Scottish Ministers have approved updated charges for seed certification and licensing, with the Seed (Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 made on 15 January, laid on 19 January, and coming into force on 1 July 2026. The move continues the annual refresh of the 2018 fee rules seen in recent years, following similar updates in 2024 and 2025 on legislation.gov.uk. ([legislation.gov.uk](Link

For growers applying to market Pre-basic or Basic seed, the initial application fee will be £34.71 per hectare online or £40.32 on paper. For Certified seed (first to third generation), the initial fee is £5.00 per hectare online or £5.80 by other methods. That online discount is baked into the schedule and is the quickest lever farms and seed houses can pull to soften the impact.

Scale turns small line items into real money. A 150‑hectare Pre‑basic crop submitted on paper costs £5.61 more per hectare than online; switching channel saves roughly £842 at the application stage alone. For 400 hectares of Certified seed, the online route trims £320 on the same step. Those savings don’t remove inspection or lab costs, but they are easy wins for squeezed margins.

Set against the last published schedule on 1 July 2024, these entry fees are about 10% higher. In 2024 the Pre‑basic/Basic initial fee was £31.53 online and £36.63 on paper; Certified was £4.54 online and £5.27 on paper, according to legislation.gov.uk. The new rates largely reflect cost‑recovery uplifts rather than a policy pivot. ([legislation.gov.uk](Link

Category approvals also carry separate charges, again cheaper online. The multiplication category is £104.83 online versus £121.62 by paper; a final generation category approval is £40.74 online or £47.21 by paper. For seed firms handling multiple varieties across several counties, those gaps add up over a season.

The schedules keep the familiar structure around official examinations and field inspections, including distinct treatment for oilseed rape hybrids, follow‑up examinations for issues such as wild oats or isolation distance, and authentication of the sown lot where required. A late application fee still applies if you miss the cut‑off for arranging crop examinations, so timing is as important as price.

Laboratories and trainees should note that Schedule 2 is also refreshed. For context, the July 2025 instrument listed the annual licence for a seed testing station at £2,030.74, with typical analyst course day rates around £523; the 2026 instrument updates those provisions again, so budgets should reflect higher training and compliance costs. ([legislation.gov.uk](Link

What does this look like on a mid‑sized operation? A grower with 300 hectares of Certified barley and 50 hectares of Basic seed filing online faces roughly £1,500 plus £1,736 in initial fees before inspection and testing. Using paper forms would add about £521 to that total straight away. For any business pricing 2027 seed catalogues now, that’s non‑trivial cash.

The practical playbook is straightforward. Move all applications online, set internal deadlines ahead of the official dates to avoid the late fee, and line up inspectors early to keep re‑visits to a minimum. The new rates go live on 1 July 2026; applications lodged before that date should follow the older schedule, while those made on or after it will fall under the new charges.

Bottom line for agri‑SMEs and labs: the uplift is modest per hectare but material in aggregate. The online discount is the margin protector here; use it consistently, and treat inspection planning as a working‑capital task rather than an afterthought. That mindset will matter more this season than last. ([legislation.gov.uk](Link