Pest control records: what to keep and for how long
A pest control programme is only as good as the evidence it leaves. This guide sets out what the Food Regulations 2015 require of records, which documents make up a complete pest register, and how to file them.
Checked against the legislation on 6 October 2026
How long must pest control records be kept?
At least four years from the date each record is created. Reg 36 of the Food Regulations 2015 sets that period for businesses on a food control plan, and reg 81 sets the same period for businesses on a national programme. It covers every record the operator must keep under the Food Act 2014, so pest checks, service reports and corrective action notes are all included.
In practice, a report written today must still be available in October 2030. Most of these documents come from a pest monitoring and reporting routine or from the site's own staff, and the operator is responsible for keeping all of them.
What must a pest control record contain?
Each record must be legible, accurate and complete, and dated or marked to identify its version. Where it records an activity, such as an inspection or a treatment, it must state the date and, where appropriate, the time, describe the results, and name or otherwise identify the person who did it. These rules are in reg 37, and in reg 82 for national programmes.
Reg 35 explains the purpose: records must let the operator, MPI, the registration authority, a food safety officer or the verifier work out whether the business is meeting its obligations. A record that cannot answer that question has not done its job, however neat it looks.
Reg 51(2) adds a specific record for national programme businesses. As soon as practicable after pests or evidence of pests are found, the operator must record the type of pest and the extent of the infestation. MPI's level 2 guidance phrases it as keeping records of the amount and types of pests found.
Which documents make up a pest register?
A pest register is the set of documents that together show how pests are monitored, what was found and what was done about it. No format is prescribed. For most commercial food sites it has five or six parts, kept together so that any single finding can be followed from the day it was recorded to the day it was closed.
A complete pest register
| Record | What it shows | Usually produced by | Supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Site plan | Every monitoring point, numbered, with device type and location; reissued when points move | Contractor or in-house lead | Procedures, reg 18(2) / 51(3) |
| Service reports | Date and time, finding at each point, pest type and extent, action taken, products used, who did it, recommendations | Contractor or in-house lead | Regs 37(2) / 82(2), 51(2) |
| Daily pest checks | Areas checked inside and out, including waste areas; signs found or none; initials and time | Site staff | Reg 18(1)(a) / 51(1)(a) |
| Corrective action records | What was found, food disposed of, cleaning done, cause fixed, by whom and when | Site, with contractor input | Reg 18(1)(c) / 51(1)(c) |
| Product information | Products used, where they are placed, label and safety information, where they are stored | Contractor or site | Reg 16 / 49 |
| Proofing and repairs log | Gaps sealed, door seals replaced, drain covers fitted, with dates | Site or building maintenance | Reg 13(e)(ii) / 46 |
What does a good pest control monitoring record look like?
A good monitoring record lets someone who was not there understand what was found. It identifies each point by its number on the site plan, gives a finding for every point including "no activity", names the pest where activity is found and estimates how much, and says what was done and who owns any follow-up. A line reading "all checked, OK" proves very little.
- Every point on the site plan appears in every report, so a missing point is visible.
- Findings use plain counts or descriptions ("2 adult cockroaches", "bait partly taken"), not ticks alone.
- Recommendations name an owner (site or contractor) and are carried forward until closed.
- The daily check sheet lists the same areas every day, with a column for signs found and the initials of the person checking.
How should records be filed so a verifier can trace a finding?
File by date, keep the current site plan at the front, and cross-reference. When a report records activity at a point, the corrective action record should quote the point number and the report date, and the next report should show whether the activity stopped. That chain, from finding to action to result, is what a verifier follows, and it takes minutes to check.
- FindingIllustrative example: the 12 March report records cockroaches at point I04, behind dry store shelving.
- ActionThe corrective action record for 12 March cites I04, notes the stock checked and discarded, and the shelving pulled out for cleaning.
- Cause fixedThe repairs log records the wall gap behind the shelving sealed on 14 March.
- ResultThe next report records no activity at I04, closing the loop.
Paper and electronic records are both acceptable, provided reg 37(1)(c) is met: a record relevant to someone's responsibilities must be readily accessible to that person. How a verifier uses these records is covered in preparing for food verification.
Who keeps the records when a contractor does the work?
The operator. The duty to keep records sits with the operator of the food business, not with the contractor, so contractor reports must be held by the business or be retrievable by it for the full four years. Make delivery of every report, in a format you can store, a written term of the agreement, and keep a full set of copies on file in case the contract ends.
The terms worth writing in are listed in the service agreement outline.
This guide is general information, checked against the Food Regulations 2015 (version as at 21 March 2024) and MPI guidance on 6 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and the legislation itself governs.
Questions facility managers ask
Can pest control records be kept electronically?
Yes. The regulations set what a record must contain and how long it is kept, not the medium. Electronic records work if they stay legible, dated and complete, survive a change of contractor or software, and are readily accessible to the staff with responsibilities under the plan, as reg 37(1)(c) requires. Make sure they can be shown to the verifier on site.
Do we need to record checks where nothing was found?
It is the safer course. Regular inspection is itself a legal duty, and a dated record of a check with no activity is the evidence that it happened. MPI's 2011 guidance allows some businesses to record that routine checks were done and detail only the exceptions, but it is clear that every corrective action must be written up.
Does the four-year rule apply to old contractor reports?
Yes, where the report is a record the operator must keep, which a service report forming part of the pest control procedures will be. The four years run from the date each report was created, so reports from a previous contractor remain part of the register until their own four years are up.
Related pages
Sources
- Food Regulations 2015, regs 35–37, 51(2) and 81–82 (version as at 21 March 2024)
- MPI, National Programme 2 guidance, "Controlling pests" (December 2025)
- MPI, Guidance for developing good operating practice procedures: pest control (2011)
- MPI, Template Food Control Plan: Simply Safe & Suitable (S39-00006, August 2026)
Request a site audit. A site audit includes a review of your existing pest records and a written note of anything a verifier would find missing.