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How to apply for reprocessor or exporter accreditation

Find out more about reprocessor or exporter accreditation and apply online.

Businesses who recover and recycle waste packaging or export waste packaging for reprocessing overseas can apply to us to become accredited. Accredited businesses can issue and sell evidence of recycling and recovery to directly registered obligated producers and packaging compliance schemes.

You can apply if your registered office or principal place of business is in England or Wales. If your registered office or principal place of business is in Scotland contact the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Full details of who can be accredited and how to apply can be found in our guidance note GN01:

Making an application for accreditation

For accreditation from 1 January in any year you should submit an application form to our Producer Responsibility Regulatory Services (PRRS) team at least 12 weeks beforehand, so by the end of September before the year in which you want the your accreditation to apply.

Later applications will be accredited from the date of determination, which may be after 1 January. In most cases you will not be able to backdate evidence to 1 January if this has happened.

We recommend you apply for accreditation online by using the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD) website. You’ll find it easy to apply and manage your account online and you’ll be able to issue electronic Packaging Waste Recovery Notes (ePRNS) and electronic Packaging Waste Export Recovery Notes (ePERNs) to producers and compliance schemes.

The guidance notes below explain how to do this:

You must also supply records and reports throughout the accreditation period. You should make yourself aware of the deadlines and requirements of the reporting. Please read the guidance notes. Failure to supply reports and records may mean the accreditation being suspended or cancelled, and may even result in formal action being take against you.

Accredited operators who apply to be able to issue more than 400 tonnes of evidence per annum must also supply an independent Auditors Report by the 28 February, in the year following the accreditation. More guidance on this can be found in GN03: Independent audit report guidance:

Accredited exporters must supply evidence of broad equivalence for reprocessing of exports of waste packaging to countries outside the European Union: