Guidance

Register or deregister polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) equipment

Use this service to apply for yearly registration of PCB equipment with the Environment Agency.

• From: Environment Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 1 April 2026

Applies to England

You must re-register your equipment by 31 July each year until you stop holding it.

Read more about when you can use polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and equipment, products or materials containing them.

What you’ll need to apply

To use this service, you’ll need to provide:

• your contact details so we can make you an authorised contact
• contact details for a second person if you’re applying on behalf of an organisation or charity
• details of the organisation or charity such as the name, address and company or charity number

Register equipment

To register equipment, you must provide:

• the unique reference or serial number of each piece of equipment
• the address and Ordnance Survey grid reference for where the equipment is sited
• a description of the exact location of the equipment
• an estimate of the amount of oil found within the equipment in kg
• the substance concentration, if you know it

Deregister equipment

To deregister equipment, you must provide the same information as when registering equipment and:

• the method you used to dispose of, or decontaminate it
• the date when you disposed of, or decontaminated it
• confirm whether you’ve sold the site the equipment is on

We’ll also ask you to provide supporting evidence that can include:

• hazardous waste consignment notes
• waste transfer notes
• laboratory reports

Application fees and charges

The fee varies depending on how many items and sites you are registering.

Find out more information about fees for PCBs.

We’ll ask you for a name and address to send an invoice to.

You can chose to include a purchase order number for your own records.

Register or deregister online

Provide equipment details in bulk

You can choose to enter the details for each piece of equipment individually or in bulk. The Environment Agency recommends using the bulk upload spreadsheet if you’re registering or deregistering 10 or more pieces of equipment.

To use the bulk upload spreadsheet, download it to your device and fill it in. We’ll ask you to upload it as part of your submission.

Register and deregister PCBs in bulk

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 141 KB

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Get help

For help using this service, email: pcb-enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Published 1 April 2026