Transport of Dangerous Goods

Regulatory Content Overview

Legislation for the transport of dangerous goods is directed towards businesses involved in the consignment, loading/unloading and carriage of dangerous goods by air, rail, road and water.

Goods are considered hazardous if they are explosive, corrosive, flammable, toxic, or radioactive. Examples include:

• Lithium batteries
• Flammable liquids
• Gases and solids
• Substances liable to spontaneously combust
• Substances that emit flammable gases when in contact with water
• Oxidizing substances
• Toxic substances
• Corrosive substances

In the United States, such articles and substances are classified as hazmat or hazardous materials.

Legal duties normally apply to the consignor, carrier, driver, crew, packagers, fillers, loaders/unloaders, container operators, consignee, and dangerous goods safety advisers (DGSA).

Regulations concerning the transport of dangerous goods in C2P focus on:

• Classification of dangerous goods
• Labeling of dangerous goods according to the UN number system
• Packaging and tank provisions
• Consignment procedures, labeling, and marking of containers and vehicles
• Construction and testing of packaging, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), large packages and tanks
• Conditions of carriage, loading, unloading, and handling
• Vehicle crews, equipment, operation, and documentation
• Construction and approval of vehicles
• Training

Legal duties normally apply to the consignor, carrier, driver, crew, packagers, fillers, loaders/ unloaders, container operators, consignee and dangerous goods safety advisers (DGSA).

The following international bodies and organizations provide standards for the transport of dangerous goods:

• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): provides technical instructions for the transport of dangerous goods by air
• International Maritime Organization (IMO): provides the IMDG Code on the transport of dangerous goods by sea
• Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF): provides RID on the transport of dangerous goods by rail
• International Air Transport Association (IATA): the trade association for the world’s airlines, helps formulate industry policy on critical aviation issues

We cover the transport of radioactive substances under this content, this includes products/waste products containing radioactive substances.

Coverage Included

Our regulatory content in C2P is historically comprehensive with a robust QA process to ensure quality, consistency and accuracy. Below is a high level summary of our coverage for this topic:

• Australia: Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road and Rail, Code, Edition 7.9, 2024
• Canada: Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Act, S.C. 1992, Chapter 34
• Canada: Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG), Regulations SOR/2001-286
• EU: Inland Transport of Dangerous Goods, Directive 2008/68/EC
• EU: Uniform Procedures for Checks on the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road, Directive (EU) 2022/1999
• Germany: Transport of Dangerous Goods Act, BGBl. 1704, 2009
• IMO: International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG), 2022
• IATA: Dangerous Goods Regulations, 2025
• IATA: Battery Shipping Regulations, 2025 
• ICAO: Supplement to the Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air 2025-2026, Doc 9284, 2025
• OTIF: International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail, Convention, Appendix C, 2025
• Turkey: Transport of Hazardous Substances by Road, Regulation, April 2019
• UK: The Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations, SI 2009/1348
• UN: Transport of Dangerous Goods, Model Regulations, Twenty Third Revised Edition, 2024
• UNECE: Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), 2025 Edition
• UNECE: European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Inland Waterways (ADN), 2025 Edition
• South Korea: Rules for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Rail, Ordinance No. 452, 2005
• USA: Transportation of Hazardous Materials, Rules, 49 CFR 171-180, 2003

We cover standards for our core products that are available from our partner Accuris. These are available through our Product Compliance Solution.