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

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

Fill in and sign the note

Waste transfer note

What waste is going?

  • 02 05 02

    sludges from on-site effluent treatment

About the load

How is it held?
Is it solid, liquid or mixed? Optional

The site that receives it reports this to the government’s waste tracking service.

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 Environment Agency’s 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

Waste transfer note template

A blank note to print and fill in by hand: sections A to D, with boxes to tick and room for both signatures.

Waste transfer note

A Description of the waste

Description
Left blank to fill in
List of Waste code(s)
Left blank to fill in
How it is contained
□ Loose □ Sacks □ Skip □ Drum □ Other
How much
Left blank to fill in

B Current holder of the waste (transferor)

Name and company
Left blank to fill in
Address
Left blank to fill in
SIC code (2007)
Left blank to fill in
Acting as
□ Producer □ Importer □ Transporter □ Local authority □ Permit holder □ Registered exemption □ Registered carrier □ Registered broker or dealer
Permit or registration no.
Left blank to fill in
Waste hierarchy
□ 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 and company
Left blank to fill in
Address
Left blank to fill in
Acting as
□ Producer □ Importer □ Transporter □ Local authority □ Permit holder □ Registered exemption □ Registered carrier □ Registered broker or dealer
Permit or registration no.
Left blank to fill in

D The transfer

Address of transfer
Left blank to fill in
Date and time
Left blank to fill in
Broker or dealer, if any
Left blank to fill in

Transferor’s signature

Name and company

Transferee’s signature

Name and company

Download the template PDF, 1 page

Waste transfer note example

The same note filled in and signed for one load: 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.

Download the example PDF, 1 page

How to fill in a waste transfer note

What is a waste transfer note?

The duty of care record 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?

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

Source: regulation 35(2)

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:

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

Yes, for the same waste going with the same carrier. It’s called an annual note or season ticket. 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. When you get to Sign, this page fills in Defra’s Receipt of Waste spreadsheet for the load, ready for the site to finish and upload. 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
Do I still need a waste transfer note book?
No. A note on a phone or computer counts as much as a carbon-copy book, as long as both of you keep a copy for 2 years. If you’d rather fill one in by hand, print the blank template on this page. Regulation 35
Does this work in Scotland or Northern Ireland?
Yes. Choose the place beside the steps and the note follows its rules. In Scotland it says whether the person handing over produced or imported the waste. In Northern Ireland it says where the waste goes after collection. Your answers stay when you change the place. NetRegs duty of care guidance
Does ComplyOnSite keep my note?
No. Your notes stay in this browser on this device, and only you save or send the PDF. If someone signs on their own phone, the note is locked on your phone first, so our server holds a copy it can’t read, for 7 days. 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.