Waste carrier, broker or dealer registration (upper and lower tier)
Waste carrier, broker or dealer registration is the registration a business must hold with the Environment Agency before it transports, arranges or trades waste in England. It comes in two tiers, upper and lower, and which one you need depends on whose waste you move and what kind it is.
What waste carrier, broker or dealer registration means
Waste carrier, broker or dealer registration is the registration held with the Environment Agency that lets a business transport, arrange or trade waste in England. The trade shortens it to CBD registration, and older paperwork still calls it a waste carrier licence. There are two tiers, upper and lower, and the tier follows the work you actually do rather than the size of the company.
The three words cover three different jobs, and one business often does more than one of them.
- Carrier. You move waste in your own vehicles, whether it is your waste or someone else's.
- Broker. You arrange for waste to be collected, treated or disposed of by others without ever holding it yourself.
- Dealer. You buy and sell waste, including loads that never come through your gate.
A worked example. A skip yard runs six lorries collecting builders' waste, so it is carrying waste that belongs to other people and sits in the upper tier. The same yard also takes bookings where the load goes straight to a third party facility it does not own, and it takes a margin on the gate fee, which makes it a broker as well. Both roles sit under one registration, and the registration number goes on the transfer notes the yard issues. A customer can look that number up on the public register before handing over a load, and so can an Environment Agency officer.
Registration is separate from your environmental permit. The permit covers the site where waste is kept and treated. The registration covers moving, arranging and trading it. A permitted transfer station that also runs lorries needs both. Registration in England is with the Environment Agency; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own registers through their own regulators.
Upper tier or lower tier
| What you do | Upper tier | Lower tier |
|---|---|---|
| Carry waste that belongs to someone else | Yes, this is why most skip hire and muck away firms are upper tier | Not covered |
| Carry only your own waste | Needed if it is construction or demolition waste | Covers your own waste other than construction and demolition waste |
| Arrange or trade other people's waste as a broker or dealer | Yes | Not covered |
| Renewal | Runs for three years, then you renew it | No three year renewal, but your registered details must stay current |
| Fee | Chargeable, at the rate the Environment Agency publishes | Free |
Where the registration shows up in your records
Once you are registered, the number stops being a certificate in a drawer and becomes a field on paperwork. It belongs on the waste transfer note for every load, alongside the carrier's name and the destination site. Customers check it. Contractors ask for it before they let a lorry on to a job. A registration that has quietly run out is the kind of thing an operator finds out about from someone else, usually at the worst moment, because nothing on a busy yard reminds you that a three year clock ran down.
Skiplog is being built with a registration tracking dashboard that lists each carrier, broker or dealer registration with its expiry date and sends an email alert when one falls inside 30 days of expiring, to help you renew before the date rather than after it. Renewing is still your job, and so is the accuracy of what you enter.
Related terms
Duty of care
The legal obligation on everyone who produces, carries or receives waste to make sure it is handled properly and passed only to someone authorised to take it. Checking a carrier's registration is part of it.
Waste transfer note
The record of a load changing hands, carrying the waste description, the List of Waste code, the quantity, the carrier's details including the registration number, and the destination site.
EWC code, or List of Waste code
The six digit code that classifies the waste. An asterisk marks a hazardous entry, which brings consignment note rules with it rather than a plain transfer note.
Environmental permit
The authorisation for the site itself, held by the operator of a transfer station, tip or treatment yard, usually with a technically competent manager named against it.
Quarterly returns
The periodic return a permitted site makes to the Environment Agency on what came in and what went out. Our sibling pages cover exporting that return in the Environment Agency column layout, the registration expiry alerts in more detail, and the site dashboard that shows notes logged and tonnage by waste type.
Questions
Do I need upper tier or lower tier registration?
If you carry, broker or deal in waste that belongs to other people, you are in the upper tier. Lower tier covers a narrow set of cases, mainly carrying only your own waste where that waste is not construction or demolition waste, plus certain charities and authorities. Most skip hire and muck away work sits in the upper tier.
Does the registration expire?
Upper tier registration runs for three years and has to be renewed. Lower tier registration does not have that three year renewal, but the details you registered must be kept up to date if anything changes.
Is a waste carrier licence the same thing?
Yes, in everyday use. The formal term is registration as a waste carrier, broker or dealer, and a lot of paperwork and a lot of customers still say licence.
What is the difference between a broker and a dealer?
A broker arranges for someone else's waste to be collected, recovered or disposed of without taking ownership of it. A dealer buys the waste and sells it on, taking ownership even if the load never comes through their yard.
How do I check another company's registration?
The Environment Agency publishes a public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers that you can search by company name or registration number. Checking it before you accept or hand over a load is part of duty of care.
Do I still need an environmental permit if I am registered?
Yes, if you keep, treat or dispose of waste at a site. Registration covers moving, arranging and trading waste. The permit covers the site. A transfer station with its own lorries needs both.
Does the registration number have to go on the transfer note?
The carrier's details on a waste transfer note include the registration, so the number belongs on the note for every load that changes hands.
Can software keep my registration compliant for me?
No. Software can hold the registration details, show the expiry date and prompt you before it lapses, which is what Skiplog is built to do. Renewing with the Environment Agency, and entering the right dates in the first place, stays with the operator.