Licences and permits

The permissions a business needs before it can trade, each one tied to the law that creates it and to the body that issues it. We point at GOV.UK for fees and forms, and never copy them.

29 of 426 licences for Environment: management and waste

Choose from all 48 activities

A

Artificial reproduction of animals licence (Northern Ireland)

You must have a licence from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD) if you run an organisation involved in the artificial reproduction …

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Agriculture: animals · Environment: management and waste

Asbestos licence (Northern Ireland)

You need a licence if you or your employees work with asbestos in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Environment: management and waste

Authorisation to accumulate and dispose of radioactive waste (Scotland)

To accumulate and dispose of radioactive wastes you need an authorisation from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

Scottish Government · Scotland

Environment: management and waste · Healthcare · Materials, metal and mining

Authorisation to mix special waste (Scotland)

To dispose of, carry, or receive special waste in Scotland, you must comply with the regulations as detailed below.

Scottish Government · Scotland

Building and construction · Environment: management and waste

D

Discharging effluent (Scotland)

Get permission to send liquid waste out from factories or places where sewage is dealt with and find how to contact Scottish water suppliers …

Scottish Government · Scotland

Any trade

Discharging effluent or waste water (England)

You may need an environmental permit to discharge liquid effluent or waste water to surface water or the ground.

Environment Agency · England

Any trade

Dispose of waste in sea (Scotland)

You may need a licence from Marine Scotland if you want to deposit substances or articles within Scottish waters, either in the sea or …

Scottish Government · Scotland

Environment: management and waste · Marine and marine transport

F

Flood risk activities (England)

You may need an environmental permit to do work in or by a main river, flood defence structure or sea defence, or in a …

Environment Agency · England

Any trade

G

Goods vehicle operator licences

You need a goods vehicle operator’s licence if your business uses a goods vehicle with either a gross plated weight (the maximum weight that …

Traffic Commissioners · England, Wales and Scotland

Any trade

Green list waste export (Northern Ireland)

You must inform DAERA before exporting green list waste

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Environment: management and waste

Greenfield soil declaration (Northern Ireland)

You must submit a completed Greenfield Soil Declaration Form to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency If you move clean, greenfield soil within Northern Ireland …

Your council · Northern Ireland

Building and construction · Environment conservation and wildlife · Environment: management and waste

H

Hazardous waste movement notice (Northern Ireland)

You need to pre-notify the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) 72 hours in advance if you want to move hazardous waste

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Any trade

Hazardous waste producer registration (Wales)

Welsh Government · Wales

Environment: management and waste

L

Licence to possess specified animal pathogens or carriers (Northern Ireland)

You need a licence to have specified animal pathogens or carriers in Northern Ireland

Your council · Northern Ireland

Agriculture: animals · Environment: management and waste

Licence to work with asbestos (England, Wales & Scotland)

You need a licence to work with asbestos in England, Wales and Scotland

UK Government · England, Wales and Scotland

Building and construction · Chemicals and petroleum · Cleaning +1 more

Local authority environmental permits (England and Wales)

Permit to carry out Part A(2) or Part B activities or run a Part A(2) or Part B installation or mobile plant.

Your council · England and Wales

Any trade

M

Metal recycling site licence (Northern Ireland)

You need a licence to run a metal recycling site in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Environment: management and waste

N

Nuclear site radioactive substances regulation (England)

Permits for operators of nuclear sites who are licensees under the Nuclear Installations Act 1965. And for operators who are tenants on nuclear sites.

Environment Agency · England

Energy, gas and electricity · Environment: management and waste

O

Operating an A1 installation (England)

You must apply for an environmental permit if you operate a facility which is classed as an ‘A1 installation’.

Environment Agency · England

Any trade

P

PCB holding registration (Scotland)

You need to register annually with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) if you have equipment containing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). These are covered under …

Scottish Government · Scotland

Energy, gas and electricity · Environment: management and waste · Retail: manufacturing and wholesale

Pesticide approval

You need approval from the Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) to sell, distribute or store new pesticides in the UK

HSE · England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Agriculture: crops and plants · Chemicals and petroleum · Environment: management and waste

R

Radioactive substances authorisations (Scotland)

You need an authorisation from Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) if you keep or use radioactive substances.

Scottish Government · Scotland

Any trade

Radioactive substances certificate of registration (Northern Ireland)

You need a certificate of registration to keep or store radioactive material at your premises in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Environment: management and waste

Radioactive substances waste certificate of authorisation (Northern Ireland)

You need permission to accumulate and dispose of radioactive waste in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Executive · Northern Ireland

Any trade

S

Skip licence

Your council

England and Wales · Scotland

Building and construction · Environment: management and waste

Skip operator licence

Get a skip permit for your skip hire company - skip hire licence, local authority, highway act

Your council · England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Building and construction · Environment: management and waste

U

Using, treating, storing and disposing of waste (England)

You may need an environmental permit if your business uses, recycles, treats, stores or disposes of waste or mining waste.

Environment Agency · England

Any trade

W

Waste management authorisations (Scotland)

You need an authorisation from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to treat, keep, or dispose of waste in Scotland.

Scottish Government · Scotland

Building and construction · Cleaning · Environment: management and waste

Waste management licence (Northern Ireland)

You need a licence to deposit, keep, treat or dispose of waste in Northern Ireland

Your council · Northern Ireland

Building and construction · Cleaning · Environment: management and waste

Where GOV.UK lists a licence separately for each nation, it appears here once with a link to each nation's version. They are separate licences in law, often resting on different legislation.

We have not yet mapped an enabling instrument for 4 licences on this list. That is a gap in our graph, not a statement about the law, and those pages say so rather than guessing.

Checking approvals more broadly?

A licence is one of several things you may need before your first day of trading. The pre-trading quick check walks the registrations, insurances and approvals alongside it.

Run the pre-trading quick check

Not sure which of these apply to you?

Our guides on finding a licence and dealing with your local council walk through the questions that decide it.

Find a licence