Do I still need waste transfer notes in 2027?

Yes. Digital tracking is added on top. The note still has to be written, signed by both sides and kept for two years.

I only do house clearances. Does it apply to me?

If you're a registered carrier taking waste to a tip, yes — from October 2027. The household side doesn't need a transfer note, but your movement of the load to the tip gets reported.

What if I've got no signal at the tip?

You've got two working days to get the record in, so it doesn't have to happen at the gate. Software that saves the job offline and sends it later covers this.

Is there a fine for not doing it?

It's a legal requirement once your date arrives, enforced by the Environment Agency like the rest of duty of care. Penalty details for carriers are due to be published closer to the date.

Digital waste tracking: what carriers have to do by October 2027

What it is

Digital waste tracking is a government system that records where waste goes. Instead of the paper trail — transfer notes in the van, a copy in a drawer at the tip — each load gets logged online and given a tracking number. The tip logs what came in. From October 2027, you log what you took and where you took it.

It’s run by DEFRA and the Environment Agency, and it’s mainly aimed at stopping fly-tipping and rogue carriers. If you’re doing things properly already, it’s a change of paperwork, not a change of business.

Who it hits, and when

Tips, transfer stations and other permitted sites go first: they’ve been able to report since April 2026 and must from October 2026 in England and Wales (January 2027 in Scotland and Northern Ireland). Carriers, brokers and dealers — about 300,000 registrations across the UK — come next, in October 2027. If you run a site as well as a van, the earlier date applies to the site.

What you’ll actually have to do

Before a load moves, a record is created — the same things that are on your transfer note now: what the waste is and its code, how much, where it came from, where it’s going, your licence number. The system gives it a tracking number. The tip checks the number when you arrive. You have two working days to get the record in or correct it.

You won’t be typing this into a government website load by load. DEFRA has said the main way to report will be through the software you already use, connected to their system — which is exactly what WasteBoss does from the note you signed on site.

The bit people get wrong

Transfer notes are not going away.

GOV.UK's own guidance says you must carry on completing waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes alongside digital tracking. Digital tracking is on top of the note, not instead of it.

What it costs

The government charge is £26 a year per business, not per van or per site. On top of that you’ll need something to report with — which for most carriers means the software they run the business on.

What to do now

Nothing urgent for a carrier until 2027 — but start keeping your notes properly now (every item coded, both signatures, kept two years), because those are the records that will feed the system. If you tip at the same few sites, ask them whether they’re reporting yet; from October 2026 they’ll be asking you for the same details either way.