Do you need a pollution prevention and control permit?

These guidelines apply to Northern Ireland and Scotland only. If you operate your business in England or Wales, see the NetRegs guidance on environmental permitting.

Refer to the list of activities, or contact your environmental regulator or local council, to find out whether any of your activities and processes are regulated by the pollution prevention and control (PPC) regime.

If your site is covered by a PPC permit, it is possible that activities that wouldn’t usually require a PPC permit will be covered by conditions in the permit. These are called directly associated activities. An activity can be ‘directly associated’ if it could cause pollution and there is a technical connection with the activity directly licensed by the permit. When you are applying for a PPC permit, your environmental regulator will identify any directly associated activities as part of determining the permit. It is your responsibility to advise the regulator of any later, significant changes.

If you are unsure whether you need a PPC permit, check with your environmental regulator or local council.

In this guideline: