Scotland's 2026 muirburn licensing rules explained

If you have never come across muirburn before, start here. NatureScot defines it as the practice of setting fire to, or burning, heath or muir. NatureScot also says the new Muirburn Code takes effect on 15 September 2026, and from that same date a licence will be required to carry out muirburn on any land in Scotland. The standard season runs from 15 September to 31 March inclusive. (nature.scot) That matters because the legal text can look dry when the real story is practical. This is about who can burn, where they can burn, and which rules they must follow once Scotland's new system starts.

According to Scottish Government background notes, muirburn is intentional and controlled burning of moorland vegetation to encourage new growth, whether for managing game and wildlife or improving grazing. So when you hear the word, think controlled land management rather than an accidental fire, even though the risks become serious if it is poorly planned or badly timed. (gov.scot) **What this means:** the law is not dealing with one simple activity. It is dealing with a long-used rural practice that can have benefits, but can also affect habitats, neighbours and fire risk, which helps explain why the rules are now more detailed.

The legal switch sits in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024. A Scottish Parliament Stage 1 report noted that muirburn had been regulated under sections 23 to 27A of the Hill Farming Act 1946 and discussed a recommendation that all muirburn should face stronger legal control through a licensing scheme. NatureScot says the live date for the new Code and licence requirement is 15 September 2026. (parliament.scot) There is another reason ministers have been talking about this so often: peatland and wildfires. The Scottish Government said in October 2025 that the start date was pushed back until autumn 2026 after wildfires caused heavy damage to peatlands, and official background material said the scheme was intended to limit damage to peatland while wider wildfire concerns were worked through. (gov.scot)

The new Muirburn Code is more than a booklet with good intentions. Section 18 of the 2024 Act requires ministers to prepare and publish a code on making muirburn safely and appropriately, and the official explanatory notes say licence holders must have regard to it as a condition of their licence. Those notes also say an applicant's past compliance with the Code can be considered when a fresh licence is decided. (legislation.gov.uk) So, in plain English, the Code becomes the working rulebook. It tells people on the ground what safe and appropriate burning is meant to look like, and it gives the licensing system something concrete to judge against. (nature.scot)

NatureScot says applications are already open, and the licence holder must be the landowner or occupier who has the legal right to make muirburn for the full length of the licence. From 15 September 2026, carrying out muirburn in Scotland without a licence becomes an offence. (nature.scot) The most important split in the new system is whether land counts as peatland. NatureScot says peatland is land where the peat layer is more than 40cm thick. On non-peatland, licences can cover broader aims such as habitat management, grazing improvement, wildfire reduction, research and training. On peatland, the permitted purposes are tighter, with the focus on restoration, wildfire reduction, research and training. **What this means:** burning on peat is treated as a more restricted case from the start. (nature.scot)

In practice, that peatland split creates paperwork and fieldwork. NatureScot says its mapping tool sorts areas into peatland, non-peatland and uncertain ground using existing survey and modelled data. If someone wants a non-peatland licence, uncertain areas must be surveyed on a 100-metre grid, and non-peatland areas need a walkover check to confirm there is no peat. (nature.scot) Training is built in too. NatureScot says everyone who intends to take part in muirburn must complete the Lantra-accredited Muirburn Practitioner Foundation Course, which includes online learning and practical assessment, and only trained people can participate from 15 September 2026. (nature.scot)

This is why the statutory instrument you supplied is best read as a tidy-up measure rather than the whole reform on its own. In the text of the SSI, ministers replace old references in environmentally sensitive area orders from 1992 and 1993, swapping earlier heather-burning leaflets and older muirburn guidance for the new Muirburn Code. The instrument also updates conservation and environmental harm rules so other parts of Scots environmental law now point to Part 2 of the 2024 Act and, in one place, section 14 of that Act instead of section 23C of the Hill Farming Act 1946. The dates are worth keeping straight. The source text says the main muirburn licensing regime replaces most of the old 1946 framework on 15 September 2026. The consequential amendments in this SSI then come into force on 10 October 2026. **What this means:** the day-to-day change for land managers begins in mid-September, while October is when the wider rulebook is brought into line.

For most readers, the biggest lesson is not about obscure drafting language. It is that Scotland is moving away from an older approach and towards a system built around licences, peat checks, training and a published code. NatureScot's guidance makes clear that applicants now need to classify land, provide survey data in some cases and meet training requirements before controlled burning happens. (nature.scot) If you want the short version, ask three questions. Is the land peatland or not? What purpose is the burn meant to serve? And does the person in charge have the right licence and training? Once you ask it that way, the reform stops sounding like legal clutter and starts looking like a practical rewrite of how muirburn is supposed to be done in Scotland. (nature.scot)