Phase 2 for carriers, skip hire, brokers and dealers

If you move waste in your own lorries, or arrange for others to move it, digital waste tracking reaches you in phase 2. Here is what Defra have said, what a driver is likely to have to record, and a list to join so you hear the day Defra open it.

When	What Defra have said
Autumn 2026	Private beta: the service available "to an invited group of waste collectors". No public way to join has been published. GOV.UK
Spring 2027	Public beta: available to all waste collectors. GOV.UK
October 2027	Mandatory for waste collectors. Defra describe phase 2 as the service for waste carriers, brokers and dealers, and put them at around 300,000 registrations. GOV.UK
Later, no date	Waste exemption holders: "Waste exemptions will be included in a later phase" (policy paper updated 1 October 2026). GOV.UK

If you also run a permitted site that receives waste - a skip hire yard with a transfer station, say - that site has been in phase 1 since 1 October 2026. What phase 1 asks of a site.

Part B · What a driver will record

Four steps, and a reference the site needs from you

This is Defra's draft design, from the code and planning notes Defra publish on GitHub. Defra mark those notes as internal and say they can change, so treat this as the shape, not the rules. Defra on GitHub

Before pickup, the movement is created - by the producer, the broker or the carrier. It names the producer, the carrier, the site the waste is going to, and what the waste is, with an estimated weight.
At pickup, the driver records the collection and confirms they have checked the waste is as described and are content to carry it. No weighing at this point.
At the tip, the driver records the delivery and gets a short reference code - Defra call it a Delivery ID - to hand to the receiving site.
The site records its receipt against that code, with the real weight. What the site records is checked against what was declared at the start.

Sources: Defra's phase 2 plan decisions register draft routes

Part C · What you will need

Mostly things you already have

Your carrier, broker or dealer registration number (CBDU or CBDL in England and Wales). Defra's draft puts the carrier on every step.
Your vehicle registrations, for waste moved by road.
A Defra organisation account. Defra's draft says carriers will get the same kind of organisation account and API code that receiving sites use now. How carriers will register has not been settled yet. Defra draft
Something in the cab to record on - a phone is enough for the steps above.

Separately, in England, registration as a carrier, broker or dealer is being replaced by a permit, with identity and competence checks. That is a different duty on its own timetable. The two duties, side by side.

Part D · Straight answers

When do waste carriers have to use digital waste tracking?

Defra's published plan is a private beta from autumn 2026 for an invited group, a public beta from spring 2027, and mandatory use from October 2027 for waste carriers, brokers and dealers.

Do I need to do anything now?

Nothing is required of carriers yet. Defra have not published the phase 2 service or a way to sign up for it. If you also run a permitted site that receives waste, that site has been in phase 1 since 1 October 2026.

What will a driver have to record?

In Defra's draft design, the movement is created before pickup, the driver records the collection and confirms the waste is as described, then records the delivery at the receiving site and gets a reference code to hand over. The site records its receipt against that code. Weights are estimated when the movement is created and weighed by the site. Defra say the draft can change.

Can I buy phase 2 software now?

Defra have not published the phase 2 API yet, and phase 2 software has to be built against it. Byrne's carrier version will be built against Defra's API once Defra open it to software providers. There is no date or price for it yet.

Are waste exemption holders in phase 2?

No. Defra's policy paper, updated 1 October 2026, says waste exemptions will be included in a later phase. No date has been given.

Is this the same as the new carrier permits?

No. Separately, in England, registration as a carrier, broker or dealer is being replaced by a permit, with regulations made in July 2026 whose main changes start 12 months later. That is a different duty from digital waste tracking.

Part E · Join the list

Join the list and I'll tell you when Defra open it

I build Byrne Waste Tracking, which is listed on GOV.UK as a compatible software provider for the phase 1 service. What it does today is record the loads a site receives. A carrier version, for drivers on a phone, is planned for when Defra open phase 2 to software providers. I will email you when that happens, and when there is something you can try. Nothing else, and nobody will phone you.

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Privacy: your details go to Wilf Byrne (Byrne Digital Solutions) and are used for these emails and nothing else. Never sold, never passed on, deleted when you ask. They are stored in a database the public cannot read back. Privacy notice.

Run a permitted site that receives waste? Phase 1 applies to you now: what you have to do, and a free permit check. In Scotland or Northern Ireland, your date is 1 January 2027. Every guide is here.