Cat B Licence

If you wish to buy Cat B vehicles for example from Co-Parts or other auction house. You will need to apply for an ELV permit. This permit or “Cat B Licence” as some operators call it will allow you to buy write offs. You can then depollute them and sell the parts. The permit is actually an environmental permit from the Environment Agency.

A Cat B Licence or end of life vehicles (ELV) permit, is an environmental permit. The Environment Agency in the UK issues these permits. Permits are issued to operators who treat waste in the UK. The process for obtaining one is not straight forward. It can take up to a year to receive a permit once applied for. There are strict conditions to comply with once you have one.

The Cat B licence is tied to a specific site. You must have a unit or yard before you can apply. You cannot apply in all areas. For example within 10m of a watercourse or 50m of a protected woodland. Check your site location before you sign a leasehold agreement.

CAT B Breakers Licence – Small Scale

The EA have recently introduced a small scale ELV permit for smaller breakers to apply for. This is a much simplified permit. However, it still requires compliance to the fire prevention plan (FPP) guidance for waste operators. You will still need to allow up to a year for the permit to be granted. You cannot operate until the permit is issued. If you are just starting up in this business then this is a good starting point. You may need to vary your permit to a larger volume at a later stage, depending on how your business grows.

The small scale ELV permit allows for up to 750 tonnes per annum – approx 1000 cars. There are also other permits with volumes of 2500 tpa and 25,000 tpa. There are also lots of other criteria to consider before you apply for an ELV permit and become a registered Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF).

If you are considering applying for and ELV permit contact us at Paul Downing & Associates. We have helped many small scale ATF operators get started. The administration process is long. It is similar to a planning application and will take several months. You may therefore need to install infrastructure to comply with the fire prevention guidance.

Please note before you call

• You will need a unit or yard to be able to apply
• It will take 5-10 months to get the permit. The EA will ask lots of questions.
• Total costs (EA fees, our fees & WAMITAB fees) for the smallest permit (750 tonnes per year) are in the region of £10k for everything. Larger volume permits are more.

Call 07790147084 for more information and guidance on how to apply for and obtain a CAT B Licence.