How to check a waste carrier licence

Anyone who transports waste as part of their business in the UK must be registered as a waste carrier. For England that register is held by the Environment Agency; in Wales it's Natural Resources Wales. Both registers are public, free and searchable online — which means you can verify any clearance company before they set foot in the property.

The check, step by step

Ask the company for their waste carrier registration number (a legitimate firm will volunteer it — ours is supplied with every quote). Then search the public register: for English registrations, the Environment Agency's "check a waste carrier" service; for Welsh ones, the Natural Resources Wales register. Type the company name or registration number and confirm three things: the registration is current, it's an upper tier registration (required for carrying other people's waste as a business), and the registered name matches the company actually quoting you.

Because HouseClear works on both sides of the border — from Chester and Cheshire across to Flintshire and Denbighshire — our registration covers work in England and Wales alike.

Red flags worth acting on

No registration number offered; a number that doesn't appear on the register; a name mismatch between the register and the quote; prices dramatically below everyone else's (legal disposal has real costs — someone charging half the going rate is usually saving money at the tip you'll never see). Any of these is reason enough to choose someone else.

Once you've verified the licence, the second piece of protection is the paperwork after the job — see our guide to waste transfer notes for what you should receive on completion.