GeneratorFree tool
Waste transfer note
Both parties, the waste and its code, the transfer, the declaration — a finished note on screen, printable, with both copies’ wording on it. Free, no account, nothing stored.
This tool covers England and Wales.
The parties · step 1 of 2
0 of 15 answered
Your note
Answer the steps and the finished note appears here — on screen, printable, both copies’ wording on it. Nothing is saved and there is no account.
The parties, step 1 of 2. Who is handing the waste over
Writing one of these for every skip?
HubTrack keeps the note with the job — alongside the people, the plant and the record of who signed off what — and keeps both parties’ details so the next note starts where the last one finished.
What a waste transfer note actually is
When business waste changes hands, the duty of care changes hands with it. The law asks the person handing waste over to make sure it goes only to someone authorised to take it, with a written description good enough that it can be handled safely and lawfully from there. The waste transfer note is that written description — the trade’s name for the information the regulations require: who gave, who took, in what capacity, what the waste is and its List of Waste code, how much, loose or contained, when and where, the transferor’s SIC code, the waste hierarchy declaration, and both signatures. The regulation prescribes contents, not a form — which is why a generated note carrying every item is exactly as valid as anyone’s official-looking PDF.
When a transfer note is the wrong document — the part that matters most. Hazardous waste is outside the transfer-note regime entirely: asbestos, contaminated soil, coal-tar tarmac, fuels, chemicals and their like move on a hazardous waste consignment note under a different set of regulations, with different fields, a consignment note code and a three-year retention period. A transfer note handed over with asbestos on it is not a formality gap. So this tool runs three checks — an early named question, the List of Waste’s own asterisks, and the boundary question on every two-sided code — and when any of them points at hazardous waste it stops, explains, and links the official guidance instead of producing the wrong document. The stop is the tool doing its job.
Season tickets. A regular arrangement — the fortnightly skip exchange — does not need a fresh note every time. One note can cover a series of transfers for up to 12 months, same parties, same carrier, same type of non-hazardous waste, with a schedule recording each transfer; the two-year retention clock runs from the final one. This tool produces the schedule sheet alongside the note.
Digital waste tracking is coming — slowly. The digital waste tracking service opened in public beta on 28 April 2026. From October 2026 in England and Wales (January 2027 in Scotland and Northern Ireland), permitted and licensed waste receiving sites must record the waste they receive. From October 2027 the duty extends to waste carriers, brokers and dealers. None of that removes the transfer note between the two parties: a builder handing waste to a skip company still needs one, at least until October 2027 — and regulation 35 stands until it is amended. (The old free electronic-duty-of-care service, edoc, closed in September 2021 — guidance that still points at it is out of date.)
Where this tool applies. This tool covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own duty-of-care regimes — Scotland under its 2014 regulations with SEPA, where hazardous waste is “special waste”; Northern Ireland under its 2002 regulations with NIEA. This tool does not produce notes for either. NetRegs — the SEPA and NIEA joint guidance on waste transfer notes →
Sources, each checked 2026-08-07: Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011/988), regulation 35; Waste duty of care code of practice (statutory code under s.34(7), updated 26 November 2018); gov.uk — waste transfer notes (business waste guidance); List of Wastes (Commission Decision 2000/532/EC as amended by 2014/955/EU, retained UK law); Digital waste tracking service (gov.uk, updated 5 August 2026). This note follows the England and Wales regulations.
Questions people ask
Do I need a waste transfer note?
If business waste changes hands, yes — the duty of care applies to anyone who produces, carries, keeps or deals in it, and every transfer needs a written description with the required details. The regulation prescribes the contents, not a form: a document carrying all of them, even an invoice, does the job. This tool produces one with everything in place.
How long do you keep waste transfer notes?
Two years, both parties, and either must produce the note within seven days of a written demand from the regulator. Hazardous waste consignment notes are kept for three years — a different document under a different regime. On a season ticket the two-year clock runs from the final transfer on the schedule.
What is the difference between a waste transfer note and a consignment note?
A transfer note covers non-hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is outside the transfer-note regime entirely and moves on a hazardous waste consignment note — a different legal document with different fields, a consignment note code and a three-year retention period. That is why this tool stops rather than produce a transfer note when your answers point at hazardous waste.
What is a season ticket?
One note covering a series of transfers for up to 12 months — same transferor, same transferee, same carrier and the same type of non-hazardous waste throughout — with a schedule recording each transfer. It is the regular-skip-exchange case, and this tool has it as a mode: the note comes out with the schedule sheet to keep beside it.
Do I still need transfer notes now digital waste tracking is coming?
Yes. The digital service's first mandatory phase, from October 2026 in England and Wales, puts a recording duty on permitted waste receiving sites — not on you. The duty-of-care document between the two parties remains the transfer note, at least until the carrier phase in October 2027, and the transfer-note regulation stands until it is amended.
Does this tool cover Scotland or Northern Ireland?
No — England and Wales only, and it says so rather than producing a silently wrong document. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own duty-of-care regulations, their own regulators and, in Scotland's case, a different hazardous-waste regime. The SEPA and NIEA joint guidance is the right place for either nation.
Does a waste transfer note need a special form?
No. The regulation lists what the written information must contain and leaves the layout to you — electronic form and electronic signatures are expressly permitted, as long as it can be produced in legible form on demand. What matters is that every required item is present, which is exactly what this tool checks.