Waste transfer note Fill it in, both sign on screen, then share or save the PDF. Free for non-hazardous waste in England and Wales.

Free, no account
Based on the duty of care code of practice, 2018

What waste is going?

Search by waste or code

Common loads

Do you need a transfer note at all?

Clearing your own home? You don’t fill one in. Check whoever takes it is a registered waste carrier, with a number starting CBDU. Search the register

Moving it between your own sites? No note is needed while the waste stays with the same business. Keep a record of what moved. Carrying your own building or demolition waste still needs an upper-tier carrier registration.

Hazardous waste or asbestos? It needs a consignment note instead. Consignment notes on GOV.UK

How to fill in a waste transfer note

What is a waste transfer note?

The written description that goes with waste whenever a business hands it to someone else. Both people sign it and both keep a copy. The law sets what it must say, not how it looks, so an invoice with every detail on it counts too.

Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34, regulation 35 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 and GOV.UK

What must a waste transfer note include?

The List of Waste code, often called the EWC code, and a description of the waste
How much there is, and whether it is loose or in a container, and what kind
Where and when it changed hands
The SIC code of whoever is handing it over
The names and addresses of both people, and both signatures
What each of them is, such as the producer or a registered carrier, with any permit or registration number
A statement from whoever is handing it over that they applied the waste hierarchy

Source: regulation 35(2)

The example is a builder’s mixed skip collected by a skip firm. The names and numbers are made up.

Waste transfer note

Example

A Description of the waste

Description: Mixed construction and demolition waste from a kitchen refit
List of Waste code(s): 17 09 04
How it is contained: Skip: 8-yard skip
How much: 1 skip

B Current holder of the waste (transferor)

Name: Sam Carter
Company: Example Builders Ltd
Address: 12 Sample Road, Exampletown, EX1 2AB
SIC code (2007): 41202 Construction of domestic buildings
Acting as: Producer of the waste
Waste hierarchy: Yes. By signing in section D, I confirm that I have fulfilled my duty to apply the waste hierarchy as required by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011.

C Person collecting the waste (transferee)

Name: Alex Morgan
Company: Example Skips Ltd
Address: Unit 4, Model Way, Exampletown, EX3 4CD
Acting as: Registered waste carrier, CBDU000000

D The transfer

Address of transfer: 12 Sample Road, Exampletown, EX1 2AB
Date: 27/09/2026
Time: 10:30

Transferor’s signature

Signed on the phone

Sam Carter, Example Builders Ltd

Transferee’s signature

Signed on the phone

Alex Morgan, Example Skips Ltd

Keep a copy until at least 27 September 2028.

Example of a completed waste transfer note

Do I need a waste transfer note?

Yes, for each load of waste your business hands to someone else, including a skip firm or a waste site.

Not for your own home. A householder doesn’t fill one in. If a tradesperson does the work, the waste is theirs and so is the note.
Not when it stays with the same business, such as moving it between your own sites. Keep a record of what moved anyway.
Not for hazardous waste, which needs a consignment note instead.

Source: the waste duty of care code of practice

How long do you keep waste transfer notes?

At least 2 years, both of you, on paper or on a phone or computer. A note signed on 27 September 2026 is kept until at least 27 September 2028. If the council, the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales asks to see one, you have 7 days to produce it (regulation 35(6)).

Hazardous waste consignment notes are kept for 3 years (code of practice).

Which EWC code goes on it?

The List of Waste code that fits the load. A code with an asterisk is hazardous and can’t go on a transfer note. Where building waste has a pair, such as 17 09 04 and 17 09 03*, the one without the asterisk is only for waste that’s been checked and holds no hazardous substances at levels that make it hazardous. If what’s in it can’t be found out, it takes the code with the asterisk.

Find a code in the EWC code finder or read how to classify construction and demolition waste.

Which SIC code goes on it?

The SIC 2007 code of the business handing over the waste. A limited company’s code is on its Companies House record. Common codes for site work:

41201	Construction of commercial buildings
41202	Construction of domestic buildings
43110	Demolition
43120	Site preparation
43210	Electrical installation
43220	Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
43910	Roofing activities
43999	Specialised construction activities (other than scaffold erection) n.e.c.
38110	Collection of non-hazardous waste
81300	Landscape service activities

Source: UK SIC 2007, Office for National Statistics

How do I check a waste carrier?

Ask for their registration number and look it up on the Environment Agency register, or with Natural Resources Wales or SEPA if they registered there. A registration with any of the three counts in England, Wales and Scotland.

Upper-tier numbers start CBDU and are renewed every 3 years. Most firms carrying other people’s waste need upper tier. Lower tier, numbers starting CBDL, covers charities, voluntary groups, councils and firms carrying only their own waste. A builder carrying their own building or demolition waste still needs upper tier (regulation 24(5)).

Can one note cover a year of collections?

Yes, for the same waste going with the same carrier. It’s called a season ticket or annual note. It lasts up to a year, carries a schedule of each collection and is kept for 2 years after the last one (GOV.UK, Natural Resources Wales). The note on this page is for a single load.

Does digital waste tracking replace transfer notes?

No. From October 2026 permitted sites that receive waste also record it on the digital waste tracking service, but the rules for transfer notes have not changed. Running a receiving site? Check your Receipt of Waste spreadsheet before you upload it.

Questions people ask

Can both people sign a waste transfer note on a phone?: Yes. A note can be electronic as long as it can be shown in a visible, legible form, and an electronic note takes an electronic signature (regulation 35(4) and (5)). The code of practice adds that an enforcement officer must be able to view it. Regulation 35
Is there an official waste transfer note form?: GOV.UK publishes one, form WMC2A, to fill in, print and sign. You don’t have to use it. The PDF here has the same sections, A to D. The GOV.UK form
What happens if you don’t have one?: Breaking the duty of care is an offence, and the fine has no upper limit. If you can’t produce a note when asked, the council, the Environment Agency or Natural Resources Wales can offer a £300 fixed penalty instead of prosecution. Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34A
Does this work in Scotland or Northern Ireland?: No. This note follows the law in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own duty of care rules. NetRegs duty of care guidance
Does ComplyOnSite keep my note?: No. Only you save or send it. Until you start a new note it stays in this browser, so a reload doesn’t lose it. The page checks that every item is filled in, not that it’s right. The note records what the two of you state and sign.