Waste Transfer Note Template: Every Field Explained (UK 2026)

A waste transfer note (WTN) must contain specific information prescribed by law. The format, paper, digital, bespoke template, or standard form, is not mandated: what matters is that all legally required fields are present and correctly completed. This article goes through every field of a compliant UK waste transfer note in detail, explaining what must be recorded, why it matters, and what "good" looks like in practice. Use this as a reference when setting up or reviewing your own WTN template.

The legal foundation is the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/2839), as amended. Regulation 2 specifies the information that must accompany every transfer of controlled waste. The Duty of Care Code of Practice (2016) provides statutory guidance on how each field should be completed.

Overview: Mandatory Fields

Every waste transfer note must include the following fields. None can be omitted, a WTN missing any mandatory field is non-compliant and, in enforcement terms, may be treated as if no WTN existed:

1. Description of the waste (including physical form, composition, and source)
2. EWC (European Waste Catalogue) code
3. Quantity of waste (weight in tonnes/kilograms or volume in cubic metres/litres)
4. Type of container
5. Time and date of transfer
6. Place of transfer
7. Name, address, and SIC code of the transferor
8. Legal status of the transferor
9. Name and address of the transferee
10. Legal authority of the transferee to receive the waste
11. Signature of the transferor (or authorised representative)
12. Signature of the transferee (or authorised representative)

For guidance on the WTN system more broadly, including the duty of care it supports and what happens if records are not kept, see our comprehensive guide towhat is a waste transfer note.

Section 1: Waste Description

The waste description is the most frequently inadequate field on WTNs encountered in enforcement action. It must be specific enough to identify the waste, communicate its nature to anyone who handles it downstream, and enable safe storage, transport, and treatment decisions.

What the description must convey

• Physical form: is the waste solid, liquid, sludge, powder, paste?
• Main constituents: what materials make up the waste?
• Source: what process or activity produced it? (particularly important for industrial waste)
• Colour, odour, or other identifying characteristics where these are relevant to safe handling
• Any hazardous properties if applicable, though hazardous waste should be on a consignment note rather than a WTN

Good vs inadequate descriptions

Inadequate: "General waste", provides no information about what the waste is, how it should be handled, or whether it is hazardous.

Inadequate: "Mixed waste from site", slightly better but still too vague for enforcement purposes.

Adequate: "Mixed commercial waste comprising cardboard packaging, clear plastic shrink-wrap, polystyrene packing material, and food waste from a wholesale food distribution warehouse."

Adequate: "Solid inert construction rubble comprising broken concrete blocks, brick fragments, and ceramic tiles from internal demolition works at commercial premises."

The description and the EWC code must be consistent with each other. If the description says "office paper and cardboard" but the EWC code is 17 09 04 (mixed construction waste), this inconsistency will be immediately apparent to an enforcement officer.

Section 2: EWC Code and Quantity

EWC Code

The EWC code must appear as a 6-digit number (e.g., 20 03 01). Best practice is to record both the code and the List of Wastes description alongside it, for example: "20 03 01, Mixed municipal waste". This removes any ambiguity about what code was intended.

If a single WTN covers multiple waste types in the same transfer (e.g., a mixed load), each distinct waste type should have its own EWC code listed. If any of the codes has an asterisk (*) version, you must assess whether your specific waste falls into the hazardous or non-hazardous category. For a full guide to EWC code selection, see our article on EWC codes explained.

Quantity

State quantity as:

• Weight in kilograms or tonnes (strongly preferred, most receiving sites use weighbridges)
• Volume in litres or cubic metres (acceptable for liquids or where weighing is impractical)

Do not state quantity as "1 skip", "3 bags", or "1 lorry load" without accompanying weight or volume. These descriptions tell the receiving site nothing useful about the quantity of waste. For estimates, use "approximately X tonnes" and label it clearly as an estimate.

Where a weighbridge is available at the receiving site, the actual weight recorded at the weighbridge is the most reliable quantity figure and should be used if possible, even if the WTN was initially completed with an estimated quantity at collection.

Section 3: Container Type

The container type field records how the waste is being held at the time of transfer. Common container types for commercial and construction waste:

• Skip (and specify size if known, 4 yard, 6 yard, 8 yard, 12 yard, roll-on/roll-off)
• Wheeled bin (and size, 240 litre, 660 litre, 1,100 litre)
• Drum (and capacity)
• IBC (intermediate bulk container)
• Loose/bulk (flatbed vehicle or tipper with no enclosed container)
• Sacks
• Bulk tanker (for liquid waste)
• Compactor vehicle

The container type helps verify the plausibility of the quantity stated. If a WTN claims 20 tonnes in a single 4-yard skip, that is physically impossible and would attract immediate scrutiny. Conversely, recording a realistic container type for the quantity described adds credibility to the record.

Section 4: Transfer Details

Date and Time of Transfer

The date must be the actual date the waste physically changed hands, not the date the form was completed, not the date the collection was booked. In practice, for carrier collections, this means the date the skip was lifted or the waste loaded onto the carrier's vehicle.

Time of transfer is required on the WTN. For most standard collections, this is the time of loading. It provides an audit trail that can be cross-referenced against carrier journey records, CCTV, GPS data, and site logs.

Backdating a WTN, recording an earlier date to cover a collection for which no WTN was completed at the time, is falsification of a legal document and potentially fraud under the Fraud Act 2006.

Place of Transfer

The place of transfer is where the waste physically changes hands, typically the site address from which the skip or bins are collected. This is the address of the transferor's site unless there is something unusual about the arrangement. For waste collected from the roadside or a shared area, specify the address or grid reference of the collection point as precisely as possible.

Section 5: Transferor Details

The transferor is the party handing over the waste. For most businesses, this will be the waste producer, the business that generated the waste through its trade or operations.

Required transferor information

• Full legal name: for limited companies, use the registered company name (as it appears at Companies House), not a trading name. "Smith Builders Ltd" rather than "Smith's".
• Registered address: the address at which the company is registered, which may differ from the site address where the waste was produced. Both can be recorded if they differ.
• SIC code: the Standard Industrial Classification code for the transferor's primary business activity. SIC codes are 4 or 5-digit codes used to classify businesses by type. Example: SIC 41100 (development of building projects), SIC 47110 (retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating), SIC 38110 (collection of non-hazardous waste). SIC codes are findable at the Companies House website or via the Office for National Statistics SIC search tool.
• Legal status: confirmation of what legal status the transferor holds in relation to the waste, typically "waste producer" or "waste holder". Where the transferor is a carrier themselves (e.g., an intermediate transfer), they would record their carrier registration here.

Section 6: Transferee Details

The transferee is the party receiving the waste. For a standard collection, this is the waste carrier. For a direct delivery to a treatment or disposal site without a separate carrier, the transferee is the site operator.

Required transferee information

• Full legal name and address: same requirements as for the transferor, registered company name, not trading name.
• Legal authority to receive the waste: this is one of the following, and must be stated explicitly:
  • Carrier registration number (CBDU or CBDL prefix), for a carrier collecting and transporting waste
  • Environmental permit number, for a site receiving waste for treatment, storage, or disposal
  • Registered exemption reference (e.g., "T6 exemption, ref: [number]"), for a site operating under a registered waste exemption
  • Confirmation of being a local authority waste disposal authority, for council collections

A critical point: if the transferee is a carrier collecting waste for transportation to a treatment site, the carrier's registration number is their legal authority. But the carrier's registration number alone does not evidence that the destination site is authorised to receive the waste. Best practice is to record both the carrier's registration (for the transfer itself) and the destination site's permit number (for the destination) on the WTN. For more detail on the registration requirements, see our guide to thedigital vs paper waste transfer notes.

Section 7: Signatures

Both the transferor and the transferee must sign the WTN. The signature requirement is not a formality , it is the mechanism by which each party legally confirms the accuracy of the information on the note and their participation in the transfer.

Who can sign?

Either the principal (e.g., the business owner, company director, or site manager) or an authorised representative. An authorised representative is any employee or agent who has been authorised by the principal to sign WTNs on their behalf. There is no requirement to hold a specific qualification or position, the authorisation need not be in writing, though written authorisation is good practice.

Electronic signatures

Electronic signatures are valid under the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/696). For WTN purposes, an electronic signature can take the form of:

• A typed name in a designated signature field
• A digitally drawn signature using a touchscreen
• A click-to-sign mechanism where the user confirms their identity and intent to sign

The platform or tool used should create an audit trail recording who signed, when, and from what device or IP address, this provides evidentiary support in any dispute.

Signature date

The date alongside each signature must be the date of transfer. A signature dated significantly after the transfer date creates evidential problems and may be treated as a retrospectively completed document.

Optional but Recommended Fields

The following fields are not legally required but are strongly recommended as best practice. They increase the evidential value of the WTN, assist with internal record management, and provide useful information in any enforcement or dispute scenario:

• Reference number: an internal reference (e.g., invoice number, job number, or sequential WTN number) that links the WTN to your internal records. Invaluable for quickly locating specific WTNs during an inspection or audit.
• Vehicle registration number: the registration number of the vehicle collecting the waste. This enables identification of the vehicle in ANPR data, CCTV footage, or carrier journey records if a subsequent issue arises with the load.
• Destination site name and address: where the waste is ultimately going (the treatment or disposal facility), even if the immediate transferee is a carrier. Recording the destination evidences that you took reasonable steps to ensure the waste would reach a legitimate facility.
• Destination site permit number: the environmental permit number of the receiving facility. This is arguably best practice to the point of approaching a mandatory requirement — it evidences that you checked the destination's authorisation, not just the carrier's.
• Waste hierarchy statement: a brief note on which waste hierarchy step the transfer represents (e.g., "recycling, cardboard for paper pulp processing"). This demonstrates adherence to the waste hierarchy required by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (Regulation 12).
• Photographs: increasingly common in digital WTN systems. A photo of the loaded skip or waste container provides additional evidence that the description on the WTN matches the actual waste transferred. Photos are particularly valuable for mixed loads or unusual waste streams.