Frequently asked questions

What type of membership do you offer?
Can I buy membership if I am under 16?
What will you do with my personal information?
What is the address finder?
How can I pay for membership?
What start date should I choose for gift membership?
When will the members' packs arrive?
When will I receive my joining gift?
Can people living overseas join the RSPB?
Still have questions?

What type of membership do you offer?

If you are aged 16 or over, you can buy membership online for yourself and/or someone else. Choose the membership that best suits you:

Individual membership - one adult (aged 19 or over)
Joint membership - two adults at one address
Family membership - two adults and all children aged under 19 at one address
Wildlife Explorers Individual membership - a single child aged under 19
Wildlife Explorers Family membership - all children aged under 19 at one address (no adults)

Can I buy membership if I am under 16?

We do not allow children under 16 years old to purchase memberships without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you are under 16 and…

want to join with one or more adults, please ask them to fill out the family membership form.
want to join without an adult on the membership, you have two options. You may ask a parent or guardian to complete an online joining form on your behalf. Or you may print a joining form,ask a parent or guardian to complete it and post to us.

What will you do with my personal information?

The RSPB is committed to protecting your privacy and security. Whenever you provide personal information, we will treat that information in accordance with UK Data Protection legislation and Internet best practice. Further details can be found on our Privacy and security page.

What is the address finder?

To help ensure posted information arrives promptly, wherever possible we use addresses listed in Royal Mail's UK postal address file. We use details of postcode and house number (or name) to look up the address held by Royal Mail.

If you don't know the postcode, you live outside the UK, or you think that the Royal Mail list is incorrect, you can enter the address details manually.

How can I pay for membership?

You can pay for your membership online by Direct Debit or by credit card (Visa or MasterCard - we regret that at present we are unable to take payment by other card types).

Direct Debit

Paying by Direct Debit helps us ensure that every pound possible is spent on wild birds and the places they live. As a thank you for helping us reduce administration costs, when you sign up by Direct Debit we will give you the first three months' membership free.

If you pay by Direct Debit, the full membership payment can be debited from your account once a year, quarterly or monthly. For quarterly and monthly payments, if necessary, we adjust the final payment so you only ever pay the exact annual amount.

Credit card

If you pay by Visa or Mastercard, the full annual payment will be charged to your card within a few days of completing this form.

If you would like to pay by any other method, please contact our Membership Services department on 01767 693 680.

What start date should I choose for gift membership?

If you are giving membership as a gift for a special occasion, such as a birthday, simply use the occasion date as the membership start date. For example, if you would like to give a gift membership for a birthday in three weeks’ time, please use the birthday as the membership start date.

If you choose to have the pack sent to you, we will dispatch it as soon as possible. If you choose to have the pack sent to the new member, it will be dispatched a few days before the membership start date.

When setting the membership start date, please note that it will take approximately 6 working days from the time the form is completed for the pack to arrive at the household.

When it is time for the membership to be renewed, a notice will be sent to the person who paid for the gift. If there is no response, then a renewal notice will be sent to the new member(s).

Gift memberships can be set up for adults or children.

When will the members' packs arrive?

Every new member household will receive a new member pack.

If you are joining as a new member yourself, the pack will be sent directly to you and should arrive in approximately six working days of submitting this form.

If you are giving membership as a gift, you will be offered the choice of having the membership pack sent either to your address or directly to the new member’(s’) address.

If the pack is sent to you, it will be despatched immediately and should arrive in approximately six working days of submitting this form.
If it is sent to the new member, it will be posted a few days before the membership start date.

New member packs sent to international addresses will be despatched as above, but delivery dates will vary depending upon the destination.

Postage costs are included in the membership fee.

When will I receive my joining gift?

All joining gifts except bird feeders are enclosed in the Membership pack.

Bird feeders are posted separately to the new member household. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery. For gift memberships, please allow up to 28 days from the membership start date for delivery to the new member household.

Joining gifts can only be sent to UK addresses.

The membership joining form offers the option to not receive a joining gift.

Can people living overseas join the RSPB?

People living outside the UK can receive or take-up RSPB membership.

New member packs will be despatched as normal, but delivery times will vary depending upon the destination. See When will members' packs arrive? on this page.

Joining gifts cannot be sent to addresses outside the UK.