When do waste carriers have to use Digital Waste Tracking?

Waste carriers, brokers and dealers come into scope of Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027 — a year after receivers in England and Wales. From that point they must record the waste movements they transport or arrange through the service instead of paper transfer notes. Until October 2027 a paper Waste Transfer Note still satisfies the duty of care, so carriers are not required to use the service yet.

Do carriers have to use Digital Waste Tracking in 2026?

No. In 2026 and most of 2027 a carrier can still complete a paper (or basic electronic) Waste Transfer Note and meet the section 34 duty of care. The only mandatory 2026 duty falls on receivers — permitted sites recording incoming waste — in force since 1 October 2026. Carriers do not have to use the service until October 2027, although they can use it voluntarily before then.

Why prepare for Digital Waste Tracking before October 2027?

Because the sites you tip at are already digital. England and Wales receivers have recorded incoming loads in the service since 1 October 2026, with Northern Ireland and Scotland following from 1 January 2027. When your record and the receiver's receipt are both digital they reconcile automatically, so a digital-ready carrier is waved through the gate while paper creates friction and mismatches at the weighbridge.

Digital Waste Tracking for carriers: getting ready for October 2027

Last updated 5 October 2026

In short

Waste carriers, brokers and dealers must record the waste movements they transport or arrange digitally through Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027 — a year after England and Wales receivers. Until then a paper Waste Transfer Note still satisfies the duty of care, so carriers are not yet required to use the service. The case for going early is practical: the permitted sites you tip at are already digital (England and Wales since 1 October 2026; Northern Ireland and Scotland from 1 January 2027), so a digital-ready carrier's record reconciles automatically against the receiver's receipt.

If you carry, broker or deal in waste, the headline is simple: you are not required to use Digital Waste Tracking yet. Carriers, brokers and dealers come into scope from October 2027 — a year after receivers in England and Wales. Until then a paper Waste Transfer Note still does the job. But the sites you tip at are already digital, and that is exactly why getting ready early is worth it.

When do carriers have to use Digital Waste Tracking?

Waste carriers, brokers and dealers come into Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027 — a year after receivers in England and Wales. From that point you must record the waste movements you transport or arrange digitally through the service instead of paper transfer notes. Until October 2027 a paper Waste Transfer Note still satisfies the duty of care, so you are not required to use the service yet.

Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) is DEFRA's government service that replaces paper waste transfer notes and hazardous consignment notes with a single digital record of each movement. It is being rolled out in stages by the role you play in a waste movement, not all at once. The receiver — the permitted or licensed site that accepts the waste — was caught first. The carrier side, covering carriers, brokers and dealers, follows a year later.

So the carrier start date is October 2027. The service has been available to use voluntarily since April 2026, but that is an opportunity to onboard early, not a deadline — nothing on the carrier side is mandatory before October 2027.

What changes for carriers in October 2027?

From October 2027 you must record each waste movement you transport or arrange digitally through the service rather than on a paper transfer note. The movement is captured once as a digital record that the producer, carrier and receiving site all reference — in place of the paper note that used to travel with the load.

Mechanically, very little about your day changes — you still collect from a producer and deliver to a permitted site. What changes is the record. Instead of a paper Waste Transfer Note (or a basic electronic one) that each party fills in and keeps a copy of, there is one digital movement record in the tracking service that all parties reference. The table below sets out the before-and-after and the timeline leading up to it.

Digital Waste Tracking for carriers — what changes and when

Milestone / item	Before (now)	From October 2027
The movement record	Paper (or basic electronic) Waste Transfer Note completed and kept by each party.	One digital movement record in the Digital Waste Tracking service, referenced by all parties.
Duty of care	A correctly completed Waste Transfer Note satisfies the section 34 duty of care.	Recording the movement in the service is how the duty of care is evidenced.
The sites you tip at	Already digital — England & Wales receivers since 1 October 2026; Northern Ireland & Scotland from 1 January 2027.	Still digital — and now your record and their receipt reconcile automatically.
Your obligation as a carrier	Not in scope. Paper transfer notes still count; using the service is voluntary.	Mandatory. Carriers, brokers and dealers must record movements digitally.

Carriers, brokers and dealers come into Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027. Until then a paper or electronic Waste Transfer Note still satisfies the section 34 duty of care. Receivers were caught a year earlier — permitted sites in England and Wales since 1 October 2026, and in Northern Ireland and Scotland from 1 January 2027, each recording incoming loads within 2 working days.

Does a paper Waste Transfer Note still count right now?

Yes. Until carriers come into scope in October 2027, a correctly completed Waste Transfer Note — paper or electronic — still satisfies the section 34 duty of care for a waste movement. Digital Waste Tracking does not make paper notes invalid for carriers before their own start date.

This matters because the rollout is sometimes reported as if paper notes stopped working for everyone in 2026. They did not. The duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act is still met by a proper transfer note, and that remains true for carriers right up to their October 2027 start date. What the service does is replace the paper note once your carrier duty begins — not before.

Why get ready before you have to?

Because the sites you tip at are already digital. When your movement record and the receiver's receipt are both digital they reconcile automatically, so a digital-ready carrier is waved through the gate — while paper creates friction and mismatches at the weighbridge.

Here is the practical reality a lot of carriers miss. The receiving sites — transfer stations, treatment plants, recycling facilities, landfill — have been recording every incoming load in the service since 1 October 2026 in England and Wales, and from 1 January 2027 in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Each site submits a Receipt of Waste within 2 working days of arrival. That means the gate you drive up to is already digital, whether or not you are.

Digital-both-sides reconciles itself

When both sides of the movement are digital, the carrier's record and the receiver's receipt describe the same load and line up automatically — same waste, same codes, same quantity, same site. There is nothing to re-key at the weighbridge and nothing to chase afterwards. A carrier still handing over paper, by contrast, forces the site to type your details into their system by hand, which is slower at the gate and the most common source of mismatches between the two records.

Smoother tipping. A digital-ready carrier is waved through; a paper hand-over has to be keyed in at the gate.
Fewer mismatches. Two digital records reconcile cleanly; paper re-keyed by someone else is where errors creep in.
Nothing to scramble in 2027. Onboard your crews, your codes and your process now, while it is voluntary, so the October 2027 deadline is a non-event rather than a fire drill.

How to prepare as a carrier, broker or dealer

Mark the date. Your duty starts in October 2027; plan backwards from there, not from the 2026 receiver date.
Go digital on transfer notes now. Move off paper while it is still voluntary so the switch is behind you before it becomes mandatory.
Get your EWC codes and waste descriptions right. Clean, consistent codes are what let your record reconcile against the receiving site's receipt without a hitch.
Train the people at the sharp end. Drivers and transport planners are the ones capturing the movement, so bring them on early rather than on day one of the mandate.
Both a carrier and a receiver? Your receiving-site duty is already live (since 1 October 2026 in England and Wales; 1 January 2027 in Northern Ireland and Scotland) — sort the site side first, then the vehicles for October 2027. See carrier vs receiver.

This guide is general information about Digital Waste Tracking, not legal advice. Check your obligations against the primary sources below and, if in doubt, your environmental regulator.

Primary sources

Frequently asked questions

When do waste carriers have to use Digital Waste Tracking?: Waste carriers, brokers and dealers come into scope of Digital Waste Tracking from October 2027 — a year after receivers in England and Wales. From that point they must record the waste movements they transport or arrange through the service instead of paper transfer notes. Until October 2027 a paper Waste Transfer Note still satisfies the duty of care, so carriers are not required to use the service yet.
Do carriers have to use Digital Waste Tracking in 2026?: No. In 2026 and most of 2027 a carrier can still complete a paper (or basic electronic) Waste Transfer Note and meet the section 34 duty of care. The only mandatory 2026 duty falls on receivers — permitted sites recording incoming waste — in force since 1 October 2026. Carriers do not have to use the service until October 2027, although they can use it voluntarily before then.
What changes for carriers in October 2027?: From October 2027 carriers, brokers and dealers must record each waste movement they transport or arrange digitally through the Digital Waste Tracking service rather than on a paper transfer note. The movement is captured once, as a digital record that the producer, carrier and receiving site all reference — replacing the paper note that used to travel with the load.
Why prepare for Digital Waste Tracking before October 2027?: Because the sites you tip at are already digital. England and Wales receivers have recorded incoming loads in the service since 1 October 2026, with Northern Ireland and Scotland following from 1 January 2027. When your record and the receiver's receipt are both digital they reconcile automatically, so a digital-ready carrier is waved through the gate while paper creates friction and mismatches at the weighbridge.
Does a paper Waste Transfer Note still count for carriers right now?: Yes. Until carriers come into scope in October 2027, a correctly completed Waste Transfer Note — paper or electronic — still satisfies the section 34 duty of care for a waste movement. Digital Waste Tracking does not make paper notes invalid for carriers before their own start date; it replaces them once the carrier duty begins.

Related guides

This guide is general information from ComplyWaste, not legal advice. Always check the primary sources for your situation.