Guides › Scotland and Northern Ireland › Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland · January 2027
- Starts
- JANUARY 2027
- Regulator
- NIEA · DAERA
- NI rules
- NOT YET MADE
- Checked
- 17 OCTOBER 2026
Northern Ireland: digital waste tracking from January 2027
DAERA say the service becomes mandatory for sites receiving waste in Northern Ireland from January 2027, on the same Defra service England and Wales moved onto on 1 October 2026. Northern Ireland's own regulations haven't been published yet, so this page says what DAERA and GOV.UK say, with the source for each line, and is checked again when the rules appear.
- Starts
- January 2027 for sites receiving waste DAERA GOV.UK
- Who
- Organisations licensed or permitted to receive waste GOV.UK: transfer stations, scrap yards, landfills, energy-from-waste and composting sites NetRegs
- Charge
- £26 a year per organisation, first payment due by 31 January 2027 GOV.UK
- How
- Defra's Report receipt of waste service, through software or Defra's spreadsheet GOV.UK
Where the law stands
England, Scotland and Wales have made their regulations: SI 2026/729, SSI 2026/145 and WSI 2026/105. A title
search of legislation.gov.uk on 17 October 2026 finds no Northern Ireland rules legislation.gov.uk.
GOV.UK's timeline had every nation laying its legislation by summer 2026 and gives January 2027 as the date for
receiving sites in Northern Ireland GOV.UK. DAERA give the same month DAERA.
Until Northern Ireland's rules are published, the exact exclusions and deadline there aren't fixed in law. The
other three nations all set two working days from the day after the load arrives, so plan for that, and check
again when the rules appear.
Is your site in?
Phase 1 is for organisations that must hold a licence or permit to receive waste GOV.UK. In
Northern Ireland that means a waste management licence or a PPC permit for a waste activity, both on
DAERA's public registers. Waste exemptions come in a later phase GOV.UK.
Councils: DAERA name local authorities among those affected DAERA; the exact exclusions wait for
the Northern Ireland rules.
Your licence number, the way Defra's service takes it
Defra publish the Northern Ireland formats their service accepts Defra format list:
Leave the brackets off. DAERA's licence register shows the licence number in brackets, like
WML 28/14 (LN/21/07). Defra's format has no brackets: WML 28/14 LN/21/07. A file reference on its own, or a licence
number on its own, isn't one of Defra's formats.
The other Northern Ireland numbers on a load
- Carrier registrations from DAERA look like ROC UT 1234 (upper tier) or ROC LT 1234 (lower tier); the spaces
don't matter Defra format list. Carrier numbers.
- A hazardous load's consignment note code in Northern Ireland is DA, DB or DC and seven digits, for example
DA5301234 (Defra's API specification).
Northern Ireland's bank holidays
Northern Ireland keeps St Patrick's Day (17 March) and the Battle of the Boyne (12 July) as well as the England
and Wales list, Easter Monday included GOV.UK bank holidays. If the rules set two working days, as
the other nations' do, these are the dates that move.
What to do before January
- Find your licence or permit on DAERA's register and write the number down in Defra's
format, without the brackets.
- Register your organisation on Defra's service with your
organisation's Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login, never a personal one GOV.UK. DAERA say
the service has been open to receiving sites since April 2026 DAERA.
- Copy your organisation's API code if you'll use software. One code covers every site the organisation runs
GOV.UK. Which number it is.
- Gather your carriers' ROC numbers, your usual waste codes and your R or D codes.
EWC codes · R and D codes.
- Practise a few loads before January. Paper transfer notes carry on alongside the digital record.
Start free, set it up yourself
Byrne Waste Tracking runs in the browser on a phone at the gate, with nothing to install. You log each load,
it checks it against Defra's rules first, and it sends it to Defra automatically once you've linked your Defra
account. It works out each load's due date with Northern Ireland's own bank holidays.
Byrne Digital Solutions is listed on GOV.UK as a compatible software provider.
Creating an account is free, and you can log a pretend load first without one. £89 per site per month,
no contract, and no setup fee when you set it up yourself. A Northern Irish site that joins before 1 January 2027 pays nothing until
1 January 2027, the day the duty starts there.
Stuck on something here? Email wilf@byrnedigitalsolutions.co.uk. Email is the quickest way to
reach me, I reply the same working day.
For consultants and TCMs with clients in Northern Ireland
If you are the technically competent person, or the consultant, for several permitted sites in Northern Ireland,
your clients' duty starts in January and they will ask you what to do. The steps above are the answer for each
site, and each site registers its own organisation with Defra.
If you'd like to introduce clients, it works the same as in England: free to join, your client pays me
direct, and each consultancy chooses its own setup fee. How the consultant scheme works.
Email me how many Northern Ireland sites you look after and which NIEA permits or licences they hold, and
I'll come back to you: wilf@byrnedigitalsolutions.co.uk.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
When does digital waste tracking start in Northern Ireland?
January 2027 for sites that receive waste, DAERA and GOV.UK say. The rest of the industry is planned to follow in October 2027.
Have the Northern Ireland regulations been made?
Not that legislation.gov.uk shows: a title search on 17 October 2026 finds the England, Scotland and Wales regulations and nothing for Northern Ireland. Check DAERA's page for news.
How do I enter an NIEA waste licence number?
As the file reference and the licence number together, with a space and no brackets, for example WML 28/14 LN/21/07. PPC permits look like P1234/56A.
Does a waste exemption in Northern Ireland have to do this from January 2027?
No. Phase 1 is for sites that must hold a licence or permit to receive waste. Exemptions come in a later phase.
Is there a charge in Northern Ireland?
GOV.UK say £26 a year per organisation, covering all its sites, with the first payment due by 31 January 2027.
Which bank holidays count in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland's own: the England and Wales list plus St Patrick's Day on 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July.
Can a consultant introduce several Northern Ireland sites?
Yes, the same way as in England: free to join, and each consultancy chooses its own setup fee. Each site's organisation registers with Defra itself.
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