Guides › Carrier licence check
Free tool · The public register, in one box
Check a waste carrier's licence
Type a registration number or a business name. It searches the Environment Agency's public
register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers, and shows the tier and whether it's in date. Free, no sign-up.
- For
- Anyone handing over or taking in waste
- Costs
- Nothing
- Checked
- 27 OCTOBER 2026
Why checking a carrier matters
If you produce, carry, keep, treat or dispose of waste, or deal in it or broker it, the law gives you a duty of
care. It is in section 34 of the Environmental
Protection Act 1990. Part of that duty is taking the measures that are reasonable to make sure that, when waste
changes hands, it goes to an authorised person. For a haulier, that means a registered waste carrier.
The government's duty
of care code of practice says how: ask for evidence of their registration, then check it on the public register
rather than trusting a photocopy. It works both ways. The code also says the person receiving waste should check
that the previous holder met their duty of care.
Failing in the duty of care is an offence. The code of practice says there is no upper limit on the fine a court
can give, and that in some cases a fixed penalty notice can be issued instead of a prosecution.
You don't have to keep a record of the check, but the code suggests it: note the registration number and the
date you looked. If waste you handed over is later fly-tipped, that record shows quickly that you did your part.
Upper tier or lower tier
In England the number tells you the tier. CBDU is upper tier and
CBDL is lower tier.
Upper tier lets a business transport other people's waste. Skip hire firms, waste collection companies and
hauliers carrying for customers are normally upper tier. It has to be renewed every 3 years, so the register shows
an expiry date.
Lower tier is mainly for organisations carrying their own waste, and charities, voluntary organisations
and waste collection authorities can use it too. It doesn't need renewing, so there is no expiry date to check.
The register also says what each business is registered to do: carry waste, broker it (arrange for someone else
to move or deal with it), deal in it (buy and sell it), or a mix of the three. A registration as a broker or
dealer on its own doesn't cover carrying, so if the same firm's lorry turns up, ask which registration covers the
carrying.
What the number looks like in each nation
Each nation keeps its own register. This page searches England's. For the others, use the link in the table.
A Welsh business can have a CBDU number that isn't on England's register, because Natural Resources Wales holds
it. So if a CBDU number isn't found here, try the Welsh register before anything else.
Expired, missing or not found: what to do
- Check the number. Copy it from their paperwork and look for a mixed-up letter and digit, such as the
letter O and a zero.
- Search by name or postcode instead. The register holds the business's legal name, which may not be the
name painted on the lorry. A sole trader is listed under their own name, "trading as" the business.
- Try the other registers. A business registered in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland is on that
nation's register, not England's.
- Ask the carrier. A registered carrier has a registration number and was sent it by letter or email
when they registered. Check whatever they send you on the register yourself.
- Wait until you can see a current registration. If it has expired, or you still can't find it, don't hand
waste over until you can. The code of practice says to report any suspected illegal activity to the Environment
Agency or Natural Resources Wales.
An expired or cancelled registration may simply drop off the register, so "not found" and "expired" can look the
same from the outside. Neither proves anything on its own. Ask, and look again.
Carriers and digital waste tracking
Since 1 October 2026, permitted sites in England and Wales that receive waste report every load to Defra's digital
waste tracking service. Each load needs the carrier's registration number, or one of four reasons why there isn't
one: where to find the number, and the four reasons.
Carriers, brokers and dealers come in at phase 2. Defra's policy paper puts mandatory use for them at October 2027,
and the details are still a draft. Phase 2 for carriers, skip hire, brokers and
dealers sets out what Defra have said so far.
Straight answers
Questions people ask
How do I check if a waste carrier is registered?
Type their registration number or business name into the box at the top of this page. It searches the Environment Agency's public register for England. You can also search the register yourself, or call the Environment Agency on 03708 506 506. A Welsh carrier is on the Natural Resources Wales register instead.
Is a waste carrier licence the same as a CBDU number?
People call it a licence, but in England it is a registration with the Environment Agency, and the CBDU or CBDL number is the registration number. CBDU is upper tier and CBDL is lower tier. It is the number Defra ask for on each load a permitted site reports.
What is the difference between upper tier and lower tier?
Upper tier lets a business carry other people's waste and has to be renewed every 3 years. Lower tier is mainly for organisations carrying their own waste, such as some charities and councils, and doesn't need renewing. A firm that takes your waste away for a fee should normally be upper tier.
The number isn't found. Does that mean the carrier isn't registered?
Not on its own. Check you typed it right, then try their business name or postcode. A Welsh business is on the Natural Resources Wales register, a Scottish one on SEPA's and a Northern Irish one on DAERA's. An expired or cancelled registration may no longer show. If you still can't find them, ask the carrier for their registration details and check those before any waste changes hands.
What should I do if a carrier's registration has expired?
Ask them for their renewed registration and check it on the register. Until you can see a current registration, don't hand waste to them. If you run a site that receives waste from them, raise it before their next load.
Do waste carriers have to use digital waste tracking?
Not yet. Carriers, brokers and dealers come into Defra's digital waste tracking service in phase 2, which Defra plan to make mandatory from October 2027. Since 1 October 2026, permitted sites in England and Wales that receive waste report each load, including the carrier's registration number.
Want carrier numbers filled in 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.
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.
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