EWC code is not a 6-digit numeric code
DEFRA reads an EWC code as exactly six digits with nothing else in it. A code written with spaces, a trailing asterisk or fewer than six digits fails this first check, before DEFRA looks at whether the code exists.
The message DEFRA sends
"wasteItems[0].ewcCodes[0]" must be a valid 6-digit numeric code
The usual cause
- The code is written as it appears in the List of Wastes, with spaces (20 01 01) or a trailing asterisk (13 01 01*).
- A spreadsheet dropped the leading zero from a code that starts with 0, so 040221 became 40221.
- A code from another list, or a typing slip that left too few or too many digits.
How to fix it
- Send the six digits on their own, as 200101 and with no spaces.
- Leave the asterisk off. DEFRA works out from the code itself whether it is a hazardous one.
- In a spreadsheet, format the column as text before you paste the codes in, so a leading zero stays.
Fix the value in your software or spreadsheet, then send the receipt again.
Sources
- DEFRA waste-movement-utils on GitHub: the shared validator code that DEFRA's receipt services pin, published under the Open Government Licence
- DEFRA waste-tracking-service on GitHub: the Receipt API specification
The message wording and the formats listed come from DEFRA's validator code, version 1.18.0, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The causes and fixes are our reading of its rules.
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CarrierNote is on the GOV.UK software provider list, connected to DEFRA's Digital Waste Tracking service. Receiving sites are in scope from October 2026 and carriers from October 2027, and you can be recording to DEFRA's standard from your first load, whenever you start.