Scrap Metal Dealer Act 2013: guidance on licence fee charges
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 (referred to in this guidance as the 2013 Act) received
Royal Assent on the 28 February 2013, delivering much needed reform of the scrap metal
sector. The 2013 Act will provide effective and proportionate regulation of the sector,
creating a more robust, local authority run, licensing regime that will support legitimate
dealers yet provide the powers to effectively tackle unscrupulous operators. It will raise
trading standards across the whole sector.
What are the different types of licences?
There are two types of licence specified within the act, one is for a site licence and the other
is for a mobile collector licence (carrying on business otherwise than at a site). The licence
authorises the licensee to carry on business as a scrap metal dealer at the sites listed in it
(in the case of a site licence) or within the local authority area (in the case of a mobile
collector’s licence).
Site licences
A site licence requires all of the sites at which the licensee carries on the business as a
scrap metal dealer within the local authority area to be identified and a site manager to be
named for each site. In doing so, they will be permitted to operate from those sites as a
scrap metal dealer, including transporting scrap metal to and from those sites from any local
authority area.
Collectors licences
A collector’s licence authorises the licensee to operate as a mobile collector in the area of
the issuing local authority, permitting them to collect any scrap metal as appropriate. This
includes commercial as well as domestic scrap metal.
The licence does not permit the collector to collect from any other local authority area. A
separate licence should be obtained from each local authority from which the individual
wishes to collect in. A collector’s licence does not authorise the licensee to carry on a
business at a site within any area. Should a collector wish to use a fixed site, they will need
to obtain a site licence from the relevant local authority.
The Act 2013 also specifies that a licence will be issued by the local authority in whose area
a scrap metal site is situated, or (in respect of a mobile collector) in the area that the
collector operates.
Do different fees apply?
Yes. Fees charged for a site licence would reflect the extra work involved in processing
these licences and will vary from a collector’s licence.
