A scrap metal dealer is:

• a person wholly or partly buying or selling scrap metal (whether or not sold in the form it was bought); or
• a person who carries on business as a motor salvage operator, namely:
  • recovering salvageable parts from motor vehicles for re-use or sale and selling the remainder of the vehicle for scrap
  • buying written-off vehicles, repairing and reselling them
  • buying or selling motor vehicles which are to be the subject of any of the two activities mentioned prior
  • wholly or mainly in activities falling within the first two points

Selling of scrap metal as surplus materials or as a by-product of manufacturing articles is not regarded as scrap metal dealing.

There are two types of licence (each valid for three years):

• Site licence
• Collectors licence

Who needs a licence

You must have a scrap metal licence if you collect or buy scrap metal.

This includes:

• any old, waste, discarded metal / metallic material
• any product, article, or assembly which is made from or contains metal and is broken, worn out or regarded as having reached the end of its useful life
• gold and silver aren’t classed as scrap metal

A dealer can only hold one type of licence in any one local authority area.

They have to decide whether they are going to have a site or a mobile licence in any one area.

They cannot hold both a site and mobile collector’s licence from the same council.

It is an offence to carry on business as a scrap metal dealer without a licence and, if convicted, a person may receive a fine of an unlimited amount (level 5 on the standard scale).

Site licence - authorises holder to carry on business at a site(s) identified in the licence

All the sites where a licensee carries on business as a scrap metal dealer have to be identified, and a site manager has to be named for each site.

This licence allows the licensee to transport scrap metal to and from those sites from any local authority area

Requirements:

• proof of ID of applicant (passport, birth certificate)
• recent passport size photo of site manager 
• plan of the proposed site
• basic disclosure of criminal convictions valid for 3 months from date of issue - request a basic DBS check (gov.uk) (from applicant or site manager - if a company, from company directors, shadow directors, partners, and company secretary)
• from April 2022, for renewals you must complete a Tax Check with HMRC (gov.uk) and provide the code to Licensing
• waste carrier licence (this will be checked to ensure validity prior to issue of the Collector licence) - if you do not have one please contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506506, or you can apply online at Environment Agency (gov.uk)
• application form
• fee

Collectors licence - authorises holder to carry on business as a mobile collector

This allows the licensee to operate as a collector in the area of the issuing local authority.

It does not allow the collector to operate in any other local authority area, a separate licence has to be obtained from each council the collector wishes to operate in.

The licence does not authorise the licensee to operate a site; to do so they will need a site licence from the relevant local authority.

Requirements

• proof of ID of applicant (passport, birth certificate)
• recent passport size photo of collector
• basic disclosure of criminal convictions valid for 3 months from date of issue - request a basic DBS check (gov.uk) (from applicant or site manager - if a company, from company directors, shadow directors, partners, and company secretary)
• waste carrier licence (this will be checked to ensure validity prior to issue of the Collector licence) - if you do not have one please contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506506, or you can apply online at Environment Agency (gov.uk)
• from April 2022, for renewals you must complete a Tax Check with HMRC (gov.uk) and provide the code to Licensing

Application Forms

Please complete the online Scrap Metal Licence Application or the Application for a Scrap Metal Licence (Word).

Please also see our Tax Conditionality Mandate (Word) for first time applicants and Tax Conditionality Form (Word) for renewal applications.

Fees

Please see our current fees and charges for 2026 to 2027.

Representations

If we reject an application (or revoke it or vary it), the applicant will be notified in writing.

The applicant will be given the opportunity to make representations or let us know that they wish to.

The letter will also specify a period of time in which the applicant has to do this, which cannot be less than 14 days from the date on which the notice is given to the applicant.

If the applicant does not make any representations, or does not say that they wish to in that time period, then we can refuse the application or revoke or vary the licence.

Duty of Care

The law places a legal duty of care on anyone from producers to carriers and disposers of waste to ensure that waste is not illegally disposed of, does not escape from a person's control and is transferred to an authorised person such as a local authority, registered carrier or licensed disposer.

How long you need to keep your records

Entries must be made immediately upon receipt, processing or despatch and books containing records must be kept for two years following the last entry.