From 1 January 2026, you can enter a ballot to get a permit to apply to register exotic forest on Land Use Capability (LUC) class 6 land in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Learn more about the ballot.
There are 2 ballots per calendar year for permits to apply to register exotic forest on restricted Land Use Capability (LUC) class 6 land in the ETS.
The first ballot of 2026 opened on 19 June and closed on 22 July.
We will contact successful applicants as soon as possible after the ballot is drawn.
We will confirm the date of the second ballot when it has been set.
When you apply to register forest land in the ETS, you need to consider whether the land is restricted because of its LUC class. The restrictions mean that you can register exotic forest on up to 25% of LUC class 1 to 6 land in the ETS on each farm. (Note that some land is not affected by the restrictions).
Read more about restrictions on applying to register LUC class 1 to 6 land in the ETS
There will also be nationwide ballots for permits to register more forest on LUC class 6 land. This may be registered in addition to the 25% allowance for LUC class 1 to 6 restricted forest land.
Each year, an additional 15,000 hectares of LUC class 6 land will be made available nationally through the ballot system.
From 2026, we will run 2 ballots each calendar year to allocate the hectares. The ballot is drawn at random from the entries received.
If you enter the ballot, you’ll tell us how many hectares you’re applying for in your ballot entry.
If you are successful in a ballot, you’ll get a permit that lets you apply to register the number of hectares you asked for as LUC class 6 land in the ETS.
Getting a permit in the ballot does not guarantee you can register your land in the ETS. You will still need to apply to register your forest land, and the land still needs to meet ETS eligibility criteria.
Find out more about the rules for forest land eligibility in the ETS
There will be 7,500 hectares of LUC class 6 land available in the first ballot in 2026. Of this, 2,000 hectares will be reserved for small applications to register land in the ETS. A small application is up to 100 hectares of LUC class 6 land.
If the hectares in the first ballot are not all allocated, they will be transferred to the second ballot in 2026. The number of hectares available in future ballots may vary, depending on whether all the hectares in previous ballots are allocated.
We will let you know how many hectares are available in each specific ballot.
We cannot go over the hectare limit for each ballot. This means that if your ballot entry is the last one that gets drawn, you may get fewer hectares in your permit than you requested.
We will give prior notice before each ballot opens. The amount of notice we give will vary depending on whether it’s the first or the second ballot. Ballot dates may change each year.
If you enter the ballot, you need to tell us about your land and pay any relevant fees. The cost of entering a ballot is yet to be decided. There is no cost to enter the ballots in 2026.
Find out how to enter the ballot
Each person gets one opportunity per land title to enter the ballot. Other people can use the same land title to enter the ballot.
If multiple entries include the same land title, only one can get a permit through the ballot. When a ballot entry is drawn, all other entries that include the same land title will be cancelled.
A land title can only have one active permit at any given time. This means that once a permit has been approved for a land title, this title cannot be used for any other ballot entries (including in a separate ballot) until the active permit has been used, expired, or cancelled.
If you enter the ballot and are successful, you will get a permit that lets you apply to register forest on your LUC class 6 land. In general, you can apply to register up to the number of hectares received in your permit. For example, if you received 300 hectares in your permit, you could apply to register forest on up to 300 hectares of LUC class 6 land in the ETS using your permit.
Permits are specific to the land and the person that gets the permit. This means you cannot transfer permits to:
When you use your permit for an application to register forest land in the ETS, the permit will expire. This means you cannot use a permit to register land in both the standard forest category and permanent forest category as these are separate applications, you will need two separate permits. Any hectares you do not include in that registration will also expire. You won’t be able to use them in another application later.
An unincorporated body can use a permit, as long as at least 60% of the members are the same as when we issued the permit.
Each permit is valid until 31 December of the third year after it was issued. For example, this means if you get a permit in October 2026, it is valid until 31 December 2029.
You may be able get an extension to use your permit for up to 6 years if a temporary adverse weather event or similar circumstances significantly disrupted your ability to register before the permit expires. We will need to be satisfied of this before accepting your application when you apply to register in the ETS.
If you decide you do not want to use your permit, you can cancel it.
You can use a permit from a successful ballot bid to register forest on LUC class 6 land in addition to the 25% allowance for LUC class 1 to 6 land per farm. This means if successful you could:
Subscribe to the Forestry ETS Alert
Email ForestryETS@mpi.govt.nz
Freephone 0800 CLIMATE (0800 254 628) and select option 1.
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