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Part A · Where phase 2 stands

Mandatory
OCTOBER 2027
Who
CARRIERS, BROKERS, DEALERS
Checked
12 OCT 2026

Carriers, brokers and dealers in 2027 - and where waste exemptions stand

Phase 1 started on 1 October 2026 and covers permitted sites that receive waste. If you are a carrier, broker or dealer, you are in phase 2 - a different duty on a different date. If you hold a waste exemption, Defra say you come in a later phase, with no date yet.

Starts
October 2027, after a private beta from autumn 2026 and a public beta in spring 2027.
Who
Waste carriers, brokers and dealers - around 300,000 registrations, Defra say. The 150,000 or so waste exemption holders are not in this phase: "Waste exemptions will be included in a later phase".
Not you
If you hold an environmental permit for a site that receives waste, you were in phase 1 on 1 October 2026, not this.
Today
Nothing is required of you, and there is nothing to buy. Defra have not published a phase 2 API or a sign-up route. Carriers: what you will need, and the list to join.

Part B · The two duties people mix up

Tracking the waste, and being allowed to move it

Two changes are arriving within months of each other, and they are separate. Getting them confused is the commonest mistake being made about 2027.

1. Digital waste tracking, phase 2

Today a permitted site records the load it receives. From October 2027 the movement is expected to start earlier: the producer, broker or carrier creates it before pickup, the driver records collection and then delivery, and the receiving site's record is matched to that movement. Defra's own published code gained draft phase 2 endpoints in September 2026, switched off, which is the clearest signal of the shape of it - but drafts are not a specification and they are not a date.

2. Carrier, broker and dealer registration becomes a permit

The phase 2 CBD regulations were made in July 2026. Registration becomes a permit in three classes - Transporter, Controller, and Controller-Transporter - with identity checks, criminal record checks and a technical competence requirement, renewed every three years. The CIWM competence scheme, CaT, is mandatory from July 2027. None of that is waste tracking; it just lands in the same year.

Part C · If you hold a waste exemption

You were not in the October 2026 phase

This is worth being clear about, because a lot of exemption holders were told otherwise in the run-up to 1 October 2026. The duty that started then falls on the operator of a permitted facility that receives controlled waste. Registered exemptions - the U codes and T codes - are not in phase 2 either: Defra's policy paper, updated 1 October 2026, says "Waste exemptions will be included in a later phase", with no date. How to tell a permit from an exemption.

Two things are worth knowing now. First, a register shows only granted permits, so "no permit found" against your name does not by itself settle which of the two you are; if you have a permit application in, the answer can change. Second, if you are unsure which duty you fall under, that is a question for your regulator and not for a software company - including this one.

Part D · Straight answers

Do waste exemptions need digital waste tracking?

Not in the first phase. From 1 October 2026 the duty falls on operators of permitted facilities that receive controlled waste. Registered waste exemptions - the U and T codes - are not in phase 2 either. Defra's policy paper, updated 1 October 2026, says waste exemptions will be included in a later phase, and no date has been given.

When does phase 2 start?

Defra's published plan is a private beta from autumn 2026 for invited participants, a public beta in spring 2027, and mandatory use from October 2027 for waste carriers, brokers and dealers. Waste exemption holders come in a later phase, with no date yet.

I am a waste carrier. What changes for me in 2027?

Two separate things land close together. Digital waste tracking means the movement is created before pickup and the driver records collection and delivery, so the receiving site's record can be matched to it. Separately, carrier, broker and dealer registration becomes a permit, with identity, criminal record and technical competence checks, renewed every three years.

What is the technical competence requirement for carriers?

The CIWM competence scheme, CaT, is mandatory from July 2027. It is separate from digital waste tracking and applies to the new carrier, broker and dealer permits.

Can I sign up for phase 2 software now?

There is nothing to sign up to yet. Defra have not published a phase 2 API or a sign-up route, and phase 2 software has to be built against that API. You can join a list to hear when Defra open it.

Do I need to do anything before October 2027?

Nothing is required yet. The two useful things are knowing which of the two duties you fall under, and getting your Defra organisation account in order, because that is the same account phase 2 will use.

Does this apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Digital waste tracking starts in Scotland and Northern Ireland on 1 January 2027, on the same service. The phase 2 dates above are the England and Wales timetable.

I will tell you when there is something to know

I build digital waste tracking software for permitted sites, and Byrne Digital Solutions is listed on GOV.UK as a compatible software provider for the phase 1 service. I am being straight with you: what I have today records loads a site receives. It is not phase 2 software. Phase 2 software has to be built against Defra's phase 2 API, and Defra have not published it yet.

What I can do is tell you when that changes, without a sales sequence attached. Join the phase 2 list - your email is all it needs - and I will tell you when Defra open it. What carriers, skip hire firms, brokers and dealers will need is on the same page.

Join the phase 2 list

If you do hold a permit for a site that receives waste, then phase 1 applies to you now, and this page covers what you have to do. There is a free permit check if you want to see what the public register says about your site. In Scotland or Northern Ireland, your date is 1 January 2027. Every guide is here.