A load is wrong. How to put it right, and how long you have

Typos happen at the gate. What you do depends on one thing: has the load already gone to Defra?

Not sent yet: Fix it, or delete it and key it again, in your software. Nothing has been reported.
Already sent: Correct it with Defra, using the load's Defra ID. Do not send it again as a new load.
Defra flagged it: Correct it within the same 2 working days.
You spotted it: Correct it as soon as you can, and within 1 month of finding it.

Before it has gone to Defra

Put it right in your software and nothing is reported wrong. In Byrne Waste Tracking each load waits about 20 minutes after it is saved before it goes, so a typo spotted at the gate can still be fixed. On the Loads screen, a load not yet sent has a Delete button: delete it and key it again properly.

After Defra have it

A load Defra have accepted has a Defra ID, a short code next to it. Defra keep that record, and they do not spot duplicates for you, so sending the load again as a new one creates a second record of the same lorry. Do not do that.

Note the load's Defra ID. In Byrne Waste Tracking it is under the load on the Loads screen.
Sign in to Defra's Report receipt of waste service with your organisation's sign-in.
Correct the record there, using that Defra ID. GOV.UK say you can only update an existing record if you have its waste tracking reference, which is why the ID matters.
If Defra's screens don't let you change the part that is wrong, ring Defra's helpline on 03000 203 781, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm (except public holidays). They run the service.

Two different deadlines. If Defra or your software tell you a submission has an error, GOV.UK say it must be corrected within the same 2 working day timeframe. If you find a mistake yourself later, you must correct it as soon as you can and within 1 month of discovering it.

Stopping it happening again

Most wrong loads are one of four things: the weight in the wrong unit (kilograms typed as tonnes), the wrong R or D code, a carrier number off the wrong company, or the same load keyed twice. Software that checks each load against Defra's rules before it saves catches most of them at the gate, which is the cheapest place to catch them.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

How do I correct a digital waste tracking record?

If it has not gone to Defra yet, fix it or delete it and key it again in your software. If Defra already have it, correct it in Defra's Report receipt of waste service using the load's waste tracking reference. If the screens do not let you, Defra's helpline is 03000 203 781.

How long do I have to correct a mistake?

GOV.UK give two deadlines. An error Defra or your software flag to you must be corrected within the same 2 working days. An error you find yourself must be corrected as soon as you can and within 1 month of discovering it.

Can I just send the load again with the right details?

No. Defra keep the first record and do not remove duplicates, so sending it again as a new load leaves two records of the same lorry. Correct the original instead.

Can I delete a load I have already sent to Defra?

Not from your software. Once Defra have accepted a record, the correction is made with Defra, against that record's waste tracking reference.

I keyed a load at the gate and spotted a typo straight away. What now?

If it has not been sent yet, fix it or delete it and key it again. In Byrne Waste Tracking loads wait about 20 minutes before they go, so a typo at the gate can be put right first.

Want this done for you at the gate?

Byrne Waste Tracking runs in the browser on a phone at the gate, with nothing to install. It remembers your carriers and their numbers, offers the waste codes and R or D codes your site uses, checks each load against Defra's rules before it saves, and sends it to Defra automatically once you've linked your Defra account. Byrne Digital Solutions is listed on GOV.UK as a compatible software provider.

£89 per site per month, no contract. Join before 1 November 2026 and nothing is due until 1 November; join from 1 November and you get 14 days free. After that it's £89 a month per site, and there's no card to enter until you start it. No setup fee when you set it up yourself. If a consultant introduces you, any setup fee is agreed through them and you see the amount before you pay anything.

A site in Scotland or Northern Ireland that joins before 1 January 2027 pays nothing until 1 January 2027, the day the duty starts there.

Got a waste consultant? Ask them about Byrne first: they can introduce you, your site is set up for you, and it shows on their Clients screen. How that works.

Create a free account Log a pretend load first

Already a customer? Open the app. Stuck on something here? Email wilf@byrnedigitalsolutions.co.uk - email is the quickest way to reach me, and I reply the same working day.

Bank holidays and the two working days: every due date worked outChristmas, New Year, Easter and every 2027 bank holiday, worked out for each nation.
Which R or D code am I? Recovery and disposal codes by type of siteR13, R12, R5, R4, R3, R10, D15 and D1 by type of site, and where your permit already lists yours.
Is this my Defra API code? The numbers people send insteadThe support ID, the helpline number and six-digit numbers are not it. What the real one looks like.
Every guideAll the questions customers ask, one page each.