Hazardous Waste ID Number Verification Questionnaire

A. Your company is required to file the 2020 Verification Questionnaire if it meets any of the following conditions:

• Your company’s hazardous waste EPA ID number was active any time during the 2019/2020 fiscal year from July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020.
• Your company shipped hazardous waste using an assigned hazardous waste EPA ID number during the 2019 calendar year from January 1 – December 31, 2019.

A. No, DTSC does not mail hard copies of the Verification Questionnaires. One of the reasons DTSC created the electronic Verification Questionnaire (eVQ) System was to reduce our carbon footprint. If you do not have internet or computer access call us at 1-877-454-4012 for assistance. Our telephone hours are Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM PST.

A. When the 2020 Verification Questionnaire reporting cycle begins, you will be notified in one of the following ways:

• By email. An email notification will be sent, followed by subsequent reminder emails if you do not file the questionnaire within 30 days of receiving the first notification. The notifications are sent to the primary and alternate contacts’ emails associated with the eVQ account. For handlers completing the VQ for the first time, the notification will be sent to the site contact’s email associated with the EPA ID number. Add eVQ@dtsc.ca.gov to your safe senders list to ensure that you will receive the notifications.
• By mail. For EPA ID numbers that do not have an email associated with it, a notification will be mailed to the mailing address associated with the EPA ID number.

A. The deadline to file the 2020 VQ is 30 days from the date you received the first notification to file from DTSC.

A. Failure to complete the 2020 VQ by the deadline constitutes as failure to comply with the California Health and Safety Code sections 25205.15 and 25205.16 and will result in DTSC inactivating your EPA ID number.

A. The Verification Questionnaire is filed electronically through the eVQ System. If you have an eVQ account, log into your account to file the Verification Questionnaire. If you do not have an account, register an account first. For guidance on how to complete the questionnaire, please download the VQ User Guide.

A. Generators with hazardous waste EPA ID numbers that were active at any time during the previous fiscal year from July 1 – June 30 or shipped hazardous waste using an assigned hazardous waste EPA ID number during the previous calendar year from January 1 – December 31 are required to file that respective year’s VQ.

A. You or your company are/is exempt from reporting a temporary EPA ID number in the annual Verification Questionnaire if you or your company meet one of the following conditions:

• You are a homeowner with a one-time cleanup of hazardous waste with less than four manifests reported in the 2019 calendar year.
• Your company did not have a permanent EPA ID number during the required reporting period of July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 and no manifests were reported on the temporary ID number.
• Your company has less than 100 employees and only one temporary EPA ID number with less than four manifests reported in the 2019 calendar year. 

A. Although your business was closed in 2019 or earlier, you have received a notification to file the 2020 VQ because your hazardous waste EPA ID number was active at any time during the 2019/2020 fiscal year from July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020 or your company shipped hazardous waste using an assigned hazardous waste EPA ID number during the 2019 calendar year from January 1 – December 31, 2019.

Your EPA ID number does not automatically inactivate when your business closes. If you did not officially inactivate your EPA ID number with DTSC, then it is still active. When the 2020 Verification Questionnaire reporting cycle opens, you can inactivate your EPA ID number in step 3. If the 2020 VQ has closed, you will inactivate your EPA ID number by completing the appropriate form, the DTSC Form 1358 if you have a permanent State EPA ID number or the EPA Form 8700-12 if you have a federal EPA ID number.

If you have already inactivated your EPA ID number when your business closed in 2019 or earlier, you are still required to complete the 2020 Verification Questionnaire because you meet one of the 2020 reporting requirements. Completing the 2020 Verification Questionnaire does not reactivate your EPA ID number.

A. To check the status of an ID number, search for your ID number by clicking on one of the following options:

By ID Number

By Company

A. To register an eVQ account follow these steps:

1. Go to the eVQ home page. Click the “Register” button.
2. Enter your EPA ID number in the first field and click “Add EPA ID”. An EPA ID number is 12 characters long and begins with a lettered prefix of “CA”. There is no space between the lettered prefix and numbers.
3. If the ID number you have entered is correct, the information associated with the EPA ID number will populate in some of the fields on the registration form.
4. Complete all the required fields indicated by a red asterisk.
5. When you have successfully registered for an account, you will receive an email confirmation.

Note: Registering an eVQ account does not mean you have filed the Verification Questionnaire. After you have registered your account, log into the eVQ System to file the Verification Questionnaire.   

A.  First, verify if you have an existing eVQ account. To do so, go to the eVQ home page and select “Forgot Password?”. Click on the “Forgot Username?” link to retrieve your username. If you already have an existing account associated with your email address, the username will be emailed to you. If you are not the primary or alternate contact for the account, please contact DTSC at eVQ@dtsc.ca.gov.

A. First, verify that you have entered the correct EPA ID number. An EPA ID number is 12 characters long and begins with a lettered prefix of CA. If you still see the error message after verifying your EPA ID number entry, then email eVQ@dtsc.ca.gov with the EPA ID number that you were trying to register and note the error message.

A.  If your company has an eVQ account, you will not be able to register another eVQ account, however you can still update yourself as the new contact. Please refer to the VQ User Guide on how to update the account contact information.

A. You may have multiple EPA ID numbers under one eVQ account provided that the EPA ID numbers all share the same Federal Tax Identification Number (FEIN). If your EPA ID numbers have different FEINs, you must create a separate eVQ account for each EPA ID number with a different FEIN. Each account must have a unique username however, you may use the same email address for the contact on all the accounts.

A.  A Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number is used to identify a business entity. Most businesses have a FEIN, unless you are a sole proprietor. If you do not have a FEIN, this field will be left blank. For more information on FEINs, visit the Internal Revenue Service website.

A. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) number also known as the Hazardous Waste Generator Fee Account Number (HG EF 36-xxxxxx), formerly known as the Board of Equalization (BOE) number, applies to every person or business that generates five or more tons of hazardous waste at a site in California within a calendar year. This includes recycled waste, treated wood waste, and waste sent outside California for disposal.

If the CDTFA number does not apply to you, leave the CDTFA field blank. To obtain a CDTFA number, visit the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or call 1-800-400-7115 for more information. Proceed with completing the Verification Questionnaire while you wait for a CDTFA number, then notify DTSC when you have received your number.

A. You may add missing EPA ID numbers by clicking the “Add EPA ID” button. You can only add EPA ID numbers that share the same Federal Employer ID Number (FEIN) as the other EPA ID number(s) currently in your account.

A. The manifest counts are preliminary counts. Verify the counts against your records and correct the counts if needed. To obtain manifest information, click on the EPA ID number and you will see a list of the manifest tracking number(s) that are in DTSC’s records.

A. No. Your company is only required to report hazardous waste tracked on a Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest that is reported under your company’s EPA ID number. Consolidated hazardous waste is reported under the transporter’s EPA ID number. 

A. If the business owner is on the company’s payroll, he/she should be included in the employee count.

A.  Employees who have worked more than 500 hours during the previous calendar year must be included in your employee count.  

A. You will receive an email confirmation when your questionnaire has been successfully submitted. A common reason for an incomplete Verification Questionnaire are users not clicking the button “Save and Flag as Completed” in Step 5 of the questionnaire. If this button is not clicked on, the questionnaire will show as incomplete on DTSC’s end.

A.  Yes, you can pay your fees online. In the “VQ Summary/Invoice” portion at the end of questionnaire, you have the option to pay your fees online by clicking on the payment link.  

A.  The 2020 Verification Questionnaire fees are due 30 days from the date you received the first notification from DTSC to file the VQ.

A.  No. You are only required to submit an invoice if you are mailing a check payment to DTSC. 

A. DTSC’s tax ID number is 68-0281381.

A. Yes, you can reactivate your EPA ID number through the eVQ System, but only if the cycle is open. To reactivate your ID number through the eVQ System, log into your eVQ account to file the Verification Questionnaire. Complete steps 1 and 2. When you get to step 3, select the “Reactivate” check box (located underneath your EPA ID number), then click the green “Save Changes” button to save the change to the record. Proceed with the remaining questions to complete the questionnaire. If you owe any fees, your fees must be paid and posted first before your EPA ID number will be reactivated. If you do not owe any fees, your ID number will be reactivated within 2-3 business days. If you have issues registering or logging into your account, contact us at 1-877-454-4012.

If the Verification Questionnaire cycle is closed you may reactivate your EPA ID number by submitting the appropriate form.

• For permanent State ID numbers, submit the DTSC Form 1358
• For permanent federal EPA ID numbers, submit the EPA Form 8700-12 by mail or electronically through the RCRAInfo System (recommended).

Avoid an EPA ID Number Inactivation in 2020. If your hazardous waste EPA ID number was active any time during the 2019/2020 fiscal year (from July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) and/or your company shipped hazardous waste using an assigned hazardous waste EPA ID number during the 2019 calendar year (from January 1 – December 31, 2019), your company is required to file the 2020 VQ by the deadline.

A. Your EPA ID number may have been inactivated due to, but not limited to the following reasons:

• DTSC may have inactivated your EPA ID number because you failed to comply with the California Health and Safety Code sections 25015 and 25205.16 by not filing the annual Verification Questionnaire.
• Someone from your company requested to inactivate your EPA ID number.
• Your EPA ID number was inactivated because of procedural violations.