What Is an Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF)?

An authorised treatment facility (ATF) is a site licensed to take in end-of-life vehicles, remove the hazardous parts and fluids, and recycle what’s left. In the UK, only an ATF can legally scrap a car and issue a Certificate of Destruction.

What an ATF does

Under the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations, a scrapped car has to be depolluted before it’s crushed or shredded. That means draining fuel, oil, coolant and brake fluid, removing the battery, and making safe the airbags and other pyrotechnics. Reusable parts can then be taken off and sold, and the shell goes for metal recycling. An ATF must hold an environmental permit for this work and meet its conditions.

Who issues the permits

• England: the Environment Agency
• Wales: Natural Resources Wales
• Scotland: the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
• Northern Ireland: the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)

Each keeps a public register of permitted sites. If a yard tells you it’s an ATF, it’s reasonable to ask for its permit number and check it.

The Certificate of Destruction

When an ATF accepts your car for scrapping, it issues a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) and notifies DVLA. The CoD is your proof that the car no longer exists and is no longer your responsibility. Keep it with your records. The full steps for scrapping a car.

Breaker, scrap yard, ATF: what’s the difference?

The words overlap. A car breaker or vehicle dismantler takes cars apart to sell the parts. A scrap yard buys metal. Many businesses are all three, and hold an ATF permit. Some breakers only buy cars that have already been through an ATF, or break cars that aren’t being scrapped. If you want your car scrapped, make sure the yard is an ATF and will give you a CoD.

Licensed ATF badges on this site

Where we’ve matched a yard to the regulator’s public register, its listing shows a Licensed ATF badge and the permit details. A yard without a badge may still hold a permit that we haven’t matched yet, so ask them.