Waste transfer notes for removals and clearance firms
When you need a waste transfer note, what has to be on it, what changes for householders and hazardous waste, and how long to keep it, in England and Wales.
Clear a flat for a landlord and you're handling business waste. Clear the same flat for the tenant who lives there and it's household waste. The paperwork the law asks of you is different in each case, and getting it wrong is your problem as much as theirs.
This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules, linked at the end.
Your duty of care
Anyone who carries other people's waste has a duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (opens in a new tab). In short: stop the waste escaping, and only pass it to someone allowed to take it. The government's duty of care code of practice (opens in a new tab) explains what that means day to day, and the waste transfer note is how you show you did it.
Business waste: you need a note
When a business hands you its waste, the two of you complete a waste transfer note. Regulation 35 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (opens in a new tab) sets out what it must contain:
- the waste's List of Wastes code, the six-digit code also called the EWC code
- a description of the waste and how much there is
- whether it's loose or in a container, and if so what kind of container
- the time and place it changed hands
- the SIC code of the business handing it over, which describes what that business does
- the name and address of both of you, and both signatures
- a statement that the business handing it over has met its duty under regulation 12, which is the waste hierarchy: prevent, reuse, recycle and recover before disposal
The note can be electronic, as long as it can be shown in a readable form when someone asks for it. Both of you keep it for at least 2 years.
Regular collections: one note for the year
If you collect the same kind of non-hazardous waste from the same customer again and again, you don't need a new note every time. The code of practice allows a season ticket: "a single waste transfer note that covers a series of non-hazardous waste transfers", which "can last up to one year".
Household waste: no note from the householder
The code of practice is clear that the requirement for transfer notes "specifically does not apply to the occupier of a domestic property when they are dealing with their household waste". The householder doesn't have to give you a note.
They do have to check you're allowed to take it. The code tells them to check you're "an authorised carrier with up to date and valid upper tier registration", and that "each carrier should have a registration number starting CBDU". Expect to be asked for it, and have it on your quote and your paperwork.
When you then take that waste to a tip or transfer station, you're the one handing it over, so that transfer needs a note between you and the site. Sites in England and Wales now also record each load online: see digital waste tracking at the tip.
Hazardous waste
Hazardous waste from a business, such as fluorescent tubes from an office clear-out, needs a consignment note instead of a transfer note. GOV.UK's hazardous waste guidance (opens in a new tab) sets out how to fill one in.
From a home it's different. No consignment note is needed for "the movement of domestic hazardous waste (other than asbestos waste) from a domestic household to an initial collection point".
Asbestos is the exception. If you take asbestos from a home, you "complete the consignment note as the waste producer", with your business as the producer and the home as where it came from.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The idea is the same, but the regulations and some of the details differ: see Scotland's transfer note regulations (opens in a new tab) and Northern Ireland's (opens in a new tab). If you collect there, read those or ask SEPA or DAERA.
In DoRoutes
DoRoutes makes the paperwork when the driver loads the van. A business customer gets a waste transfer note with the List of Wastes codes, your registrations, and both signatures on the phone, or a link to sign later. A household gets a receipt. Hazardous waste from a business in England or Wales gets a consignment note, and the site's part is recorded when the driver tips. Every note is emailed as a PDF and kept for as long as you set, never less than 3 years.
Checked against legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK on 29 October 2026.