Anyone trading in scrap metal is required to obtain a licence in order to carry on business as a Scrap Metal Dealer.
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 brings together the prior scrap metal and motor salvage schemes and reduces duplication. There are two types of licence;
- Site Licence – authorises the licence holder to carry on business at any site within the authority’s area which is identified in the licence. This includes transporting scrap metal to and from those sites from any local authority area. The Act defines a site as ‘any premises used in the course of carrying on business as a scrap metal dealer (whether or not metal is kept there)’.
- Collector’s Licence – authorises the licence holder to carry on business as a mobile collector in the authority’s area. A collector’s licence must be in the name of an individual. The Act defines a collector as ‘a person who (a) carries on business as a scrap metal dealer otherwise than at a site, and (b) regularly engages, in the course of that business, in collecting waste materials and old, broken, worn out or defaced articles by means of visits from door to door’.
Downloadable Application form:
All documents supporting this application must be supplied within three working days, otherwise the application may be deemed incomplete and be rejected. The application process will not start until all information has been received.
As part of the application process, applicants will be required to produce a basic disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service. The certificate must be no older than three months on the date of application. In the case of a company being the applicant, then a basic disclosure will be required from each Director, Shadow Director, Company Secretary and Partner involved in the company, along with a disclosure from each person identified as a Site Manager.
It is an offence for scrap metal dealers and motor salvage operators to carry on business if they don’t have a licence and is punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 5 (£5,000).
Along with the fee and basic disclosure, where the application is for a Collector’s Licence, we will also require a passport type photograph. Please refer to our fees and charges.
From 4 April 2022, applicants will also be required to either complete a tax check with HMRC or confirm their understanding of their tax obligations.
If you are:
- renewing a licence
- applying for the same type of licence you previously held, that ceased to be valid less than a year ago
- applying for the same type of licence you already hold with another licensing authority.
Then you must complete a tax check with HMRC and provide the tax check code with your application. Otherwise, if you are applying for the first time, or you have only held a licence that have not been valid for over a year, you will be required to confirm your awareness of your tax responsibilities.
Further guidance on scrap metal licences is also available from the Home Office website.