# Waste carrier registration for house clearance work

Waste carrier registration is what your firm needs before it can take a customer's unwanted furniture away. Lower tier registration covers a business carrying only waste it produced itself and is usually free with no renewal. Upper tier registration covers a business carrying other people's waste, including house clearance, and is paid and renewed every three years. This article covers registration costs and the paperwork needed for every load. Clearance puts your vans under rules the Environment Agency enforces from the first job.

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September 29, 2026

Updated September 2026·5 min read

Key takeaways

- **Clearance means carrying someone else’s waste,** so your firm needs paid upper tier registration rather than the usually free lower tier registration for carrying only waste the business produced itself.
- **Upper tier costs £191.02,** renewed every three years at £130.25.
- **Working unregistered risks an unlimited fine,** and your registration is on a register customers can search.
- **Every load needs a waste transfer note,** which is a signed record of the waste handed from one business to another and must be kept by both businesses for two years.

In this guide

1. Whose waste it is
2. Cost and renewal
3. The risk of working unregistered
4. Paperwork per load
5. Your checklist

## Clearance waste belongs to the householder

A lower tier registration is usually free, and it covers a business carrying only waste it produced itself, such as offcuts from its own packaging. The customer’s unwanted mattress and bin bags came from the householder, so your firm is carrying someone else’s waste and belongs in the upper tier. Whose waste it is sets the tier, whatever the invoice calls the job ([Environment Agency registration guidance](https://www.gov.uk/register-renew-waste-carrier-broker-dealer-england)).

A removal firm needs upper tier registration from the week it starts selling clearance. Our [removal company resources](https://www.removalcompanies.reviews/removal-company-resources/) cover related registrations.

## What waste carrier registration costs and how long it lasts

Upper tier is a fixed cost you can price into clearance, renewed every three years.

| What you are paying for | Fee | How often |
| --- | --- | --- |
| First upper tier registration | £191.02 | Once, then renewed |
| Upper tier renewal | £130.25 | Every three years |
| Lower tier registration | Free | Never renewed |
| Changing what your organisation does | £49.62 | Each change |

A broker arranges waste handling for another business, while a dealer buys or sells waste. Adding broker or dealer to a carrier registration costs £49.62. Incorporating or moving up from lower tier voids the old record. Both changes mean paying the full £191.02 again.

**Good to know:** you have 28 days to tell the Environment Agency if your contact details, management or activities change. Keep that deadline with your Companies House reminders.

## What working unregistered puts at risk

The penalty for not registering is an unlimited fine. Your number starts with the letters CB and appears on the [public register of waste carriers](https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers).

Your customer’s duty of care is the legal responsibility to check that waste is passed to an authorised business, including checking that the waste carrier is registered before handing anything over ([business waste duty of care](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-business-commercial-waste)). Estate agents and landlords clearing probate properties check routinely.

**Watch out:** your legal risk continues after your van leaves. Waste later found fly tipped is traced through the transfer notes to whoever moved it.

## The paperwork that travels with every load

Each load of non hazardous waste leaving a property needs a waste transfer note, which records the transfer of the waste, or a document carrying the same information, such as an invoice. Both businesses fill in their sections and sign it, both keep a copy for two years, and that copy is produced if a council or Environment Agency officer asks ([waste transfer note rules](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-business-commercial-waste/waste-transfer-notes)).

A season ticket is one waste transfer note that covers repeated transfers of the same waste between the same two businesses for up to a year, backed by a schedule logging the date, time, quantity and site of each transfer. Clearance jobs will not fit because the householder changes. Regular runs into the same transfer station will. Keep both documents for two years after the last transfer.

## Your checklist before the next clearance quote

- **Settle your tier first:** decide before you quote, so registration is part of the price.
- **Record the number:** save the CB number where office and crew can find it.
- **Print it on quotes:** customers need your CB number for their duty of care check.
- **Diarise the renewal:** set a reminder before the three-year deadline.
- **Give the crew a template:** a note filled in on site is more accurate than one written later.

Customers who [declutter before a move](https://www.removalcompanies.reviews/removal-guides/how-to-declutter-before-a-move/) give you a smaller clearance, worth raising at the survey.

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## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need to register if I run a customer’s items to the tip as a favour?

Yes. Registration applies when your business transports someone else’s waste, whether or not you charged. Use a site authorised for business waste, because a household recycling centre can turn a trade van away.

### Does my registration cover a subcontractor’s van?

No. Your registration covers your business. A subcontractor trading separately needs one in its own name. Ask for their CB number.

### What do I do with fridges, paint tins and televisions found in a clearance?

Fridges, paint tins and televisions count as hazardous waste, with extra rules on separation, documents and disposal ([hazardous waste guidance](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-hazardous-waste)). Keep them off the general load and check the receiving site accepts them.

Build the checks into the clearance process. If your firm takes on [end of tenancy cleaning](https://www.removalcompanies.reviews/removal-guides/end-of-tenancy-cleaning/), agree who removes the waste in writing, and give customers the list of [items a removal firm will not carry](https://www.removalcompanies.reviews/removal-guides/what-not-to-pack/).

## Sources

1. [Register or renew as a waste carrier, broker or dealer](https://www.gov.uk/register-renew-waste-carrier-broker-dealer-england)
2. [Public register of waste carriers, brokers and dealers](https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers)
3. [Dispose of business or commercial waste](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-business-commercial-waste)
4. [Waste transfer notes](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-business-commercial-waste/waste-transfer-notes)
5. [Hazardous waste](https://www.gov.uk/dispose-hazardous-waste)

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Web page: https://www.removalcompanies.reviews/removal-company-resources/waste-carrier-registration/