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Hazardous Waste Manifests
Last updated on April 11, 2025A manifest is a shipping document that tracks the movement of hazardous waste. It accompanies shipments of hazardous waste and documents, the type and the amount of waste, who shipped it, who transported it, who received it and how it was handled.
On this page
- General Manifest Form
- Unique B.C. identifier number in B.C. manifests
- Transporting roles
- Quantities requiring use of a manifest
- B.C. manifests and shipping documents from other jurisdictions
- When a manifest form is not required
- Manifest supplement forms
- Types of supplement forms
- Completing manifest and supplement forms
- Distributing manifest copies and keeping records
- Manifest discrepancy notifications
General Manifest Form
The General Manifest Form (PDF, 696KB) may be completed by hand, typewriter or printer. A manifest is a form with 6-copies which is distributed and kept on file by different parties.
Unique identifier number in B.C. manifests
A unique identifier number is found at the top right of the manifest form and follows these patterns:
- Currently, for the B.C. 6-copy paper manifests:
- Letter B followed by another letter, and six numbers. Example: BB 12345-6
- Future changes for the B.C. 6-copy paper manifests:
- Letter B followed by another letter, and seven numbers. Example: BC 123456-7
Transporting roles
Each party involved in the transport of hazardous waste are all required to fill out copies of a manifest. Each party must complete their section of the manifest, sign off on the content, and distribute and retain the appropriate copies. A consignor should provide the manifest form; however, many carriers and receivers will provide a manifest to the consignor as part of their services.
- Consignor (Generator or shipper): a person/company who owns the hazardous waste and causes or allows the hazardous waste to be transported from the property where it is produced or stored. They complete Part A of the manifest
- Carrier (Transporter): a person/company that transports more than the prescribed quantity of hazardous waste. They may be required to have a valid hazardous waste transport licence. They complete Part B of the manifest
- Consignee (Receiver): a person/company who receives hazardous waste. They must have all the applicable authorizations to receive hazardous waste. They complete Part C of the manifest
Quantities requiring use of a manifest
When transporting more than the amount of hazardous waste indicated in the table below, a manifest must be used. Section 46(1) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation (HWR) sets these prescribed quantities.
It is important to note that for “solid”, “liquid” or “compressed gases”, the quantity is the total quantity of solid hazardous wastes, liquid hazardous wastes or gaseous hazardous wastes, and not of each type of hazardous waste.
Hazardous Waste |
Amount [HWR S.46(1)] |
|---|---|
|
Solids |
5 kg |
| Liquids | 5 litres |
| Compressed Gases (container capacity) | 5 litres |
| Waste Oil | 210 litres |
| Waste Paint | 210 litres |
| Waste Batteries | 1,000 kg |
| PCB (liquid or solid) |
Any quantity that contains greater than 500 g of PCB |
When transporting more than the quantities indicated above, the carrier most likely will need to have a licence to transport hazardous waste. For more information, see:
B.C. manifests and shipping documents from other jurisdictions
If the shipment originates in B.C. or is shipped from B.C., you must use a B.C. manifest, issued by the Government of British Columbia with a unique B.C. Identifier number. This applies to intra-provincial (within B.C.), interprovincial (to other provinces/territories) or international (export) shipments. See HWR s. 46(3)(b).
If the shipment originated or is shipped from outside of B.C., then the shipping document required is a manifest from another province or the movement document required by the federal government. This applies to interprovincial (from other provinces/territories) or international (import) shipments. See HWR s. 46(3)(a).
In some cases, waste may be shipped into B.C. that meets the definition of hazardous waste in B.C. but does not meet the definition of hazardous waste in the jurisdiction(s) from which the waste is being shipped. In such a case, a regulated party must use a manifest, either from another province or from Canada (Environment and Climate Change Canada) or the B.C. manifest in paper form, just prior to the waste entering B.C. For reasons outlined above, a TDG shipping document or bill of lading cannot be used in lieu of a manifest.
The detailed information below provides further explanation on when to use certain types of shipping documents from other jurisdictions.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has jurisdiction over the movement of hazardous waste between provinces (interprovincial) and across international borders.
ECCC administers the Cross-border Movement of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations (SOR/2021-25) (XBR). Visit the ECCC's User guide for more information.
ECCC uses a manifest, known in its regulations as a movement document, which can be obtained through the Canadian Notification and Movement Tracking System (CNMTS). ECCC’s movement document can meet provincial regulatory requirements and be used instead of the B.C.’s paper-based manifest only when it is used for international shipments and under certain conditions.
However, ECCC’s movement document does not meet provincial regulatory requirements for interprovincial or intra-provincial shipments of hazardous waste from B.C. Visit the ECCC's User guide for more information.
The details of the usage of the movement document are explained below.
International movement documents
CNMTS is used to track the movement of hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable material from Canada to the final country of destination (or vice versa), until it has been recycled or disposed of.
B.C. and ECCC have entered into an agreement where ECCC’s movement document issued from CNMTS for only international shipments will be deemed as B.C. manifests (i.e., manifest and identifying number being issued by the B.C. Government). This agreement is valid until March 31, 2026; B.C. and Canada may renew the agreement after this date. In summary, the movement document produced from CNMTS may be used instead of the B.C. paper manifest for hazardous waste shipped from B.C. directly to another country while this agreement is in place.
Interprovincial and intra-provincial movement document
- The movement document produced by CNMTS must not be used to replace the B.C. manifest for hazardous waste shipped from B.C. to another place within B.C. (intra-provincial) nor to another province/territory (interprovincial)
- If a movement document is used for the intra-provincial movement or interprovincial movement, a B.C. paper manifest must also be used in order to meet the provincial regulations
Dangerous Goods Shipping Document or Bill of Lading for TDGR
Transport Canada has jurisdiction over the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada, and administers the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and Regulations (TDGR). The TDGR requires a shipping document to track the movement of dangerous goods. Dangerous goods that are no longer used for their original purposes are hazardous waste, except for Class 1 and 7. Some hazardous wastes are not dangerous goods.
If a dangerous goods shipping document is used to transport hazardous waste originated or shipped from B.C., then the B.C. manifest must also be used. The dangerous goods shipping document or bill of lading will only meet the federal TDGR but does not comply with provincial regulatory requirements.
If using only the B.C. manifest for shipments from B.C., the regulated will meet both the provincial and federal regulations, including Transport Canada’s TDGR.
Manifests obtained from other provinces and territories
If a paper form or electronic manifest obtained from another province or territory is used for hazardous waste originated or shipped from B.C., the B.C. paper manifest must also be used. The other province’s manifest does not meet section 46(3)(b) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation.
A manifest from other provinces and territories may be used only if the hazardous waste was shipped from outside of B.C.
When a manifest form is not required
A manifest form is not required when:
- The waste is not hazardous waste
- The quantities of hazardous waste being transported are below the minimum thresholds as per S.46(1) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation or
- The hazardous waste is transported:
- Solely within the property boundaries of the consignor for a distance less than 100 km
- On a public road for a distance less than 3 km or
- By a homeowner or a farmer from their home or farm directly to a waste management facility operated by the province or a municipality
Note: A “homeowner” is a person who is the owner of a fully detached dwelling who lives in or intends to live in that dwelling as a permanent residence. For strata properties, a homeowner is the owner of a freehold estate in a strata lot with a dwelling (for example, a condominium) who lives in or intends to live in that dwelling as a permanent residence.
There are additional conditional exemptions to the use of a manifest when transporting moderate risk waste. To learn more about these conditional exemptions, refer to our guidance documents highlighted on our moderate risk waste web page.
Manifest supplement forms
Manifest supplement forms can be useful and cost-effective in the following situations:
- A consignor has various types of hazardous waste and all of them will not fit into a single manifest form
- A shipment may be a long haul and require that it be done by various carriers
- A carrier needs to pick up the same type of hazardous waste from various consignors and send it to a receiver
There are 3 types of supplement forms: multiple carriers, multiple consignors or multiple wastes. Information on these types of supplement forms is presented below.
For clarity, a supplement form is not a shipping document on its own – it is used as a supplement to the manifest form. If used, the supplement form must be attached to a manifest.
The Multiple Consignors Supplement Form, the Multiple Carriers Supplement Form and the Multiple Wastes Supplement Form may only be used for a single trip, and not for multiple trips. In this case, 'trip' means the transportation of hazardous waste from the consignor(s) to a single intended consignee or another intermediary site where the hazardous waste is off-loaded or stored. The use of the supplement form is dependent on various conditions being met, see the details in Part 7 of the HWR; some information is also described below.
Types of supplement forms
Multiple consignors
A Multiple Consignors Form is used with a manifest when a carrier collects hazardous wastes with the same shipping name from more than one consignor, in order to establish a bulk load.
In B.C., waste carriers may carry a completed manifest form with a Multiple Consignor Form (Form 3) attached when collecting hazardous waste of the same type from more than one consignor and delivering the completed shipment to a single receiving location. The form is intended to reduce paperwork by allowing the carrier to attach the completed multiple consignor's forms (s) to a single manifest rather than using a manifest for each consignor.
The cumulative total amount of waste in the load must be inserted on the multiple consignors’ form (last column on the right) after each pickup throughout the trip. This is a requirement of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act. Once the load is complete, the total amount of hazardous waste being transported to the consignee (receiver) must be entered on the manifest form.
Multiple carriers
A Multiple Carriers Form is used with a manifest when a shipment is transported by more than one carrier from a single consignor to a single destination (consignee).
Multiple wastes
A Multiple Wastes Form is used with a manifest when there is not enough room on the manifest to record all the wastes being carried in one load from one consignor and being delivered to one consignee.
Completing manifest and supplement forms
Consignor, carrier and receiver must complete specific parts of the manifest forms. Other people such as an agent of the consignor, or someone who the consignor has given authority to, may fill out part A of the manifest on behalf of the consignor; however, the consignor is ultimately responsible and liable for the information that was filled out in the form.
Review the Manual for Completing B.C.’s Hazardous Waste Manifests and Supplementary Forms for detailed information for each party.
Distributing manifest copies and keeping records
The manifest has six (6) copies so that applicable copies are distributed to the different parties:
- Jurisdictional agency: B.C. Government and if applicable the government of another province or country
- Consignor
- Carrier
- Receiver
Detailed information on the distribution of the manifest and supplement forms is also in the Manual for Completing B.C.’s Hazardous Waste Manifests and Supplementary Forms.
The documents below summarize which specific copies of the manifest and supplement form are sent to and kept by the different parties.
- Manifest - Distribution (PDF, 223KB)
- Manifest and multiple consignors supplement - Distribution (PDF, 248KB)
- Manifest and multiple carriers supplement – Distribution (PDF, 216KB)
- Manifest and multiple different wastes supplement – Distribution (PDF, 227KB)
Manifest discrepancy notifications
Reporting discrepancies or irregularities related to manifest is a requirement under the Hazardous Waste Regulation. There are three manifest discrepancies to be notified or reported to the director. There are variations to these discrepancies and depending on the nature of the discrepancy, the required actions also vary.
Reporting 5 percent manifest discrepancy
When the hazardous waste quantity received is 5 percent greater or less than shown on the manifest, the receiver must notify the director and submit an annual summary report.
Notifying single 5 percent manifest discrepancy
Single notification for a 5 percent discrepancy in hazardous waste quantity is required to meet section 5(4) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation. This notification must:
- Be submitted within 3 days of receiving the hazardous waste
- Be reported by the receiver/consignee
- Include a scanned copy of the manifest with the description of the discrepancy
- Include a separate written description of the discrepancy and any applicable corrective action taken
- Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below
Follow this naming convention to submit the notification:
- The email subject line must follow this format XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD SIN, where:
- XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
- YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day)
- YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
- MD SIN = short for “manifest discrepancy – single”
- Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.
NOTE: both the consignor and the receiver must still submit, respectively, Copy 1 and Copy 3 of the manifest to the Ministry as required under the Regulation. This 5% discrepancy notification does not remove the requirement for the submission of the applicable copies of the manifest to the Ministry.
Submitting annual summary of 5 percent discrepancy report
An annual summary discrepancy report is also required in addition to the manifest discrepancy report to meet section 5(5) of the Hazardous Waste Regulation. The annual discrepancy report must:
- Be submitted within 60 days of the end of the calendar year
- Be prepared by the receiver and consignee
- Include annual summary that contains all manifest discrepancies for the previous year and explanation of remedial actions taken
- Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below
Follow this naming convention to submit the report:
- The email subject line must follow this format XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD SUM, where:
- XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
- YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day)
- YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
- MD SUM = short for “manifest discrepancy – summary”
- Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.
Reporting incorrect information on manifest
The owner of a hazardous management facility must not accept hazardous waste that does not match the description of the waste on the accompanying manifest [HWR s. 5(2)(a)]. Should this occur, the receiver must take the following actions (depending on the scenario that applies).
Scenario 1: Waste does not match the description on the manifest, but the intended receiver is authorized to manage the waste.
If the owner of the hazardous waste facility has authorization, as identified in the facility’s approved operational plan, to manage the waste that is misidentified on (or omitted from) the manifest, they do not need to seek director approval to receive the waste as required in HWR s.5(2)(c). However, the manifest information discrepancy report, described below, must be submitted in accordance with HWR s.5(2)(d).
The notification must:
- Be immediately reported by the generator, agents/consultants or the receiver/consignee
- Include a scanned copy of the manifest and a description of the error/discrepancy
- Include a separate written description of the error/discrepancy, the correct information and any corrective action taken
- Use the authorization number of the receiving facility as part of the naming convention
- Be emailed to EnvAuthorizationsReporting@gov.bc.ca, using the file name conventions provided below
Follow this naming convention to submit the notification:
- The email subject line must follow this format: XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD YYYY MD INF, where:
- XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site
- YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day)
- YYYY = the year of the discrepancies are reported for
- MD INF = short for “manifest discrepancy - information”
- Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number.
Scenario 2: Waste does not match the description on the manifest and the intended receiver is not authorized to manage the waste.
If the owner of a hazardous waste facility does not have the authorization to manage waste that is misidentified on (or omitted from) the manifest, they must immediately notify a director to seek authorization to accept the waste or for other instructions. They must receive authorization to receive the waste before the waste can be off-loaded and managed at the facility [HWR s. 5(2)(c-d)].
Request for authorization to receive the waste can be initiated by:
- Emailing: Industrial.Waste.Authorizations@gov.bc.ca
- Attach any supporting documentation you may have to support your request
Follow this naming convention to submit the request for authorization:
- The email subject line must follow this format: XXXXXX YYYY-MM-DD MD REQ4AUTH, or NO AUTH# YYYY-MM-DD MD REQ4AUTH, where:
- XXXXXX = four to six-digit HWR registered site (i.e., authorization) number of the receiving site; if your site has authorization for other types of hazardous waste
- NO AUTH# = short for no authorization number, if your site does not have any type of authorization to receive hazardous waste
- YYYY-MM-DD = the date of submission (year-month-day)
- MD REQ4AUTH = short for “manifest discrepancy – request for authorization”
- Attachment name: Duplicate of the email subject line, without the registered site number
If authorization to receive the waste cannot be obtained, it is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that the waste is transported to a facility that has the appropriate authorization to manage the waste.
Reporting shipment of hazardous waste without a manifest
The owner of a hazardous management facility must not accept hazardous waste that is not accompanied by a manifest [HWR s.5(2)(b)]. Should this occur, the receiver must take the following actions (depending on the scenario that applies).
Scenario 1: No manifest, but the intended receiver is authorized to manage the waste
If the owner of the hazardous waste facility has authorization, as identified in the facility’s approved operational plan, to manage the waste that was not accompanied by a manifest, they do not need to seek director approval to receive the waste as required in HWR s.5(2)(c). Follow the steps described in scenario 1 of the “Reporting Incorrect Information on Manifest” section above.
Scenario 2: No manifest and intended receiver is not authorized to manage the waste
If the owner of a hazardous waste facility does not have the authorization to manage waste that arrived without a manifest, they must immediately notify a director to seek authorization to accept the waste or for other instructions [HWR s.5(2)(c-d)]. They must receive authorization to receive the waste before the waste can be offloaded and managed at the facility.
Follow the steps described in scenario 2 of the “Reporting Incorrect Information on Manifest” section above to seek the director’s authorization to receive the waste.
If authorization to receive the waste cannot be obtained, it is the responsibility of the waste generator to ensure that the waste is transported to a facility that has the appropriate authorization to manage the waste.