alone creates an exemption.
Agricultural and forestry worker exemptions
Use paragraphs 7 or 8 only for the qualifying seasonal accommodation of workers employed in farming or forestry on land in the same occupation. Keep records of the work, employment and dates. Do not use these worker exemptions as a basis for ordinary visitor camping.
When councils can strip exemptions
The Minister may make an order, on a local authority’s application, removing some or all of paragraphs 2–10 for specified land. The order must follow the statutory process, including notice before it takes effect.
So an exemption may not always be available for your site. Ask your council whether an order applies. Check again before each season.
If no exemption applies, the caravan site licensing rules may require a licence. A breach of a condition can leave you operating without the required licence, which may be an offence. Read the GOV.UK camping licence guidance and seek advice if your position is unclear.
Your exemption checklist
Before you take bookings, check each point:
- Identify whether you will host tents, caravans or both.
- Select the exact licensing exemption that may apply.
- Confirm every statutory condition, including user type, caravan numbers and allowed dates.
- Count consecutive tent-camping days and total days in each rolling 12-month period.
- Check whether a paragraph 5 certificate is current and covers your land.
- Ask your council whether a withdrawal order affects the site.
- Check planning rules and any separate permissions for site works or facilities.
- Keep certificates, bookings, operating dates and occupancy records.
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