Service fees for forestry in the ETS

Fees for applying to register post-1989 forest land

You'll be charged for services when applying to register post-1989 forest land in the ETS. The size of the fee depends on the area of land you are applying to register.

Post-1989 forest land entering the ETS can be registered as "standard forestry" or "permanent forestry".

Find out about the different ETS rules for standard and permanent forestry, once the land is registered

Registering with post-1989 forest land in the ETS

If your application is approved, we will record a notice of status of forest land on the land titles in your application. You will be charged an additional fee for this service. This fee is $330.00 excluding GST, or $379.50 including GST. If a notice of status of forest land doesn’t need to be added, for example if you’re registering land as standard forestry and the land title already contains another area of standard forestry, this fee won’t apply.

Find out more about notices of status of forest land

Fees for applying to add more land into the ETS 

You will be charged a fee when applying to add 1 or more carbon accounting areas into the ETS. This applies when you:

• already have post-1989 forest land registered as standard forestry and apply to add more land as standard forestry, or
• already have post-1989 forest land registered as permanent forestry and apply to add more land as permanent forestry.

The size of the fee depends on the area you are applying to add.

Find out more about applying to add more post-1989 forest land into the ETS

If your application is approved, we will record a notice of status of forest land on the land titles in your application. You will be charged an additional fee for this service. This fee is $330.00 excluding GST, or $379.50 including GST. If a notice of status of forest land doesn’t need to be added, for example if you’re registering land as standard forestry and the land title already contains another area of standard forestry, this fee won’t apply.

Find out more about notices of status of forest land

Fees for emissions returns

You will be charged a fee when submitting some emissions returns in the ETS. Your emissions return is not submitted until the fee is paid.

You can apply for an extension to the due date for an emissions return. You will be charged a fee for this application.

Note: Emissions returns when transferring ETS participation are covered in the next section.

Find out more about emissions returns and when to submit them

Fees when transferring ETS participation to another party

When the responsibility for participating in the ETS transfers to another party, you must tell us and submit an emissions return.

This can happen, for example, when selling or inheriting land, or when a registered forestry right or lease changes or expires. There is a fee payable for notifying us and another for processing the emissions return.

These fees are usually charged to the person, people, or organisation transferring the responsibility for ETS participation to someone else. There's an exception for inherited land – in this case, the party inheriting the land pays the fee for the emissions return.

Find out what you need to do when forest ownership or land agreements change

Fees for measuring your forest to get participant-specific tables (Field Measurement Approach)

If you have 100 or more hectares of post-1989 forest land registered in the ETS, you need carbon tables created for you based on your forest. These are called “participant-specific tables”. There are a number of services in the process to get participant-specific tables that have fees attached to them.

You can also apply for waivers or time extensions if you are unable to complete certain tasks due to circumstances beyond your control. There are fees associated with these services.

Measuring your forest to get participant-specific tables

Find out about requesting waivers and time extensions

Fees for offsetting the deforestation or removal of forest land

When you deforest pre-1990 forest land or remove post-1989 forest land from the ETS, you need to pay (surrender) New Zealand Units. You can apply to plant another forest to offset the emissions instead.

Find out about offsetting the deforestation of pre-1990 forest land

Applying to offset the removal of post-1989 forest land from the ETS

Fees for other services for forestry in the ETS

Note: Exceptions apply to all services. We may waive or refund fees in some circumstances.

Requesting reviews and appealing decisions about forestry and the ETS

Apply for an emissions ruling

Removing post-1989 forest land from the ETS

Find out more about your obligations if forest land in the ETS is permanently damaged

Making measurements in forest land (the field measurement approach, FMA)

Reconfiguring existing carbon accounting areas

Pausing accounting when your forest is temporarily damaged

Checking and removing ETS notices on land titles

Upcoming service fees from 1 January 2027

Late or inaccurate emissions returns

Ballots for LUC class 6 land permits

Annual charge for post-1989 forest land

The annual charge is to help cover the administrative costs involved in running the ETS.

The annual charge for being registered in the ETS with post-1989 forest land is $10.28 (excluding GST) per hectare of post-1989 forest land you have in the ETS. This applies from 1 July 2026.

The annual charge is calculated for the financial year, based on the amount of land you have in the ETS on 1 July. If you register in the ETS or are a participant on 1 July and add land during the year, you will be charged for the portion of the year that the land is in the scheme. We expect the invoices for this annual charge to be issued in August of each year.

Young native forests excluded from annual charge

If you have carbon accounting areas that only contain the indigenous forest type younger than 6 years old, these can be excluded from your annual charge. You need to notify us in Tupu-ake that these carbon accounting areas meet this criteria.

For this forest to be excluded from your annual charge, you must tell us before 1 July which carbon accounting areas are indigenous forest under 6 years old. Once we have this information, the exclusion will automatically apply to each annual charge invoice until the indigenous forest reaches 6 years of age.

If you register a new carbon accounting area of indigenous forest in the ETS and it should be excluded from the annual charge for the current financial year, you need to notify us in Tupu-ake within 20 working days of registering it.

Read more about identifying forest type, region, and age for calculating carbon

Mature forests pay a reduced annual charge

If your forest is considered a ‘mature forest’ you will only need to pay 45% of the full annual charge for that forest. A mature forest is defined as one registered under:

• averaging accounting that has reached its average age
• stock change accounting that has reached the last age specified for that forest type in the carbon tables. 

Find out more about carbon accounting in the ETS

When a reduced annual charge or no annual charge applies to mature forests

If you have a mature forest, the reduced annual charge will apply in the mandatory emissions return period (MERP) after the period when the forest becomes mature (meaning, when it first meets the definition above). It applies for two full MERPs (10 years). After this you will no longer need to pay an annual charge for that forest, provided it continues to meet the definition of a mature forest. 

The first MERP that a forest may be eligible is the current MERP ending 31 December 2030. For that MERP: 

• the reduced annual charge will apply for annual charge invoices issued during the 2031-2035 and 2036-2040 emissions return periods 
• no annual charge will apply in relation to that forest land from 2041 onwards. 

For the reduced annual charge to apply, you must tell us by 30 June in the first year of a MERP (the same day your emissions return is due), which carbon accounting area or areas are mature forest.

When a forest is no longer mature

The forest will no longer meet the definition of a mature forest if:

• forest land registered under stock change accounting is harvested or
• the last age specified in the forests carbon tables is extended, or
• forest land is moved from standard forestry to permanent forestry.

In these situations, the full annual charge will apply again, starting from the MERP following the change in circumstances. 

When you won't be charged for ETS services

You won't be charged for:

• notifying us about pre-1990 forest land deforestation
• submitting an emissions return for deforesting pre-1990 forest land.

Fee waivers and refunds

In some circumstances, we may waive or refund fees for a service. To discuss your situation with us, email ForestryETS@mpi.govt.nz

We carefully consider the circumstances of each application to waive or refund fees. These applications are processed consistently and fairly. In general, we provide a refund when the value of the refund exceeds the costs of processing that refund. Refunds based on an hourly rate are calculated to the nearest 15-minute interval.

How to request a fee waiver or refund

Fee waivers and refunds must be requested by the person who paid the fee. We cannot consider requests from anyone else.

Requests for fee waivers or refunds must be in writing. Email your request to ForestryETS@mpi.govt.nz

Once we have considered your application, we'll let you know our decision in writing. We will include the reason for our decision.

ETS compliance penalties

If you don’t meet your ETS responsibilities, you may receive a penalty or an infringement notice.

Find out when penalties apply

Application wait times

Find out the median wait times for different kinds of applications in the ETS:

Application wait times and statistics for forestry in the ETS

Find out more

Operational policy: Fee waivers and refunds [PDF, 302 KB]

ETS cost recovery annual report 2024–25 [PDF, 474 KB]

Review of forestry in the Emissions Trading Scheme cost recovery settings