What Is a Waste Transfer Note? The Complete UK Guide (2026)

What Is a Waste Transfer Note?

A Waste Transfer Note (WTN) is a written document that must accompany every transfer of controlled waste between two parties in England and Wales. It serves as the principal instrument of the waste duty of care, a legal chain of custody that records who held the waste, who took it, what it was, and when and where it changed hands.

The WTN is not simply administrative paperwork. It is a legally mandated record whose absence or inaccuracy can expose businesses to criminal prosecution and unlimited fines. For businesses of every size, from a sole trader renovating a kitchen to a large construction firm clearing a site, understanding what a WTN is, when it is required, and what it must contain is fundamental to legal compliance.

Every year, the Environment Agency (EA) investigates thousands of waste offences in England. Many originate with incomplete or missing waste transfer notes, often because the parties involved did not appreciate the legal weight of these documents. This guide explains everything you need to know.

The Legal Basis for Waste Transfer Notes

The duty of care in relation to controlled waste is created by section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990). It places a legal obligation on any person who imports, produces, carries, keeps, treats, or disposes of controlled waste to take all reasonable measures to prevent the unlawful deposit, treatment, keeping or disposal of waste, and to prevent the escape of waste from their control.

The administrative mechanism for discharging part of that duty, the waste transfer note, is established by the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 (SI 1991/2839), as subsequently amended. These regulations set out precisely what a WTN must contain, how long it must be retained, and who bears the obligation to keep it.

The framework was further updated by the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/988), which transposed the revised EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC into domestic law. These 2011 Regulations replaced the earlier Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1994 and introduced the waste hierarchy as a positive legal obligation on waste holders (see Regulation 12). They also clarified the definition of waste, which has a direct bearing on whether a WTN is required at all.

For hazardous waste, a separate and more detailed regime applies under the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/894), which require a consignment note rather than a standard WTN. This guide focuses on non-hazardous controlled waste, which represents the vast majority of business waste transactions.

When Is a Waste Transfer Note Required?

A WTN is required whenever controlled waste is transferred from one person to another in the course of business or otherwise in England and Wales. The trigger event is the transfer itself, the moment legal possession or control of the waste moves from the transferor to the transferee.

A WTN is required in the following situations:

• When a business hands waste to a registered waste carrier for collection and transport
• When a waste carrier delivers waste to a licensed treatment, recycling, or disposal facility
• When a skip hire company drops off an empty skip (a WTN covering the eventual collection of filled waste is typically agreed at this stage)
• When a waste broker or dealer facilitates a transfer between a producer and a carrier
• When a business produces waste on a client's site and a third-party carrier collects it
• When commercial and industrial waste changes hands at any point in the waste management chain

Critically, the requirement applies to controlled waste as defined in section 75 EPA 1990 and the Controlled Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012/811). Controlled waste includes household, industrial, and commercial waste. Most business waste falls within this definition.

There is no WTN requirement for:

• Household waste from a private householder placing it in their authorised kerbside collection
• Waste managed entirely within a single business (i.e. internal movements with no change of custody)
• Certain agricultural waste (subject to separate provisions)

When in doubt, err on the side of completing a WTN. There is no penalty for completing one when you did not strictly need to; there are serious penalties for failing to complete one when you did.

What Must a Waste Transfer Note Contain?

The content requirements for a WTN are prescribed by the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991. To be legally valid, a WTN must include all of the following:

1. A Written Description of the Waste

The description must be sufficient to allow the recipient to handle and dispose of the waste appropriately. Vague descriptions such as "general waste" or "rubbish" are insufficient. The description should identify the nature of the waste, for example, "office paper and cardboard from business premises" or "inert construction waste comprising broken concrete, bricks, and tiles from demolition works."

The description should also indicate: whether the waste is hazardous or non-hazardous; the physical form of the waste (solid, liquid, sludge, powder); any relevant characteristics that affect handling, such as being contaminated or mixed.

2. The EWC (European Waste Catalogue) Code

Every WTN must include the applicable six-digit EWC code (also referred to as a LoW code, List of Wastes code, in the UK's post-Brexit terminology). See the section on EWC codes below for detail on this requirement.

3. Quantity of Waste

The quantity must be stated, typically in weight (tonnes or kilograms) or volume (cubic metres). Where an exact weight is not available at the time of transfer (e.g. a skip that has not been weighed), an estimate is acceptable, provided it is clearly marked as an estimate.

4. Type of Container

A description of the container or containment method, for example: loose in vehicle, skip (8-yard), sealed bags, 1,000-litre IBC, 200-litre drum.

5. Date and Place of Transfer

The date of transfer must be stated. For season tickets (which cover multiple transfers), the start and end date of the period are required instead. The place of transfer is typically the address from which the waste was collected.

6. Transferor Details

Full name, address, and contact details of the person or business transferring the waste. For companies, the registered company name and address. For sole traders, their full name and business address. The Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code, describing the nature of the transferor's business, should also be included, as it helps identify the likely nature of the waste produced.

7. Transferee Details

Full name, address, and registration or permit/exemption number of the person or business receiving the waste. This is critical, the transferee must be an authorised person (a registered waste carrier, or the holder of a waste management licence, environmental permit, or relevant exemption). Their registration number (e.g. CBDU12345) must appear on the WTN.

8. Signatures of Both Parties

Both the transferor and the transferee must sign the WTN. The signatures represent confirmation that the information recorded is accurate to the best of each party's knowledge. For digital WTNs, an electronic signature or equivalent digital confirmation is acceptable.

Understanding Transferor and Transferee

The distinction between the transferor and transferee is fundamental to the WTN framework.

The transferor is the person or business who currently holds the waste and is passing it on. In most business scenarios, this is the waste producer, the business whose operations have generated the waste. However, a waste carrier who has already collected waste from a producer and is delivering it to a treatment facility is also a transferor in that second transaction. Each link in the waste chain involves a new WTN.

The transferee is the person or business accepting custody of the waste. Critically, the transferee must be an authorised person under the EPA 1990 and associated regulations. An authorised person is:

• A registered waste carrier (registered under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989)
• A holder of an environmental permit authorising the relevant waste management activity (under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016)
• A holder of a registered exemption to a permit
• A waste collection authority (local authority)
• A person to whom section 34(1)(c) EPA 1990 applies

If you transfer waste to someone who is not authorised, you are in breach of your duty of care regardless of whether you completed a WTN. The WTN does not substitute for checking the transferee's authorisation, it records it.

For further detail on checking whether a carrier is registered, see our guide on how to search the EA waste carrier register.

EWC Codes (European Waste Catalogue / List of Wastes)

Every waste transfer note must include the relevant EWC code, a six-digit code classifying the type of waste being transferred. In the UK, following Brexit, the EWC is now referred to as the List of Wastes (LoW) in domestic legislation, but the codes themselves remain identical to the EWC.

EWC/LoW codes are hierarchical: the first two digits identify the industry or process that generated the waste, the next two narrow it to a sub-category, and the final two identify the specific waste stream. For example:

• 20 03 01, Mixed municipal waste (general commercial/household waste mixed)
• 20 01 01, Paper and cardboard
• 17 09 04, Mixed construction and demolition wastes (excluding those containing mercury, PCBs or other hazardous substances)
• 17 01 01, Concrete (from construction/demolition)
• 17 02 01, Wood (from construction/demolition)
• 15 01 01, Paper and cardboard packaging
• 15 01 07, Glass packaging
• 08 01 11*, Waste paint or varnish containing organic solvents (asterisk denotes hazardous waste)

The full list of codes is available from the Environment Agency and is set out in the List of Wastes (England) Regulations 2005 (as amended). Using the correct code is important not just for legal compliance but because it determines how the waste must be handled, treated, and ultimately recovered or disposed of.

Where a waste contains multiple types (for example, a mixed skip containing both wood and concrete), each major waste type should ideally be assigned its own EWC code on the WTN. Where this is impractical, the code for the predominant or most significant waste type should be used, with the description capturing the mixed nature of the load.

For a detailed guide to selecting the correct code, see our article on EWC codes explained.

Record-Keeping Requirements

The Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991 require both the transferor and the transferee to retain a copy of the WTN for a minimum of two years from the date of the transfer (or, for season tickets, two years from the end of the season ticket period).

This is a minimum. Many businesses retain WTNs for longer, typically five to six years, to align with general commercial record-keeping practices and to protect against any delayed investigation or claim. The Environment Agency can investigate waste offences up to two years after discovery of the offence.

Records must be made available to the Environment Agency or any waste regulation authority on request. Failure to produce them, even if the underlying transfer was entirely lawful, is itself a criminal offence.

Records can be kept in any format, paper, digital, or a combination, as long as they are legible and can be produced when required. There is no legal requirement to keep paper copies. Digital records stored in a cloud system, spreadsheet, or dedicated waste management software are equally valid, provided they can be accessed and printed if an inspector calls.

Penalties for Non-Compliance

The penalties for breaching the waste transfer note requirements are serious and can include both criminal prosecution and civil enforcement action.

Criminal Prosecution

Under section 34(6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a person who fails to comply with the duty of care, which includes the obligation to complete and keep WTNs, is guilty of a criminal offence. On summary conviction (in a magistrates' court), the maximum penalty was historically a fine of up to £5,000, but following reforms under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, magistrates' courts now have the power to impose unlimited fines. On conviction on indictment (Crown Court), the court can impose an unlimited fine.

The offence does not require any intent to break the law. A business that simply failed to keep its WTN records in good order can be convicted even if the waste was handled entirely properly in every other respect. Ignorance of the law is not a defence.

Fixed Penalty Notices

For less serious record-keeping failures, the Environment Agency and local authorities have the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs). Under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and associated regulations, an FPN for a duty of care record-keeping breach can be issued for up to £300. While this is a relatively modest sum, it appears on the business's regulatory record and repeated FPNs can trigger more serious enforcement action.

Regulatory Consequences

Beyond the direct financial penalties, WTN failures can have broader regulatory consequences. Environmental permit holders who fail to maintain adequate waste records may face permit reviews, suspension, or revocation. Businesses tendering for public contracts must declare environmental offences, and a conviction under the EPA 1990 can result in disqualification from public procurement.

For more on how the duty of care obligations interact with fly-tipping liability, see our guide on the UK waste duty of care.

Are Digital Waste Transfer Notes Legal?

Yes. There is nothing in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Environmental Protection (Duty of Care) Regulations 1991, or the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 that requires a WTN to be on paper. The legislation simply requires a "written" document, and digital records satisfy this requirement.

The Environment Agency has confirmed in its guidance that electronic WTNs are acceptable. Electronic signatures are valid for this purpose under the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and the Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002. A WTN completed and signed digitally, whether through a dedicated app, a web platform, or a signed PDF, has the same legal standing as a paper note.

The practical advantages of digital WTNs are significant:

• Instant creation and sharing, both parties receive a copy immediately
• Automatic storage with timestamping, no risk of paper records being lost or damaged
• Searchable archives, quickly retrieve any note during an EA inspection
• Pre-populated fields, business details, EWC codes, and carrier registration numbers can be saved for repeated use
• Reduced errors, structured forms reduce the risk of missing mandatory fields

For businesses making frequent transfers, using a digital WTN solution, or considering a season ticket / annual WTN for recurring collections, can dramatically reduce administrative burden while maintaining full legal compliance.