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Am I exempt from requiring a Radioactive Substances Regulation environmental permit?

Find out about exemptions and exclusions from the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

Definitions of radioactive material and radioactive waste have changed. Because of this, exemptions from permitting which were previously in place have also changed.

Follow the guidance below to understand whether you need a permit for your radioactive substances activities.

What regulations apply to exemption from permitting radioactive substances in the UK?

In England and Wales the new regulations are the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. Equivalent regulations are in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

What guidance is available?

The UK Government and Devolved Administrations have issued guidance for environmental regulators and users of radioactive substances.

Our exemption guidance

We have issued a series of guidance documents to assist you in complying with the new regulations.

Transitional Period - 1 October 2011 to 1 April 2012

Because of these new regulations you may now be permitted for certain activities for which you no longer need to be permitted after 1 October 2011.

If you are, please ask us to remove the “excluded” or “exempt” activities from your permit. This could mean surrender of part of your permit or the entire permit, if you can operate wholly within the new provisions.

There is no charge for notifying us but you must do this between 1 October 2011 and 31 March 2012, using the form RSR E5 or E6. After 31 March 2012 you will need to apply to surrender and there will be a charge.

You should only notify us about changes arising from the 2011 Amendment Regulations, if you were carrying out the activities which have become excluded or exempt, in the three months before 1 October 2011. If you wish to surrender your permit, in part or full, for any other reason you must use the normal surrender provisions.