Free Waste Transfer Note Template + Season Ticket Log (UK)

Every transfer of business waste needs a waste transfer note under the section 34 duty of care: signed by both parties, EWC code included, kept for 2 years. This template gives you a compliant one-off WTN plus a season ticket log for repeat collections (same waste, same parties, up to 12 months on one note).

⬇ Download PDF (print-ready)⬇ Download Excel (editable)

Free for use within your organisation. No sign-up required.

What's on the note

• Waste description + EWC code; quantity and containers
• Transferor details incl. SIC code; transferee details incl. carrier registration number (check it on the Environment Agency register)
• Transfer date, place, and both signatures

Hazardous waste?

Different document (consignment notes, kept 3 years): see hazardous waste consignment notes. For everything else: waste transfer notes explained.

Who must keep this record

Under the section 34 duty of care in the Environmental Protection Act 1990, every business that produces, carries or disposes of waste needs the paperwork, whatever its size. A sole trader handing bags to a collector needs a note as much as a main contractor does.

• Both parties keep a copy. Yours proves your waste went to an authorised carrier and a legitimate destination, not a fly-tip.
• Check the carrier is registered before you hand anything over: the Environment Agency register in England, SEPA in Scotland, NRW in Wales.
• It sits alongside the rest of your duty of care waste records.

How long to keep it

Keep waste transfer notes for at least two years and hazardous waste consignment notes for at least three, filed so you can produce them for the Environment Agency or the local authority on request. A season ticket covers up to 12 months of identical transfers between the same parties on one note, and you need a fresh note the moment the waste type or the carrier changes. If you produce hazardous waste, keep the consignee returns too: they are your proof it was treated or disposed of properly.

What a completed entry looks like

A weekly bin collection, written up on the season ticket log:

• Waste description: mixed dry recyclables, card, paper and plastic bottles, plus the List of Wastes (EWC) code for that stream. Hazardous codes carry an asterisk, and those need a consignment note instead.
• Quantity and containers: one 1,100 litre wheeled bin, collected Tuesdays
• Transferor: business name, address and your SIC code
• Transferee: carrier name, address and waste carrier registration number, checked on the register
• Transfer: date, place, the waste hierarchy declaration, and both signatures

FAQs

Is the carrier's invoice enough on its own?

No. An invoice proves you paid, not that the duty of care transfer took place. You need the note itself, with the required content and both signatures on it.

Can one note cover a whole year of collections?

Yes, that is the season ticket. A single note can cover repeat transfers for up to 12 months where the waste description, the carrier and the parties all stay the same. Change any one of those and you need a new note.

Can waste transfer notes be electronic?

Yes. Electronic notes are accepted provided they contain all the required fields and are kept for two years. The government's Digital Waste Tracking Service went into public beta on 28 April 2026 and becomes mandatory for permitted waste receiving sites from October 2026 (January 2027 in Scotland), with carriers, brokers and dealers following from October 2027.

What if part of the load is hazardous?

Then it needs a consignment note rather than a transfer note, and it is kept for three years instead of two. Mixing hazardous with non-hazardous waste can make the whole load hazardous, so keep the streams apart.

Sources

gov.ukManaging your waste: duty of carelegislation.gov.ukEPA 1990 s.34

Tell me when the rules behind this template change (free, one email when it happens, nothing else).