The £26 Defra charge and the 402 message
Checked 22 September 2026.
The charge
Once the digital waste tracking service becomes mandatory, registering incurs an upfront annual charge of £26 for 12 months' access (GOV.UK, Digital waste tracking service).
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 (Defra FAQ).
The 402 message
If you see a submission fail because your firm's Defra registration has lapsed, this is a billing problem with Defra, not a fault in Tipslip — it means the £26 charge hasn't been paid, so Defra is refusing new records until it is (Digital Waste Tracking Receipt API).
On the Submissions page this shows as Needs review, with the message "Your Defra charge has lapsed." Tipslip never retries this one automatically — a payment problem should not silently keep hitting Defra.
What to do
- Log in to Defra's digital waste tracking service website and pay or renew the charge.
- Back in Tipslip, press Retry (see Correcting a submitted record).