The October 2026 deadline, explained

Dates, by nation

• England, 1 October 2026. The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026 No. 729) come into force on this date and require permitted or licensed receiving sites to report digitally. [source]
• Wales, 1 October 2026. The Digital Waste Tracking (Wales) Regulations 2026 (WSI 2026 No. 105) bring the same duty in on the same date. [source]
• Scotland, 1 January 2027. The Digital Waste Tracking (Scotland) Regulations 2026 come into force on this date. [source]
• Northern Ireland, January 2027. DAERA confirms the service becomes mandatory in Northern Ireland from this month. No exact day has been published. [source]

The two-working-day rule

A receiving site must record the load and get a digital waste record number by the end of the second working day after the day the load was received. [source]

In practice: waste received at 9am on Monday must be posted before midnight on Wednesday. [source] Tipslip queues the record the moment the driver taps Tip and submits it automatically as soon as the phone has signal, well inside that window.

The £26 Defra charge

Once the service becomes mandatory, registering incurs an upfront annual charge of £26 for 12 months' access. [source] Your firm registers and pays this directly to Defra on the DWT website. Tipslip doesn't charge it, collect it, or register on your behalf. [source]

What a receiving site must record

Every load needs: who you are and your permit number, where the site is, when the load arrived, who brought it and their carrier registration, how it travelled and the vehicle registration, a description of the waste with its six digit waste code, weight, containers, whether it is hazardous, and the disposal or recovery code. This is a summary; the full list is in Schedule 1 of the regulations. [source] Tipslip's driver app captures all of it at the tip.

Steps to be ready

Tick these off as you go. Your progress is saved on this device only.

• Check whether the digital waste tracking duty applies to you (use the scope checker).
• Register your firm with Defra's digital waste tracking service and pay the £26 charge. [source]
• Have your site's permit or licence number to hand for registration.
• Make sure every load can be recorded within two working days of arrival. [source]
• Check your waste transfer note process is still followed. Digital tracking is a separate duty. [source] (try the waste transfer note tool).
• Know the EWC codes for the waste you handle (look them up).
• Decide how you'll capture and record load details from day one.