Rules and ethics
Part of Waste carrier licence application: steps and records
Waste carrier licence application: steps and records
How to apply for a waste carrier licence in England, choose a tier, and keep waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes.
What to take away
- A waste carrier licence is a registrationregister with the Environment Agency if your business transports, buys, sells or arranges waste in England.
- Upper tier registration covers most waste businesses and carries a fee. Lower tier registration is free for limited own-waste transport.
- Registration normally lasts three years. Renewal is not automatic, so diary the date.
- The application asks for entity details, activities and premises. Mismatched answers cause delays.
- Check local permits too, because a waste carrier registration is not a waste site permit.
Who needs to apply
This guide covers England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have separate regulators: the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Natural Resources Wales and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). In England, the regulator is the Environment Agency, which runs the registration service and publishes the registration fee details: otherwise registration costs £184 initially and £125 on renewal; registration is free if you only transport waste you produce yourself (unless it is construction and demolition waste). The relevant legislation includes the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989 and the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.
A waste carrier licence application is usually needed when you transport waste for others, buy waste, sell waste or arrange its disposal. That is upper tier. Lower tier is narrower: it covers some businesses that carry only their own waste. Construction and demolition waste is excluded from lower tier.
Waste includes materials you discard, such as rubble, packaging, food waste and scrap metal. If you take it away as part of a service, that is usually transport.
What many people call an Environment Agency waste licence is a registration on the Environment Agency's public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers.
If you store, treat or dispose of waste at a site, you may also need an environmental permit. The licence finder on GOV.UK can flag related permissions.
If you are still choosing a structure, the set up a business guide on GOV.UK sets out sole trader and company options.
Choose the correct registration tier
Typical activity
- Upper tier
- Transporting waste for others, brokering or dealing in waste
- Lower tier
- Carrying only your own waste, with exclusions such as construction and demolition waste
Fee
- Upper tier
- Fee set by the Environment Agency and paid on registration and renewal
- Lower tier
- No fee
Validity
- Upper tier
- Normally three years
- Lower tier
- Normally three years
The tier affects the evidence you keep and the fee you pay. If your work changes, check whether your tier changes too.
Upper tier vs lower tier
Upper tier
- Typical activity
- Transporting waste for others
- Fee
- Set by Environment Agency
- Validity
- Normally three years
- Exclusions
- None stated
Lower tier
- Typical activity
- Carrying only own waste
- Fee
- No fee
- Validity
- Normally three years
- Exclusions
- Construction and demolition waste
Lower tier is not a way to avoid records. You still need to show where your own waste came from and where it went.
The application step by step
Use the GOV.UK service “Register or renew as a waste carrier, broker or dealer” to apply online. The numbered steps below cover the checks and submission in order, beginning with confirming the activity and tier.
Waste carrier application steps
- Confirm activity and tier
- Gather entity details
- Match Companies House details
- Sign in to registration service
- Pay fee and submit
- Save certificate and renewal date
- Confirm the activity and tier. Write down what waste you handle, who it comes from and where it goes.
- Gather entity details. Limited companies need the Companies House number, registered office and directors. Sole traders need a business name and address.
- If you are a limited company, use the same details you gave when you register a company with Companies House.
- Sign in to the Environment Agency registration service. Enter your premises, vehicles and contact details.
- Pay any upper tier fee and submit the application. Keep the receipt and reference number.
- Save the certificate and registration number. Add the renewal date to your compliance calendar.
Registration, renewal and record keeping
The upper tier fee is paid when you register and again when you renew. Use the fee details above before applying, and keep waste transfer notes, invoices and vehicle records.
Registration normally lasts three years. The Environment Agency should remind you before expiry, but the duty to renew sits with your business. If your entity name, address or activity changes, update the registration promptly.
Before you pay an adviser to manage the form, check who confirms the tier, who submits the application, who supplies and retains evidence, who pays the fee, and who tracks renewal. Use the licensing support selection checklist to work through those points.
Operating without registration when one is required can lead to enforcement action. For non-hazardous waste, use a waste transfer note for each transfer, or an appropriate season ticket for repeated transfers. It should record a description and quantity of the waste, how it is contained, the applicable waste code, the transfer date and place, the parties' names and addresses, the carrier's registration details, the relevant SIC code and the parties' signatures. Keep copies for at least two years. For hazardous waste, the required record is a hazardous waste consignment note; keep it for three years.
Common questions
Do I need an upper tier waste carrier licence?
Yes if you normally transport waste for others, or buy, sell or arrange waste. The upper tier covers most businesses handling or arranging waste for others. Lower tier is limited to some own-waste transport and excludes construction and demolition waste.
How long does a waste carrier licence last?
Registration normally lasts three years from the date the Environment Agency registers you. You must renew before it expires if you continue the activity. The agency publishes the current process and fee.
Can I apply as a sole trader?
Yes. Sole traders can hold a waste carrier registration. You will need your business name, address and activity details, and you must keep records under the same rules as a company.
Is a waste carrier licence the same as a waste site permit?
No. A waste carrier registration covers moving waste. A waste site permit covers a place that stores, treats or disposes of waste. Some businesses need both.
