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DutyOS is on the GOV.UK software provider list: what that means for your site, and what it does not

Published 8 September 2026 · every claim below checked against GOV.UK and the made legislation on 10 September 2026

On 8 September 2026, DEFRA updated its GOV.UK page Report receipt of waste: choose a software provider and DutyOS Limited now appears on it. If you operate a permitted site that receives waste, this post explains what that listing means, what it does not, and what it changes for you with three weeks to go.

Updated on 19 October 2026. DEFRA’s terms of service for software providers, last updated on 9 October 2026, now say exactly what being on the list means, so we have changed the wording of this post to match them.

What the list is, in DEFRA’s own words

DEFRA’s terms of service for software providers say that being on the list confirms one thing: the provider has technically integrated with DEFRA’s Digital Waste Tracking API. It is not a statement by DEFRA that the software complies with the regulations, has passed the production approval tests, or has been granted an exemption, and no provider may present it as one.

The production approval tests are fourteen published scenarios: from a straightforward load with a registered carrier through to hazardous waste, persistent organic pollutants, and the two cases DEFRA expects the service to reject. Each provider runs them against its own software and judges the results itself. We ran all fourteen ourselves. All fourteen gave the expected result (our own results, last run 31 October 2026), with no exemptions claimed.

So the listing tells you one concrete thing: DutyOS is technically integrated with DEFRA’s Digital Waste Tracking API.

What the list is not

It is worth being precise here, because the difference matters to you more than it matters to us. The GOV.UK page does not use the words “approved”, “endorsed” or “recommended” anywhere. It is a directory of providers that have technically integrated with the service, and it says you may choose from it or use your own software. Being on it does not make a provider part of DEFRA, and DutyOS is independent of DEFRA and the UK Government.

There is one open point we think every listed provider should be honest about. The Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026 define a digital waste record as one created using “approved software”, and give the Secretary of State the function of approving software. Whether appearing on the GOV.UK list is that approval is not stated anywhere public. We asked DEFRA in writing on 8 September 2026, and their reply of 10 September 2026 settled the practical point without ruling on the legal one:

“This is also part of the terms for software providers which you would have agreed as part of obtaining your credentials. These include a clear statement that you cannot advertise your software as ‘Defra accredited’, ‘Defra endorsed’, ‘Defra certified’, ‘Defra approved’ or similar. A simple factual statement and referencing the published list of compatible software, as you have done is in line with this.”

That is a condition of the credentials every listed provider holds, and it binds us as it binds everyone else on the list. DEFRA’s terms of service now add that the issue of production credentials is not approval of a provider’s software. So we describe DutyOS as listed on GOV.UK and integrated with DEFRA’s Digital Waste Tracking API, and we state our test results separately, as our own.

What it means for your site before 1 October

  • The duty is yours, not the software’s. From 1 October 2026 the operator of a permitted receiving site in England or Wales must record every load received, within two working days. A listed provider is a way to discharge that duty; it does not move the duty.
  • Any listed provider will reach the service. Choose on how the software fits your gate, your weighbridge and your paperwork, not on which one has the loudest badge. We have written a plain guide for receiving sites and a page on whether you need to report at all.
  • Start recording now, not on the day. The first loads you record are the ones where you find out your carrier numbers are stale and your EWC codes are retired. Doing that in September costs nothing; doing it in October costs a corrected record.

What we did to get here

Since spring we have built against DEFRA’s published API, reconciled all 842 European Waste Catalogue codes against DEFRA’s live service with no differences, run all fourteen production approval test scenarios ourselves with the expected result in every one and no exemptions claimed, accepted DEFRA’s terms of service and received production credentials. The listing on 8 September is the last step of that process. There is no further step to apply for, and we would rather you heard that from us than wondered.

If your site is in scope, pricing is one number a month and you can start recording today.

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