Does your local council spray the roadside, footpath or berm outside your property? You may be able to ask for that area to be excluded from routine herbicide spraying.
Across New Zealand, councils use herbicides to manage vegetation along roadsides, footpaths, parks, reserves and other public spaces. Some councils also maintain what are commonly called No-Spray Registers, Spray-Free Registers or No-Spray Zones.
These arrangements allow residents or property owners to request that certain council-managed areas adjoining their properties are not treated with herbicides.
But finding out whether your council offers this option is not always straightforward.
Some councils provide online registration forms. Others require an email, a telephone call or a written application. The conditions can also differ considerably from one district to another.
As part of our investigation into council spraying programmes throughout New Zealand, No More Glyphosate NZ (NMGNZ) identified a number of councils offering these arrangements.
We have brought those links together in one place.
What is a No-Spray Register?
A No-Spray Register is an arrangement under which a council agrees not to undertake specified herbicide spraying along an approved property frontage or other defined area.
In most cases, residents accepting this arrangement must take responsibility for keeping the area maintained, including controlling weeds, keeping drains clear and ensuring vegetation does not obstruct roads, signs or footpaths.
Some councils require official no-spray marker pegs. Others charge application or administration fees, or require periodic confirmation that the property should remain on the register.
Importantly, being on a No-Spray Register does not necessarily mean that all spraying near your property will stop.
The exemption may apply only to the roadside berm or frontage. Spraying may still occur elsewhere in the road reserve, on adjoining public land, or under a separate authority’s maintenance programme.
Before registering, check exactly what area is covered and what responsibilities you are accepting.
Find your council’s No-Spray Register
The following directory links to official council information about no-spray registration, spray-exclusion arrangements or applications.
Where a council provides a direct registration page, we have linked to it. Where registration requires contacting the council, we have linked to the relevant official information.
The directory will be expanded as further council arrangements are verified.
Northland
Far North District Council
Online No-Spray Register application for roadside berms and verges.
Vegetation, Mowing and Spraying — No-Spray Register
Whangārei District Council
Roadside spray-exclusion arrangements are described under roadside weed spraying. Contact the council for the application process.
Roadside Maintenance
Kaipara District Council
No-Spray Zone application, with frontage-maintenance conditions.
No-Spray Zone Information
Auckkland
Auckland Council
No-Spray Register for residents wishing to exclude agrichemical weed control from the berm or park boundary adjoining their property. Registered residents are responsible for maintaining the vegetation to council requirements.
No-Spray Register — Auckland Council
Waikato
Waikato District Council
No-Spray Register for roadside property frontages.
Maintaining Roadside Boundaries
Thames-Coromandel District Council
No-Spray Register, with registration and nearby-spraying notification arrangements.
No-Spray Register
Hauraki District Council
No-Spray Zone Register.
No-Spray Zone Register
Ōtorohanga District Council
No-Spray Zone Agreement for roadside vegetation.
Footpaths, Berms and Walkways
Waitomo District Council
No-Spray Register covering eligible council-maintained public spaces, berms and verges.
No-Spray Register and Application
Bay of Plenty
Western Bay of Plenty District Council
The council maintains a No-Spray Register, but does not provide an online application form on its vegetation-management page. Residents wishing to register should email info@westernbay.govt.nz.
How We Look After Our Roads — see Vegetation Management near the bottom of the page.
Taranaki
New Plymouth District Council
Roadside No-Spray Register, with application and maintenance requirements.
Roadside Spraying and No-Spray Registration
Stratford District Council
No-Spray Zone application through council roading services.
Roading Services
South Taranaki District Council
No-Spray List for roadside property frontages. Residents wishing to avoid spraying can contact the council on 0800 111 323 to request registration. Residents are expected to maintain their frontages.
Roadside Spraying — No-Spray Information
Manawatū-Whanganui
Ruapehu District Council
No-Spray Register for property frontages. Contact the council to apply.
How to apply for a ‘No spray zone’
Rangitīkei District Council
Spray-Free Frontage Agreement.
Council Forms
Horowhenua District Council
Online No-Spray Register application.
No-Spray Register
Tararua District Council
No-Spray Register for eligible roadside frontages. Applications are valid for 24 months, with a $163 fee (waived for certified organic farms). Applicants must maintain their frontage.
No Spray Zone Application Form (PDF)
Palmerston North City Council
No-Spray Register for eligible property boundaries.
No-Spray Register
Wellington and Wairarapa
Kāpiti Coast District Council
No-Spray Register for roadside spraying.
Weed Spraying and Registration Information
Carterton District Council
No-Spray Register for rural roadside frontages. Contact the council to apply.
Roadside Spraying and No-Spray Information
South Wairarapa District Council
No-Spray Register, with application conditions and potential fees.
No-Spray Register
Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough
Nelson City Council
Online No-Spray application for residents wishing to request exclusion from herbicide spraying in eligible council-managed areas.
No-Spray Online Application
Tasman District Council
Rural No-Spray Road Frontage application.
No-Spray Road Frontage Application
Canterbury
Waimakariri District Council
No-Spray Register for berms and other eligible council-managed areas.
Weed Control and Herbicide Use
Otago
Queenstown Lakes District Council
Online No-Spray Register for eligible roadside property frontages, subject to council conditions and ongoing vegetation maintenance.
No-Spray Register — Online Application
Clutha District Council
No-Spray registration through council roading services.
Roadside Spraying
Dunedin City Council
Online No-Spray List application for eligible roadside property frontages, subject to council conditions and vegetation-maintenance responsibilities.
No-Spray List — Online Application
Southland
Invercargill City Council
No-Spray Register with annual application requirements.
Weed Spraying and No-Spray Registration
Southland District Council
No-Spray Register for roadside property frontages. Registration is a one-time application, provided the applicant continues to maintain the designated area to council standards. Applications must be received by 31 July for inclusion in the following spraying season.
No-Spray Register
West Coast
Buller District Council
No Weed Spray Register, with online and paper application options.
No Weed Spray Register
Before you apply — five questions worth asking
Although the basic principle is similar, the conditions of registration vary between councils.
Before submitting an application, we suggest asking:
- Exactly what area will be excluded? Does the exemption cover the berm, footpath, roadside drain, kerb and channel, or only part of the frontage?
- Who is eligible to apply? Can tenants and other occupiers register, or is the property owner’s approval required?
- What maintenance will I be responsible for? Will you be expected to mow, remove weeds, maintain drains or purchase official marker pegs?
- Does the registration expire? Some councils require annual renewal or confirmation, while others retain registrations unless circumstances change.
- Will I be notified before spraying nearby? Being on a register does not necessarily provide advance notification of spraying in adjoining streets, parks or reserves.
We also recommend obtaining written confirmation that your application has been accepted and keeping a copy of the council’s conditions.
What if your council isn’t listed?
Not appearing in this directory does not necessarily mean your council has no spray-exclusion arrangements.
It may use a different name for the service, handle requests individually, or provide information that is difficult to locate on its website.
Contact your council and ask:
“Does the council maintain a No-Spray Register, spray-exclusion agreement or other arrangement allowing residents to opt out of herbicide spraying along the road frontage adjoining their property? If so, could you please provide the application process, eligibility requirements and conditions?”
If the council does not offer such an arrangement, you can ask whether it would consider introducing one.
A choice that should be easy to find
No-spray registers offer residents a practical way to reduce herbicide use immediately adjoining their properties, provided they are willing and able to meet the maintenance requirements.
But an option is only useful if people know it exists.
Our research has found councils with straightforward online applications, councils that require residents to contact staff, and others where the relevant information is buried within general roading or vegetation-management pages.
There is considerable room for improvement in how accessible and consistent these arrangements are.
If councils offer residents a choice about spraying outside their properties, that choice should be clearly explained, easy to find and straightforward to exercise.
Help us keep this directory accurate
This directory is based on publicly available council information identified during NMGNZ’s national investigation in November 2026.
Council policies, application processes, fees and registration requirements may change. Always check the linked council information before applying.
If your council operates a No-Spray Register that we have missed, or you discover that a link or registration process has changed, please contact No More Glyphosate NZ so we can investigate and update the directory.
Our aim is simple: to make publicly available information easier for New Zealanders to find, without requiring residents to search through dozens of council websites.
No More Glyphosate NZ is independent and community-funded. This directory is provided as a public information resource and does not imply council endorsement.
Image Source & Attribution
The feature image on this page was created using AI-assisted image generation from an original concept developed by No More Glyphosate NZ and refined for publication in Canva. It is an illustrative representation, not a photograph of an actual spraying operation.
We recognise that AI technology has an environmental footprint. However, as a small, community-funded organisation working with limited resources, we must make practical choices about how best to use the time and funding available to us.
Our priority is to direct those resources towards independent testing, research and public information. AI-assisted imagery is one of the tools that helps us communicate our findings without diverting funds from that work.
