Do I need to record treatments if I don’t sell my honey? Yes - and this is the one that causes arguments. Straight from the official GOV.UK bee-medicines guidance: bees are a food-producing species, so a beekeeper must keep records of the medicines they buy and use, for five years - whether or not you ever sell a jar. Please don’t take our word for it: read the GOV.UK page linked above.
It’s an easy mix-up: registering as a food businessis only for people who sell (most hobbyists don’t need to) - but the medicine record is separate and applies to everyone who treats their bees.
Who does this apply to?
Anyone who administers a veterinary medicinal product to a food-producing animal - and honey bees count. Varroa treatments such as thymol trays, amitraz strips and oxalic acid products are veterinary medicines, so the moment you treat a colony, the record-keeping duty in the Veterinary Medicines Regulations applies to you. It applies at any scale: two hives in the garden is enough, and it makes no difference whether your honey is for sale or just for your own toast.
What you must record
When you buy a medicine
- The product name
- The batch number (on the packet)
- The quantity you bought
- The date and the supplier
When you treat
- The product name and the date you administered it
- The quantity used (the dose)
- The withdrawal period, if any - the time you must wait before taking honey for human consumption
- Which colonies you treated - identify the hives and apiary
When you dispose of leftovers
- The date, the quantity disposed of, and how - follow the disposal instructions on the product label
Keep it for five years from the date of the treatment, and be able to produce it if asked - a bee inspector or the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) can request it. Under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 this is a legal requirement, though in practice an inspector simply wants to see a tidy, honest record. The definitive word is on GOV.UK’s bee-medicines guidance.
What an inspection looks like
If an inspector visits - usually about foulbrood or exotic pests rather than paperwork - they may ask what you have treated with and when. A tidy record that shows product, batch, dates, doses and which colonies were treated answers the question in seconds. A shoebox of receipts does not.
Common questions
My treatment says “zero-day withdrawal” - do I still record it?
Yes. A zero-day withdrawal period (common for several varroa products) is still a fact to record - write “0 days” or “none” rather than leaving it blank, so the record shows you checked.
Do icing sugar dusting or drone brood removal count?
Physical and husbandry methods are not veterinary medicines, so they do not go in the VMR - though they are well worth keeping in your ordinary hive records.
What does the record need to look like?
There is no prescribed form - a notebook page, a spreadsheet or an app all satisfy the law as long as the details above are there and retrievable for five years. The official guidance publishes a simple record card layout; matching those columns makes an inspector’s job (and yours) easier. See bee medicines guidance on GOV.UK.
The official sources
Don’t take our word for any of this - here are the authorities themselves:
- Bee medicines availability in the UK (GOV.UK) - the bee-specific page. States plainly that bees are a food-producing species and you must keep medicine records for five years.
- Record-keeping requirements for veterinary medicines (GOV.UK) - the general rules for all food-producing animals: what to record and the five-year retention, with no exemption for keeping animals for your own use.
- Medicines (National Bee Unit / APHA) - the bee inspectorate’s own page. Note the VMD tests for residues in animal products “including honey” - which is why the records matter whether or not you sell.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change - always check the current guidance on GOV.UK before relying on it.