The Commission will be closed on Thursday 26th June 2025
If the Crofting Commission considers it is in the public interest, and there would be social and economic benefits in certain circumstances, it can constitute land as a croft provided it is situated within the crofting counties; or anywhere in Scotland, which the Scottish Ministers have designated as an area suitable for creating new crofts.
The crofting counties consist of the local authority areas of:
The tenant of a holding in an area situated outside the crofting counties providing:
The Crofting Commission uses a set of criteria for ‘Create a New Croft’ applications, which are referred to as ‘parameters.’ The parameters determine how the decision on the application is taken. If the application meets the parameters, and no objections have been received, the decision to approve the application is made as a straightforward approval (known as Tier 1 approval). These types of decisions are reached the most quickly. For more information refer to ‘how your application is processed’.
If an application does not meet all the parameters, it is considered to be a more complex application. Complex applications are considered and decided by more senior staff within the Crofting Commission and may take longer to process and for a decision to be taken. For further information please visit How decisions are made on regulatory applications.
What you need to apply:
It is important to read the guidance notes fully before and as you complete the application form. These notes will tell you what information you need to include in your application and what other documents you need to submit.
It is also important to consider the decision parameters when preparing your application.
If the application doesn’t meet the parameters, if objections are received, if there is any inconsistencies between the application and the Register of Crofts, or if the application is not completed correctly it will take longer to decide your application.
You can submit your create a new croft application online or by post. To find the correct form you need, please refer to the form finder.
The Registers of Scotland holds the Crofting Register, which is a map-based register of croft and common grazings land. If you are applying to create a new croft, you will need to submit a ‘First Registration’ (FORM A) application. In this application you will need to provide a map of the proposed new croft boundary. This must be submitted at the same time as your ‘Create a New Croft’ application form. For details of how to prepare a map of the croft and the correct form, please refer to the Registers of Scotland website.
You should submit your ‘First Registration’ (FORM A) application to the Crofting Commission by post. You need to pay a fee of £90 when you submit your application. This can be paid by a cheque made out to the Crofting Commission, or by bank transfer. The Crofting Commission will check and process your application and forward it to Registers of Scotland.
If the application is valid and complete, and it has been submitted with an application to register the new croft, the Commission will advertise the proposal to constitute the land as a croft in a newspaper circulating in the district in which the land is situated, allowing 28 days for comments.
The Commission will also notify the local Council Planning Department, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, and (if the land is situated within a National Park) the National Park Authority, of the application, and allow them the opportunity to make comments on the proposal within 21days.
After the public consultation period has passed the Crofting Commission will consider any correspondence it has received about your ’Create a New Croft’ application. You will be sent a copy of any objections or submissions, supporting your application, and you will be able to reply to the Crofting Commission about these. The Crofting Commission will also consider whether it is necessary to undertake any further investigation on your application, and this will generally involve a report being prepared by the ‘Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Directorate’ (SGRPID) office situated in the locality of the proposed new croft
If your application meets all the decision parameters , we will try to make a decision on your application within 16 weeks. If, however, the application does not meet any of the decision parameters and/or there are negative comments submitted, it will take longer to be processed and decided. Please refer to ‘How your application is processed’ for more information.
The Crofting Commission may either grant or refuse to grant a Create a New Croft application.
We will notify the applicant (and any other involved parties, if appropriate) by recorded delivery post within 21 days of the Crofting Commission’s decision being taken, specifying the reasons for its decision.
The Crofting Commission will also advertise its decision to constitute the land as a croft, in a newspaper circulating in the local area.
The applicant and/or any person with an interest in the application, may appeal the Crofting Commission’s decision or determination of the application to the Scottish Land Court within 42 days from the date of the decision letter.
If no appeal is made to the Scottish Land Court within the 42 day period, or any appeal made has been abandoned by the person who made it, or where the Crofting Commission’s decision has been upheld by the Court, the Crofting Commission will forward your ’First Registration’ (FORM A) application (which was submitted at the time you applied to create a new croft) to register the land in the Registers of Scotland Crofting Register as a croft.
When the Crofting Commission exercises its powers to constitute the land as a croft, and gives public notification of this decision, where the applicant is the owner of the land, they will be entered in the Commission’s Register of Crofts as the Constituting Landlord of the croft. The owner does not meet the conditions for becoming an owner-occupier crofter. If there is no tenant, the croft is considered to be vacant.
On the land being constituted as a croft, where the applicant is the tenant of a non-croft holding, the owner will be entered in the Register of Crofts as the constituting landlord of the croft, and the applicant will be entered as the tenant of the croft.
You (and any other involved party to the application) will have the option to appeal the Crofting Commission’s decision or determination of the application to the Scottish Land Court within 42 days from the date of the decision letter. Please refer to the Appeals page for more information.