What are the waste transfer note requirements?

A compliant WTN needs an accurate description of the waste, its EWC code, the quantity and how it's contained, the time, date and place of transfer, the names, addresses and signatures of both parties, the transferor's SIC code, the carrier's registration or the site's permit details, and a declaration that the waste hierarchy has been applied. LoadSnap pre-fills all of it from the job.

What's the difference between a WTN and an HWCN?

A waste transfer note covers non-hazardous waste and must be kept for two years; a hazardous waste consignment note covers hazardous waste, requires consignee returns, and must be kept for three. LoadSnap picks the right one based on the load's classification.

What's a season ticket?

A season ticket is an annual transfer note covering a series of regular transfers - same parties, same waste type - for up to a year, so you don't raise a fresh note every collection. You must still keep a schedule recording each individual transfer, and keep both for two years after the last one. LoadSnap builds that schedule automatically as the collections happen.

Do waste transfer notes change under digital waste tracking?

Yes. Under DEFRA's digital waste tracking service the record is filed to a central government service instead of living on paper - mandatory for receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1 October 2026 and in Scotland from 1 January 2027. Receipts must be filed within 2 working days. LoadSnap already files these records: it has passed DEFRA's production approval tests and is listed on the gov.uk register under Webhero.

Solutions · Domestic Transfers

WTNs and HWCNs,
without the carbon copies.

The everyday UK waste movement: a waste transfer note for non-hazardous loads, a consignment note for hazardous. LoadSnap generates both digitally, correctly, every time - and files the record with DEFRA.

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Waste Transfer Note Filed to DEFRA

Producer

Oakfield Joinery

Carrier

CBDU284913 ✓

EWC code

17 09 04

Net weight

2.46 t

Tracking ID

WT-2K9F-7T1A

The bread and butter

Every domestic movement, compliant.

Waste transfer notes

Compliant WTNs for non-hazardous loads, generated from the job in seconds.

Hazardous consignment notes

HWCNs for hazardous waste with the right codes, quantities, and consignee returns.

Season tickets

Annual transfer notes for regular collections of the same waste from the same place.

Digital signatures

Capture producer and carrier signatures on the glass; no paper copies.

Correct EWC codes

AI classification ensures the code and hazardous status are right at capture.

DEFRA submission

File the movement to the DEFRA API in two clicks.

The paperwork, defined

What a waste transfer note actually is.

A waste transfer note is the legal record of non-hazardous waste changing hands - the document behind the duty of care that follows every load from producer to final destination. Both parties fill in their sections, both sign, and both keep a copy for two years. Get one wrong, or fail to produce it for an inspector, and it's your problem regardless of whose van the waste left in.

A proper description
What the waste is, its six-digit EWC code, the quantity, and how it's contained.
Both parties, in full
Names, addresses and signatures of transferor and transferee, the capacity each is acting in, and the transferor's SIC code.
Time, place and authority
When and where the transfer happened, the carrier registration or permit number that makes it lawful, and a declaration that the waste hierarchy has been applied.

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Anatomy of a WTN

Every required field, pre-filled from the job.

Two notes, one workflow

Hazardous or not, it's the same easy flow.

LoadSnap knows whether a load needs a transfer note or a consignment note from the classification - and produces the right document without you having to think about it.

Right document, automatically
Classification drives whether it's a WTN or HWCN.
Consignee returns
Hazardous movements get their returns generated at the receiver.
Season ticket support
Recurring same-waste collections covered by one annual note.

An operative with a clipboard assesses waste beside sealed hazardous-waste drums inside a transfer shed.

The rules are changing

From carbon pads to a national database.

Mandatory digital waste tracking replaces the paper transfer note with records filed to DEFRA's central service. Receiving sites in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are mandated from 1 October 2026 - England's regulations, SI 2026/729, were made on 24 June 2026 - and Scotland follows from 1 January 2027. Carriers and brokers come later, in a planned second phase from October 2027. Receipts have to be filed within 2 working days - a deadline a drawer of carbon copies can't meet.

Same duty, new format
The duty of care doesn't change; how you evidence it does.
Filed for you
LoadSnap generates the note and files the DEFRA record from the same capture - no second system.
Ready either way
Until your nation's date arrives, you still get compliant digital WTNs with none of the paper.

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WTN to DEFRA record

One capture, both outputs.

Questions

Good to know.

A waste transfer note (WTN) is the legal document that must accompany every transfer of non-hazardous waste in the UK. It records what the waste is, who handed it over, who took it, and when and where - and it's how both parties evidence their duty of care. Both sides must keep a copy for two years and produce it if an enforcement officer asks.

On the DEFRA DWT Beta

The mandate is coming.
Get compliant now.

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WTNs and HWCNs,without the carbon copies.