October 2026 checklist for a permitted site
Before 1 October 2026 a permitted site should know exactly which sites and activities are in scope, have chosen how it will report, have every regular carrier's registration number on file, have a routine for hazardous loads, and have run at least one full week of receipts in test. Everything else follows from those five.
Scope
- List every permitted facility you operate and the waste-receipt activities at each. One permit, one reporting routine; two sites, two.
- Confirm you are a receiver. If waste comes in through your gate under a permit, you report from October 2026. Read GOV.UK's check if you need to report guidance if your activity is unusual.
Carriers
- Carrier registration numbers on file for every regular carrier, including your own vehicles. Check them against the public register.
- A gate rule for unregistered carriers. A receipt without a carrier number needs a stated reason. Decide now whether the answer is "no number, no tip".
Hazardous and POPs
- A hazardous routine. Consignment code captured on arrival; a stated reason if there is none; the load flagged as hazardous on the receipt.
- POPs awareness. Upholstered furniture, some foams and old electrical items can contain persistent organic pollutants. An item can be hazardous and contain POPs at the same time, and the receipt must say so on the same item. See the hazardous-and-POPs guide.
The reporting route
- Choose the route — Defra's spreadsheet template, or software from GOV.UK's provider list. How to read the list.
- Decide who files and who approves. One name on the rota for filing, and whether a second person approves receipts before they go.
- Know the clock. End of the second working day after arrival. Put the Friday check in the diary. The two-working-day rule.
Prove it works
- Run a test week. File a normal load, a hazardous load and a load with a missing carrier number in test before 1 October. The first live week should not be the first time anyone has done it.
- Keep the evidence. For every receipt: what was sent, when, and the waste tracking ID that came back, stored against the ticket. Decide where an officer will be shown it.
- Keep the paper going. Transfer notes, consignment notes and returns continue alongside digital reporting until Defra says otherwise.
What "done" looks like on 1 October
A load arrives. The carrier number is on the ticket. The receipt is recorded, checked and filed before the end of the next working day but one. The ID is against the ticket. The unfiled list is empty when the site closes for the weekend. Nobody has to remember anything, because the routine remembers it for them.
Questions sites ask
When should a site start reporting?
The duty applies from 1 October 2026. Testing before then, so the routine is proven, is the sensible preparation.
Do I need to register with Defra to report?
Follow the current GOV.UK guidance on Report receipt of waste for the steps to set up reporting for your site. The route differs slightly between the spreadsheet upload and API software.
Do transfer notes stop when digital reporting starts?
No. Paper transfer notes, consignment notes and returns continue alongside the digital receipt until further notice.
What is the most common thing sites get wrong?
Carrier registration numbers — missing, wrong, or belonging to someone else. Fix that at the gate and most rejections disappear.