Waste carrier registration in Scotland: SEPA, EASR and how to apply

Scotland has its own waste carrier registration system, administered by SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) rather than the Environment Agency that covers England. If you transport waste in Scotland, here is exactly who must register, what authorisation type you need, what changed in November 2025, and how to apply.

Who regulates waste carrier registration in Scotland?

This is the key difference from England and Wales, where the Environment Agency (EA) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) handle registrations, and from Northern Ireland, where NIEA administers the system. If you operate vehicles that collect or transport waste in Scotland, you must be registered with SEPA — an EA or NIEA registration does not cover Scottish operations.

What changed in Scotland on 1 November 2025?

The EASR replaced seven separate Scottish environmental regulations, including the Controlled Waste (Registration of Carriers and Seizures of Vehicles) Regulations 1991, with a single framework. The practical effect for waste carriers is a new application portal, new activity reference codes, and a consolidated charging scheme — but the underlying obligation to register before transporting controlled waste produced by others remains the same.

From 1 November 2025, Scottish waste carrier registrations are issued as EASR authorisations by SEPA. Existing registrations issued before that date were migrated across automatically — carriers did not need to re-register immediately, but renewals and new applications now use the EASR system.

Does Scotland use the same upper and lower tier system as England?

The practical distinction is similar to the upper/lower tier split elsewhere: commercial carriers transporting other people's waste need a paid, time-limited authorisation; businesses transporting only waste they generated themselves on their own premises may fall under a separate low-risk provision. But the language and reference codes are different, which often confuses carriers who operate across the border.

Who must register as a waste carrier in Scotland?

Common examples that require EASR-SC-035 include:

• →Commercial waste collection rounds
• →Skip hire and uplift
• →House clearance and commercial clearance services
• →Waste soil or aggregate haulage from third-party sites
• →Waste textiles collection

Businesses that only transport waste they generated themselves on their own premises may be covered by a different provision — but if you also collect or transport other parties' waste at any point, EASR-SC-035 applies. Waste brokers and dealers (who arrange or buy and sell waste without transporting it themselves) need EASR-SC-036 instead.

How do I apply for waste carrier registration in Scotland?

For a Transporting waste (EASR-SC-035) application you will typically need:

• →Business name, address and contact details
• →Description of the waste transport activity (types of waste, areas covered)
• →Details of any relevant environmental or waste-related convictions (SEPA may refuse or revoke an authorisation on fit-and-proper-person grounds)
• →Payment of the registration fee (see SEPA's current charging scheme for the applicable amount)

SEPA processes the application and, once approved, issues an authorisation with a reference number. The authorisation is valid for three years and must be renewed before it expires — there is no automatic grace period.

How do I check whether a waste carrier is registered in Scotland?

Verifying that a carrier is legitimately registered before handing over waste is part of your duty of care under s.34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as applied in Scotland by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Waste Management Licensing (Scotland) Regulations 2011). Accepting waste from an unregistered carrier can expose you to shared liability for any illegal disposal.

What happens if I transport waste in Scotland without registration?

SEPA also has powers to revoke or suspend an existing authorisation if the holder no longer meets the fit-and-proper-person criteria — for example, following a relevant environmental conviction. An operator whose authorisation has been revoked must stop transporting third-party waste immediately.

This guide is general information about waste carrier registration in Scotland, not legal advice. Confirm your obligations with SEPA directly and consult the primary sources below before making registration decisions.