How Do I Check If a Waste Carrier's Registration Has Expired?

Call /v1/verify-carrier with the carrier's registration number. The response includes expiry_date, days_until_expiry, and an expiry_warning boolean. If the registration is within 90 days of expiry, the API sets status: expiring_soon and returns an EXPIRING_WITHIN_90_DAYS compliance flag. If it's already lapsed, status returns expired.

Upper tier vs lower tier expiry

Upper tier registrations (CBDU prefix) are required for most commercial waste carriers and expire every three years. Lower tier registrations (CBDL) — for businesses carrying only their own waste — don't have an expiry date.

If you're verifying a commercial carrier, you're looking for an active upper tier registration. A lower tier registration may not meet your duty of care requirements, which is flagged with LOWER_TIER_ONLY.

What the response looks like

curl -X POST https://api.wastecheck.co.uk/v1/verify-carrier \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer wc_live_your_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"registration_number": "CBDU217016"}'

{
  "status": "valid",
  "registrations": [{
    "registration_number": "CBDU217016",
    "business_name": "ACME WASTE SERVICES LTD",
    "tier": "upper",
    "status": "valid",
    "expiry_date": "2027-01-15",
    "days_until_expiry": 298,
    "expiry_warning": false
  }],
  "compliance": {
    "is_compliant": true,
    "flags": []
  }
}

For a registration within 90 days of expiry, status becomes expiring_soon, expiry_warning becomes true, and flags contains EXPIRING_WITHIN_90_DAYS. For an expired registration, status is expired and is_compliant is false.

Status values at a glance

Why catching expiry early matters

A carrier whose registration lapses mid-contract leaves you without a compliant carrier for any waste transfers until they renew. Upper tier renewals take time. The 90-day warning flag is designed to give you enough runway to address it — either by prompting the carrier to renew or by arranging an alternative.

Caching

Direct lookups by registration number are cached for 24 hours, so you're not hitting the EA register on every request. If you need a fresh check (e.g. after a carrier claims they've just renewed), the cache will refresh within 24 hours automatically.

Get started

Sign up at app.wastecheck.co.uk. Full documentation at docs.wastecheck.co.uk.