Dangerous Goods Shipment Checklist Template

Start a run as soon as an order will send dangerous goods out. The first task records the consignment, the collection date that sets every due date, the mode of transport and the four people. Before anyone classifies, packs or signs, their training record is checked: only trained people may do this work.

• Record the consignment, the mode and the people — what is being sent and to whom, the collection date booked with the carrier, the mode of transport, the carrier and route, and the four people this checklist assigns
• Check the training records of everyone who will handle or sign — each person who will classify, pack, mark, label, load or sign has a current training record for that job; anyone not yet trained works only under the direct supervision of a trained person, and nobody untrained signs
• Get the safety data sheet and product details — the current safety data sheet for each product with its transport information, the formulation or flash point where it decides the class or packing group, and the quantities and pack sizes ordered

The consignor is responsible for classifying the goods. A trained person identifies every hazard, finds the right entry in the dangerous goods list and records the UN number, proper shipping name, class and packing group. Everything after this depends on getting it right.

• Identify every hazard of the goods — the hazards of each product and mixture, which hazard comes first, and whether the goods meet the criteria of any class at all; goods that are not dangerous for transport do not need this run
• Assign the UN number and proper shipping name — the most specific entry in the dangerous goods list that fits the goods, its UN number and proper shipping name, and any technical name the entry needs in brackets
• Record the class, any subsidiary hazard and the packing group — the hazard class or division, any subsidiary hazard, and the packing group (I, II or III) from the list or from the goods’ properties, such as a flammable liquid’s flash point
• Check whether the goods are environmentally hazardous — whether the goods meet the criteria for an environmentally hazardous substance, which adds a mark to the packages under ADR, and anything your mode’s rules add for it
• Record who classified the goods and how — the trained person who classified the goods, the sources used (the dangerous goods list, the safety data sheet, any test data) and the date, kept with the consignment file

The same goods can be allowed by road and forbidden by air, or allowed only in smaller packages. Check the edition of the rules in force on the collection date, whether the goods are forbidden, and whether a limited or excepted quantity applies. The tasks for the mode chosen on the first task appear here.

• Confirm the rules and the edition that apply on the collection date — the rules for the mode chosen on the first task, the edition in force when the goods travel, and any national rules for the countries on the route
• Check whether the goods are forbidden, or go as a limited or excepted quantity — whether the goods may travel by this mode at all, and whether the inner packaging and package sizes let them go as a limited quantity or an excepted quantity, which changes the packaging and marks
• Stop the shipment, or change the mode — after ‘Forbidden by this mode’ only: the goods do not go by this mode; change the mode on the first task and check again, or record that the shipment is cancelled and archive the checklist
• Confirm your dangerous goods safety adviser’s advice — Road under ADR: your dangerous goods safety adviser (DGSA), or the exemption you rely on, and the adviser’s advice on this consignment recorded
• Check whether you must register with PHMSA — US road: whether this shipment is one that 49 CFR 107.601 lists, such as any quantity that needs placards, so that your registration with PHMSA is current before you offer it
• Check the limits for passenger and cargo aircraft — Air: whether the goods may go on passenger aircraft or only on cargo aircraft, and the most each package may hold for each, from the ICAO Technical Instructions or, in the US, columns 9A and 9B of the 49 CFR 172.101 table
• Work out whether the load is under the ADR small load threshold — Road under ADR: the transport category of each entry and the total quantity on the vehicle, worked out by the rule in ADR 1.1.3.6; under the threshold, requirements such as orange plates and instructions in writing do not apply
• Check the State and operator variations — Air: the variations that the countries on the route and the airline file against the international rules, which can forbid goods or add conditions; ask your forwarder or airline which apply

Dangerous goods go in packaging authorised for them, usually of a UN-certified design type, closed as the maker’s instructions say. A limited or excepted quantity has its own packing task, which replaces the UN packaging tasks when the answer in Phase 3 says so.

• Choose packaging authorised for the goods and the mode — a packaging type the packing instruction allows for this entry and mode, with a UN mark showing a design type certified for the goods’ packing group
• Get the packaging certificate and closure instructions — the certificate or data sheet for the design type, the maker’s closure instructions and any test report the supplier sends, kept on file
• Pack as a limited quantity — after ‘Limited quantity’ only: inner packagings no larger than the limit for the entry, in good-quality outer packaging within the gross mass limit (under ADR, 30 kg for a box and 20 kg for a shrink-wrapped tray)
• Pack as an excepted quantity — after ‘Excepted quantity’ only: inner and outer packagings within the limits of the entry’s excepted quantity code, in packaging that meets the tests the rules set for excepted quantities
• Pack and close each package — the goods packed as the packing instruction and the maker’s closure instructions say, with any absorbent or cushioning they require, and each package listed with its contents and mass
• Check each package for damage, leaks and residue — no damage, leaks or residue on the outside, closures tight and nothing loose; a damaged package is repacked before it goes any further

Each package shows what is inside and its hazards, so anyone who handles it can see them. Marks and labels go on once the packages are closed and checked.

• Mark each package with the UN number and proper shipping name — the UN number and proper shipping name on each package, in the size the rules set, with any other marks the mode needs, such as the consignor’s or consignee’s name and address
• Apply the hazard labels — the label for the class and for each subsidiary hazard the entry shows, on every package that needs one
• Apply the limited quantity mark — after ‘Limited quantity’ only: the limited quantity mark on each package, in its air version if any part of the journey is by air, at least 100 mm square unless the package is too small
• Apply the excepted quantity mark — after ‘Excepted quantity’ only: the excepted quantity mark with the label number of the goods and, where it is not shown elsewhere on the package, the consignor’s or consignee’s name
• Add the other marks the goods need — the environmentally hazardous substance mark where Phase 2 found one, orientation arrows where the rules require them, and the marks for any overpack
• Apply the air handling labels — Air: the Cargo Aircraft Only label where the goods are not allowed on passenger aircraft, and any handling label the rules or the airline require

The consignor gives the carrier a document describing the dangerous goods and the emergency information that goes with them. A trained person checks the document against the packages and signs where the mode needs a signature. The document task for the mode chosen on the first task appears here.

• Prepare the ADR transport document — Road under ADR: the UN number, proper shipping name, class, packing group, number and description of packages, total quantity of each entry, consignor and consignee, and the tunnel code unless it is known that the journey passes through no tunnel it applies to
• Prepare the hazardous materials shipping paper — US road: the identification number, proper shipping name, class (with any subsidiary class) and packing group, the total quantity with its unit, entered first or marked in an HM column, and the emergency response telephone number
• Prepare the shipper’s declaration for dangerous goods — Air: the declaration in the form the airline accepts, with the net quantity per package; in the US, two copies, and the certification includes the statement that all the applicable air transport requirements have been met
• Provide the emergency response information — information on the immediate hazards, fire, spills and first aid that goes with the document, and for US shipments a telephone number monitored at all times by someone who knows the goods
• Check the document against the packages — every entry, quantity and package count on the document matches the packages, marks and labels, and the consignee, route and carrier are right
• Sign the declaration or certification — a trained person signs the shipper’s certification or declaration where the mode needs one, and nobody signs for goods they have not checked or work they are not trained for

The carrier must accept these goods on this route, and the consignment is not released until the release approver has checked the whole file. The release task is assigned to the release approver alone, and nothing after it can be completed until it is done.

• Send the carrier the consignment details and the document — the document, the number and mass of packages, any limited quantity information and the collection time, sent to the carrier or forwarder before collection
• Confirm the carrier accepts the goods — written confirmation that the carrier or forwarder accepts these goods on this route, with any agreement, account set-up, route restriction or crossing rule it needs
• Check the driver’s ADR training and the instructions in writing — Road under ADR, above the small load threshold: the driver holds an ADR training certificate for the class, and the carrier gives the crew the instructions in writing in a language they understand
• Put right what the release approver found — after ‘Not released’ only: put right each point the approver recorded, then ask them to check again, change the decision to Released and complete the release task; if the shipment is cancelled, record it here and archive the checklist
• Approve the consignment for release — the release approver checks the classification, packaging, marks, labels, document, signature, training records and carrier acceptance, and releases the consignment for collection

On the collection day the packages are loaded, kept apart from goods they must not travel with and secured, the vehicle marks or the airline’s acceptance check are made, and the document goes with the goods.

• Load, segregate and secure the packages — packages loaded the right way up, kept apart from goods they must not travel with and from foodstuffs where the rules say so, and secured so they cannot shift
• Check the orange plates and the vehicle equipment — Road under ADR, above the small load threshold: plain orange plates at the front and rear of the transport unit, and the fire extinguishers and equipment the instructions in writing list, before the vehicle leaves
• Apply or check the placards — US road: placards on each side and each end of the vehicle for the classes loaded, unless the load qualifies for the exception for under 454 kg (1,001 lb) aggregate gross weight, and any identification number marking the load needs
• Give the driver the document — the transport document or shipping paper handed to the driver with the emergency information; in the US, kept within the driver’s reach or in the holder on the driver’s door
• Hand the consignment to the airline or forwarder for its acceptance check — Air: the packages and the declaration handed over; the airline inspects each package before loading and may use IATA’s acceptance checklists, so put right anything it rejects before the flight
• Record the handover — when the goods were collected, by whom, the vehicle or flight reference and the signed collection note

Keep the documents for as long as the rules say, follow the consignment to delivery and deal with any incident. Note anything to change before the next consignment.

• File the documents and keep them for the required period — the document, declaration, packaging certificates, the training records checked and the carrier’s confirmation kept together; in the US, the shipping paper for 2 years after the carrier accepts the goods, or 3 for hazardous waste
• Confirm delivery and record any incident — delivery confirmed with the consignee, and any leak, damage or rejection recorded and reported where the rules require
• Note what to change for the next consignment — anything that slowed or nearly stopped this consignment, such as a rejected package, a late certificate or a missing training record, with the change agreed