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Japanese knotweed survey
A survey of Japanese knotweed on a property. Record the season, then whether knotweed was found and each stand with its location, area, distance to the nearest building, boundaries, growth stage, damage and photos with a scale. The form totals the area, then records the management proposed, whether any stand is near water, and how any waste will be disposed of, with the GOV.UK rules shown for herbicide near water, burial and waste leaving the site. Every question is listed below, and you can fill the live form in on this page.
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Is it illegal to have Japanese knotweed on your property?
No. GOV.UK says you do not legally have to remove Japanese knotweed from your land unless it is causing a nuisance, but you must stop it spreading off your property, and you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild. Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to plant or cause to grow in the wild any plant in Part II of Schedule 9, which lists Japanese knotweed. Contaminated soil or plant material may be controlled waste.
Last updated . Facts checked by the SiteSurvey team on 17 October 2026 against GOV.UK: prevent Japanese knotweed from spreading, section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, RICS: Japanese knotweed and residential property, professional standard (2022) and GOV.UK: dispose of business or commercial waste, waste transfer notes.
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Every question in the japanese knotweed survey template
A Japanese knotweed survey: stands found with location, size, distance to buildings and boundaries, growth stage, damage, spread from or to neighbours, management plan and waste disposal. 3 sections and 47 questions. Follow-up questions and guidance appear only when an answer calls for them, so the person on site never sees the ones that do not apply.
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This is a starting point, not a fixed form. Once it is in your SiteSurvey account you can reword any question, add or remove questions, sections and answer options, and add your own logo, so it fits the way your team works and the jobs you do.
Details you only enter once
Add this form to a project in SiteSurvey and it fills in what the project already knows, so nobody on site retypes it and every form on the job uses the same names. Anything filled in can still be changed.
- Project: the project name
- Client: the project's customer
- Site: the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site address: the site address, from the space or the project
Survey
- ProjectShort answerFills in from the project name
- ClientShort answerFills in from the project's customer
- Site*Short answerFills in from the site, when the form is opened for a space or a product
- Site addressShort answerFills in from the site address, from the space or the project
- Survey date*Date
- TimeTime
- Surveyor*Short answer
- SeasonChoose one
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter (dormant canes only)
- CheckIn winter only dead canes show. Re-survey in the growing season to confirm the extent.Shown when “Season” is “Winter (dormant canes only)”
- GuidanceGOV.UK (England): you do not legally have to remove knotweed from your land unless it is causing a nuisance, but you must stop it spreading off your property, and you can be prosecuted for causing it to spread into the wild (section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981). Contaminated soil or plant material may be classified as controlled waste.
- Walk Cam: site walk-aroundWalk Cam video with voice-to-text
Optional. Film a guided walk-through on the SiteSurvey app.
- Weather captureAnswer
Record estimated current conditions and add what you observe on site.
Stands
- Was knotweed found?Yes or No
- StandsRepeat for each stand. Each one asks:Shown when “Was knotweed found?” is Yes
- Location*Short answer
- Stand outlineShort answer
Walk round the edge of the stand and mark each corner, so the treatment team and the next survey find the same extent. Phone GPS is to a few metres. Tap Mark current location on site. It saves the coordinates, a grid reference and the accuracy.
- Length of the stand (m)Number
Measure from a photo taken side on, with a ranging pole, a fence panel or a door in line with the stand, or pace or tape it. Measuring from a photo gives an estimate.
- Width of the stand (m)Number
- Area from the length and width (m²)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Area (m²), if the stand is not a rectangleNumber
Leave it blank to use the length x width above.
- Distance, negativeWorked out by the form
- Area used in the totalWorked out by the form
- Distance to the nearest building (m)Number
Tape it from the nearest visible cane, or measure from a photo with a ranging pole laid on the ground in the same line. Measuring from a photo gives an estimate.
- Crosses or near a boundary?Yes or No
- Distance to the nearest boundary (m)Number
Measuring from a photo gives an estimate. Use a tape or laser where the figure matters.
- s_neg_boundaryWorked out by the form
- GrowthChoose one
- Shoots
- Full canes
- Flowering
- Dead canes
- Damage seen (paving, walls, drains)Short answer
- Photos (with a scale)Photos
- Stands foundWorked out by the formShown when “Was knotweed found?” is Yes
- Total area (m²)Worked out by the formShown when “Was knotweed found?” is Yes
- Nearest stand to a building (m)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Stands at or near a boundaryWorked out by the formShown when “Was knotweed found?” is Yes
- Nearest stand to a boundary (m)Worked out by the formShown only when the answers above make it relevant
- GuidanceThe RICS professional standard Japanese knotweed and residential property (2022) gives valuers a decision tree, based on risk level, to decide the management approach needed.
Management
- Management proposedChoose one
- Herbicide treatment programme
- Excavation and removal
- Excavation and on-site burial
- Monitor only
- None needed
- Is any stand near a river, stream or pond?Yes or NoShown when “Was knotweed found?” is Yes
- CheckGOV.UK: get agreement from the Environment Agency before using herbicide on knotweed near water.Shown when “Is any stand near a river, stream or pond?” is Yes and “Management proposed” is “Herbicide treatment programme”
- CheckGOV.UK: tell the Environment Agency at least one month before burying knotweed. Bury it on the site it came from, at least 5 metres deep, or at least 2 metres deep if sealed in a geotextile membrane.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Will contaminated soil or plant material leave the site?Yes or No
- CheckGOV.UK: use a registered waste carrier and a disposal site with the right permit, tell the site in advance, and cover or enclose the load. A business moving waste needs a waste transfer note for each load and must keep a copy for 2 years.Shown when “Will contaminated soil or plant material leave the site?” is Yes
- Notes and guarantee termsNotes
- Actions (treatment, notifications, follow-up)Repeat for each action. Each one asks:
- Action needed*Notes
- PriorityChoose one
- Urgent
- High
- Medium
- Low
- Who will do itShort answer
- Due byDate
- StatusChoose one
- Open
- In progress
- Completed
- PhotosPhotos
- Next visit or re-survey dueDate
Set by the surveyor. Treatment visits and re-surveys are best done in the growing season, when the plant shows its full extent.
- Days to the next visitWorked out by the formShown when “Survey date” is answered and “Next visit or re-survey due” is answered
- CheckThe next visit date is before the survey date. Check the date.Shown only when the answers above make it relevant
- Client nameShort answer
- Client signatureSignature
- Completed by*Short answer
- SignatureSignature
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A completed japanese knotweed survey report, made by SiteSurvey from a fictional site visit: every answer, the photos, the guidance that applied and the sign-off, ready to send as a PDF.
Japanese knotweed survey FAQs
How do surveyors assess knotweed?
The RICS professional standard Japanese knotweed and residential property (2022) gives valuers a decision tree, based on risk level, to decide the management approach needed.
Can it be surveyed in winter?
Only dead canes show in winter. Re-survey in the growing season to confirm the extent. The form warns when the survey is in winter.
What about waste?
GOV.UK says to use a registered waste carrier and a disposal site with the right permit, and to cover or enclose the load. A business moving waste needs a waste transfer note for each load and must keep a copy for 2 years.
Can it be buried on site?
GOV.UK says to tell the Environment Agency at least one month before burying knotweed, and to bury it on the site it came from at least 5 metres deep, or at least 2 metres deep if sealed in a geotextile membrane.
What about knotweed near water?
GOV.UK says to get agreement from the Environment Agency before using herbicide near water, and that treatment usually takes at least 3 years. The form asks whether any stand is near water.
Who uses this?
Invasive weed specialists, surveyors, landlords, housing associations and homeowners selling a property.
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