Waste transfer note

What you need to know

The plain-English guidance that comes with this document.

• This is your proof you did the right thing with your waste. Every business has a legal "duty of care" for its waste: you must only hand it to someone authorised to take it, and describe it well enough for them to deal with it safely. The transfer note is the record of that. If your waste ends up fly-tipped, this note is what shows it left you properly — without it, the trail leads back to you.
• Check the carrier is actually registered — before you hand anything over. Anyone taking your waste for money should be a registered waste carrier. Ask for their registration number and check it on the environmental regulator's public register (the Environment Agency in England, SEPA in Scotland, NRW in Wales, NIEA in Northern Ireland). "A bloke with a van" who isn't registered can land you with the bill and a fine if it's dumped.
• Keep it for two years. You must keep each transfer note (paper or electronic) for at least two years. File them somewhere you can actually find them if the regulator or a client ever asks.
• Repeat collections? Use a "season ticket". If the same carrier takes the same kind of waste regularly, you don't need a fresh note every time — one transfer note can cover up to a year of transfers (a "season ticket"), as long as the waste type and the parties stay the same. Keep it for two years after the last collection.
• Hazardous waste is different — and stricter. Oils, chemicals, solvents, batteries, fluorescent tubes, electricals and asbestos are hazardous (called "special waste" in Scotland). They need a hazardous waste consignment note, not this transfer note, and records kept for three years. If your waste is hazardous, use the proper consignment paperwork.
• Big change coming: digital waste tracking. The UK is moving to a mandatory digital waste tracking service — compulsory from October 2026 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and January 2027 in Scotland, phased in over the following year. During the changeover, paper transfer notes like this still apply, so keep using one; but expect record-keeping to move online, and your carrier will increasingly handle it through the digital service. We'll update this document as the rules bed in.
• Applies across the UK, but the regulator differs. The duty of care applies UK-wide; the body you check a carrier with, and some of the detail, differ by nation (Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales, NIEA). Check your nation's rules.