Waste transfer note, worked example
A completed specimen rather than a blank form. The left column is what goes in the box. The right column is why the box exists and what an officer is checking when they read it.
Free, no sign-up, no email address. Reusable under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).
The scenario
Example Fried Chicken Ltd runs two fryers on a high street in Newham. They fill two 60 litre drums a week. On Friday 14 August 2026 at 7:40 in the morning, before they open, a registered carrier collects 120 litres and leaves two clean empties. This is the note that transfer produces. The company is invented; every field on it is real.
- 01
Description of the waste
Used cooking oil from food preparation. Non-hazardous. Liquid vegetable oil in sealed drums.
The description has to be good enough for the next person in the chain to handle it lawfully without asking you. "Waste oil" on its own is not, because it does not distinguish cooking oil from engine oil.
- 02
Waste classification code
20 01 25
Edible oil and fat, from the List of Wastes. Getting this wrong is the single most common defect on a catering transfer note. Engine oil is a different chapter entirely and is hazardous.
- 03
Waste hierarchy declaration
Signed, yes
A confirmation that you have applied the waste hierarchy, required by regulation 12 of the Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2011. It sits above the transferor signature on the official form and is the field most often missing from a home-made template. Sending oil for recycling rather than disposal is how you discharge it.
- 04
Quantity
120 litres (2 x 60L drums)
Give a real measured figure, not "1 bin". If you are paid per litre, this number and the number you were paid on should be the same number.
- 05
Loose or containerised
Containerised, 2 x 60 litre sealed drums
Records how the waste travelled. It matters for spill liability if something goes wrong in transit.
- 06
Producer name and address
Example Fried Chicken Ltd, 14 High Street, London E7 8AA
The address where the waste was produced, which is not always the registered office. An officer visiting your kitchen is matching this against where they are standing.
- 07
Producer SIC code
56103
Take away food shops and mobile food stands. Yours is on your Companies House record. Sole traders use the code that best describes the trade.
- 08
Carrier name and registration
London Oil Collection Ltd, CBDU649455
Check this on the Environment Agency public register before the first collection, not after. A number you have not looked up is not evidence you took reasonable steps.
- 09
Capacity of each party
Transferor: producer. Transferee: registered carrier and dealer.
States what each party is legally acting as. A dealer takes ownership of the oil, which is what allows it to be bought from you rather than just taken away.
- 10
Time and place of transfer
14 August 2026, 07:40, 14 High Street E7 8AA
A specific time, not just a date. On a season ticket this becomes the twelve-month period instead, and each individual collection goes on your register.
- 11
Signatures
Both parties, on the same note
One signature is not a transfer note. Each party keeps a copy for a minimum of two years.
Blank templates, already set up for cooking oil
The waste description, the EWC code and the containment line are pre-entered, because those are the same on every cooking oil transfer and they are the fields most often got wrong. What is left is your details, the quantity, and the time and place.
There is also a season ticket version, for when one note covers up to twelve months of collections from the same site, and a spreadsheet register for logging the individual visits.
Take this and use it
Published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) . Copy it, print it, put it on your own website, adapt it for your borough. The only condition is that you credit London Oil Collection Ltd and link back. No permission needed and no need to tell us, though we would like to hear about it.
Last reviewed 27 July 2026. General guidance on the position in England, not legal advice.
Who this is for
Anyone who has been handed a transfer note and is not sure what should be on it
Councils, BIDs and environmental health teams: if printed copies would be more useful than a PDF, tell us the borough and a quantity on info@londonoilcollection.com or WhatsApp.