Charging schemes frequently asked questions
2025 to 2026 invoices explained
Information on making payments, common queries about invoices, and how to contact us.
From 1 November 2025, water, waste, and industrial activities will be regulated under the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 (EASR).
EASR replaces eight different regulations.
You have received an invoice or credit note because you currently carry out an activity that is authorised and regulated under any of the regulations listed above, and the move to EASR has affected you.
SEPA carried out public consultation on proposed Types of Authorisation in January 2024, and Changes to the Charging Scheme in August 2024. You can read more about what the changes mean for you and the activities we regulate in our EASR authorisations section.
If you have received a credit note because of the changes brought in under EASR, you will be due a refund if your account with us is fully paid. To allow us to process the refund, please send us on business letterheaded paper:
- your name
- your bank sort code
- your bank account number
The information should be emailed to invoices@sepa.org.uk.
We can take payments:
- Via BACS, to the bank account details provided on your invoice or
- Online by card
In all cases the invoice number, customer account number, and /or permit number must be referenced so that we can ensure your payment is matched to your account correctly.
To arrange a payment plan please read the 'Spreading the cost’ response below then contact us.
If you would like to pay your invoice by instalments using a monthly standing order, please contact us to arrange a payment plan. These are usually agreed to pay the invoice over a period of 9 months from the invoice date.
You must have prior agreement from SEPA for payment by standing order.
Standing orders should be set up to the bank account details provided on your invoice and must include the invoice number or customer account number as reference.
Your invoice should contain the site detail. This is in the ‘Your reference’ section on the invoice. Please email charging@sepa.org.uk if the description does not have enough detail to clearly identify the site, or if this information is incorrect.
If you have stopped the authorised activity and do not intend to undertake the activity in future, read about how to surrender an authorisation.
Charges will cease from the date the surrender process is completed. If you need to discuss your surrender, please email the relevant Permitting team:
If you have changed the authorised activity that you have been billed for, you should apply to vary your authorisation. Charges will change from the date the variation process is completed.
This invoice is a revision to charges for the current financial year and will have taken into account any Mothball/Fallow periods.
The invoice is described as a statutory debt, this is any debt, other than debts relating to taxes that may be owed to a statutory body such as a government department, local authority, or court. We are issuing the invoice for this type of debt.
We are NOT providing a service, we are undertaking our statutory duties and recovering our costs therefore no purchase order is required.
If you have recently applied for a change (within the last few months) this may not have been reflected in this invoice since it was generated earlier in the year. We will be running an update so you may get a corrected invoice in the next few weeks reflecting any changes.
However, if you want to check, or you think that any of the information on the invoice is incorrect, in the first instance please contact us. We will record the issue and pass on to the appropriate SEPA contact.
If an invoice is not paid within 30 days of the invoice date, or a payment plan has not been agreed by the payment date, you may be charged a late payment fee of £50. To arrange a payment plan please contact us.
The charging schemes page details how we interpret and apply charges.
The best way to contact us is by email. We have identified the best email to use under each FAQ, so that you get the quickest response. We will, if requested in your email, call you back. Please note due to the number of annual invoices we issue at this time we will experience a high volume of enquiries, please be patient while we work through these.