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Livestock Developer Hub
alpha

This is a new service – your feedback will help us to improve it.

APIs Overview

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) provide developers with a structured way to interact with a service or application. They enable communication between different software systems, allowing data to be exchanged, processed, and manipulated.

Livestock Information Service (LIS) developed these APIs to allow livestock holder to submit, view, modify and confirm movements and animal data.

To support third-party software providers, all LIP API specification and endpoints have been made available early. to provide sufficient lead time for work to be completed, ahead of cattle go-live in the summer 2026. The reason for this is for all third parties to:

  • Understand their development and testing requirements and consider how best to integrate their software with future LIS services
  • Align with their own product roadmap
  • Plan and communicate changes to their customers early
LIs key objective is to reduce the need for rework and streamline third-party integration efforts wherever possible. However, there are a few important considerations if a third party decides to start their development early:

Subject to Change: The APIs may change based on the outcome of Defra's public consultation on future Bovine Identification, Registration, and Movement policies.

Support for Current and Future Legislation: All released APIs are designed to support both current and expected future legislation. Final testing will be required closer to go-live to ensure alignment with any changes.

Beta Considerations: If you're considering participating in the private or public beta programmes:

  • You may need to temporarily disable certain APIs that do not apply under current legislation (e.g., pre-movement notifications, movement edits, or reviews).
  • No new versions of APIs will be released during beta phases; however, retesting may be required if changes arise from backend service updates.
  • Full retesting of all endpoints will be necessary ahead of the cattle go-live date.
Further information on the LIP beta programme, including how to participate, will be shared over the coming weeks. We welcome your feedback now to help refine the service, identify potential gaps, and inform future updates.