Business and licensing

Register for e-billing if you’d like to get your business rates bill by email instead of getting a paper bill in the post.

Before you register for e-billing for business rates, make sure you have your business rates reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill).

If you have any questions before you register, contact us online.

Register for e-billing for business rates

We’ll contact you by email or text, depending on the information you gave us when registering, to let you know once we’ve switched you to e-billing for business rates.

We’ll aim to contact you within 10 days.

After that, you’ll start getting your business rates bills by email.

You can contact us if you need to talk to us about your business rates, including billing, responding to our request for information, and more.

There are separate forms if you’d like to apply for business rates relief.

Before you contact us, make sure you have your:

• business rates reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill), unless you’re a new ratepayer
• valuation reference number (find it by searching for your business’s postcode on the Scottish Assessors’ Association website).

Contact us about business rates

How to pay

Pay over the phone

You can pay your BID levy over the phone with a debit or credit card.

To pay over the phone, phone us on 0300 300 0202. You'll need:

• your BID reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• a debit or credit card
• the billing address for the debit or credit card.

You’ll need to phone during normal business hours.

Pay by cheque

You can pay your BID levy by sending us a cheque.

To pay by cheque, you'll need to:

• ensure the cheque is marked 'A/C payee only' (write it on the cheque if it's not printed on there already)
• make the cheque payable to ‘Renfrewshire Council’
• tell us your business rates reference number by writing it on your cheque or on a separate letter (find it at the top of your most recent bill)
• tell us what financial year your payment is for by writing it on your cheque or on a separate letter (such as 2025-26).

Send your cheque or postal order to:

Director of Finance and Resources
Renfrewshire House, 2nd Floor
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AD

Pay by bank transfer

You can pay your BID levy by bank transfer.

Transfer your payment to:

Virgin Money
Paisley
PA1 1UW
Sort code: 82-54-04
Account number: 30046413

Here are our details for international payments:

• IBAN: GB08CLYD82540430046413
• BIC: CLYDGB21646

Use your BID reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill) as the payment reference.

Contact us

If you need to tell us about changes to your circumstances or want to ask a question, find out how to contact us online about BID.

A Business Improvement District (BID) is an initiative where businesses in a specific area work together to invest in projects and services to improve their trade. It’s led and funded by the businesses in the area.

There is one BID in Renfrewshire: the Paisley Town Centre BID. It’s run by Paisley First. Joining is mandatory if your business is in the BID.

If you’re part of the Paisley Town Centre BID, you need to pay your BID levy.

Learn more about the Paisley Town Centre BID (Paisley First website).

If you have any questions about your BID levy, contact us online.

The amount you need to pay depends on the rateable value of your property. This is usually the net value of your property, but it might be different in special cases. You can learn more about your property’s rateable value by contacting the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board.

How to appeal

Appeal your business rates bill or business rates relief

You should appeal your business rates within 29 days of receiving your bill.

Appeal your business rates in writing by sending your appeal to:

Director of Finance and Resources 
Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street 
Paisley 
PA1 1AD

In your appeal, you’ll need to tell us why the business rates we’re charging you are not correct.

Appeal the net value of your property

You should appeal the net value of your property within 6 months of:

• becoming the owner, tenant, or occupier
• the assessor changing the net value of your property.

Appeal the net value of your property in writing by sending your appeal to:

Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board
Robertson Centre
16 Glasgow Road
Paisley
PA1 3QF

In your appeal, you’ll need to tell the assessor why the net value of your property is not correct.

After you appeal

You must continue to pay your current business rates bills while you're waiting for a response, which could take up to 2 months. If your appeal is successful and we change our decision, we'll adjust your future payments or give you a refund.

If you think your business rates bill is higher than it should be, you can appeal. This means we'll review your business rates and consider changing how much you need to pay.

You can appeal:

• your business rates bill
• your business rates relief
• the net value of your property.

Business rates relief is any discount we give you off your business rates bill. You’ll only receive relief if you’ve applied for it.

The net value of your property is the assessor’s estimate of how much annual rent your property could earn. Renfrewshire’s assessor is the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board. They must revalue all properties every 5 years. The most recent valuation applies from 1 April 2023.

Before you appeal, you should make sure you understand your current business rates.

To ask about your business rates, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

To ask about the net value of your property, contact the Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board.

You may be able to get a full relief on your business rates for 1 year if your business is moving into a long-term empty property (a property that was empty for at least 6 months before you moved in). This is through ‘Fresh Start Relief’.

You could get relief through Fresh Start Relief if you meet all these criteria:

• you moved into the property on or after 1 April 2018 and the property had been empty for at least 6 months
• the property has a rateable value of £100,000 or less
• the property you’re applying for is actively occupied.

These property categories are ineligible for Fresh Start Relief from 1 April 2026:

• accommodation of 1 or more advertisements
• provision of facilities for betting
• payday lending
• those that require a short-term let licence but have not obtained one
• some deer forests and shootings.

To apply, you’ll need:

• business rates reference number (find it at the top of your most recent bill), unless you’re a new ratepayer
• valuation reference number, if you have one
• your business’s rateable value.

Your business rates reference number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

Find your valuation reference number and your business’s rateable value by searching for your business’s postcode on the Scottish Assessors’ Association website.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for businesses moving into long-term empty properties

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You can get a full or partial relief on your business rates if your organisation provides certain services for people with disabilities.

You can get up to a 100% relief on your business rates if your organisation provides:

• residential accommodation for the care or aftercare of people who are ill
• training for people with disabilities
• welfare services or workshops for people with disabilities.

This relief is not available for properties used for:

• the administrative purposes of charities that support people with disabilities
• treatment, rather than aftercare, of people who are ill.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

You’ll need to provide a plan or diagram of the layout of each floor in your property. You’ll need to list the purpose of each room so we can understand how you’re using the property.

If you’re an agent acting on behalf of the owner or tenant, you’ll also need to provide a copy of your agent’s declaration.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Apply for business rates relief for properties providing services for people with disabilities

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.

You can get a full relief on your business rates if your organisation is a day nursery.

You can get a 100% relief on your business rates if you use your property mainly or entirely as a nursery that also provides day care of children.

To apply, you’ll need your business rates account number.

Your business rates account number is 11 digits long and begins with a 5, 6, or 8. You can find it on your most recent business rates bill.

If you need help with your application, you can either:

• contact us online
• phone us on 0300 300 0202.

Attach your application to this online form

Send your application to:

Renfrewshire Council
Finance and Resources, Revenues Business Team
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1AN

Fill in this PDF form

Then, send us your completed form using one of the methods below.

We'll let you know of our decision by email.

You should continue to pay your business rates bill as normal until you’ve received an updated bill.