The digital waste tracking checklist for 1 November

Digital waste tracking has been mandatory in England and Wales since 1 October 2026. By 1 November every permitted site has had a month of it. Here is what should be true by then, in the order to check it.

Every load: Every load since 1 October is in Defra's service, each with its Defra reference.
Late ones: Any missed load is reported now, with its real date. Never a changed date.
Mistakes: Errors you find yourself: corrected within one month of finding them.
Money: Defra's £26 a year per organisation, first payment by 31 January 2027.

Start free Check your permit

The twelve checks

You're in scope, and you know it. A permit for a site that receives waste: yes. Only an exemption: not yet. Check your permit · exemptions.
Your organisation is registered with Defra, with the organisation's Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login, never a personal one GOV.UK.
Each company is registered separately. Two companies, two registrations, two API codes, two £26 charges GOV.UK.
Your API code is in your software, if you use software, and nobody else has it. Which number it is.
Every load since 1 October has a Defra reference. That reference, next to each load, is how you know Defra have it.
Missed loads are in. Report them now with the date they really arrived.
Wrong loads are corrected, not resent. Flagged errors within the same two working days; ones you find yourself within one month of finding them Reg 7. How.
Your carriers' numbers are on file. Look them up once.
Your usual codes are right for your permit. Codes by type of site.
Christmas is planned. 25 and 28 December are bank holidays in England and Wales. Every due date worked out.
An outage plan. If the service is down: a written record within the two working days, entered within 7 days beginning the day after it comes back (regulation 6) GOV.UK.
The £26. Per organisation, covering all its sites, first payment due by 31 January 2027 GOV.UK. If a load's record number doesn't come back because the fee is unpaid, that load is not properly reported Reg 4(6).

And the paper: waste transfer notes, Annex VII forms, consignment notes and your permit's returns all carry on GOV.UK.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland's date is 1 January 2027, not October, and DAERA say January 2027 for Northern Ireland. The same checklist applies before then. What's different there.

Straight answers

Questions people ask

What do I need to do for digital waste tracking?

Register your organisation with Defra using the organisation's sign-in, then report every load your permitted site receives within two working days, through software or Defra's spreadsheet. Pay Defra's £26 a year per organisation, first payment by 31 January 2027.

I missed some loads in October. What now?

Report them as soon as you can, with the real date each one arrived. Never change the date to make a load look on time.

How long do I have to correct a mistake?

An error Defra or your software flag must be corrected within the same two working days. An error you find yourself must be corrected within one month of finding it.

When is the £26 due?

GOV.UK say the first payment is due by 31 January 2027. It is £26 a year per organisation and covers all of that organisation's waste-receiving sites.

Does the checklist apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland?

Yes, from 1 January 2027 in Scotland. DAERA say January 2027 for Northern Ireland.

Want this done for you at the gate?

Byrne Waste Tracking runs in the browser on a phone or computer, 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 first, 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.

14 days free, then from £89 a month per site, no contract, and there's no card to enter until you start it. No setup fee, and you see your price before you pay anything.

A site in Scotland or Northern Ireland that joins before 1 January 2027 pays nothing until 1 January 2027. Scotland starts that day and DAERA say January 2027 for Northern Ireland.

Start free Log a pretend load first

Got a waste consultant? Ask them about Byrne first. Stuck on something here? Email wilf@byrnedigitalsolutions.co.uk - email is the quickest way to reach me, and I reply the same working day.

Digital waste tracking software compared: how to chooseDefra's free spreadsheet or software from the GOV.UK list: the questions to ask any provider.
Is this my Defra API code? The numbers people send insteadThe support ID, the helpline number and six-digit numbers are not it. What the real one looks like.
A load is wrong. How to put it right, and how long you haveBefore it's sent, after it's sent, and the two different deadlines GOV.UK give.
Bank holidays and the two working days: every due date worked outChristmas, New Year, Easter and every 2027 bank holiday, worked out for each nation.
When Defra's service is down: what you must doWho to tell, the written record to keep, and the 7-day catch-up, from regulation 6.
Your EA quarterly return and digital waste trackingTwo separate duties. The deadlines, the form, and how the two records differ.
Every guideAll the questions customers ask, one page each.