How to Determine the Proper Shipping Name for Hazmat

To determine the proper shipping name for a hazmat shipment, match your material’s hazards to the most specific entry available in the Hazardous Materials Table at 49 CFR 172.101, then work down a defined hierarchy only if no exact match fits. The Proper Shipping Name (PSN) is the standardized regulatory description assigned by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and it must appear exactly as written in the table on your shipping papers and packages. Trade names, brand names, and internal product codes do not substitute.¹

A cleaner sold commercially as “Super Cleaner” might ship under the regulatory name “Corrosive liquid, acidic, inorganic, n.o.s.” That full regulatory phrase is what belongs on your paperwork, regardless of what the label out front says.

Start with the Safety Data Sheet, but Verify

Before opening the Hazardous Materials Table, pull the manufacturer’s Safety Data Sheet (SDS). Section 14 covers transport information and usually lists a suggested UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, and packing group.² That gives you a starting point and often narrows the search to a single entry.

Section 14 is non-mandatory under OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard, so the information can be incomplete, outdated, or built on a different regulatory framework such as European ADR rather than U.S. DOT. Confirm the PSN against the table yourself. If the SDS suggests a generic name but a specific entry exists in the table for your material, the specific entry controls.

Read the Hazardous Materials Table Correctly

The Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) in 49 CFR 172.101 is the single authoritative list of Proper Shipping Names for U.S. domestic transport. Column 2 contains the names. Only entries printed in roman type qualify as valid Proper Shipping Names. Italicized entries are descriptive text or cross-references pointing you to the correct roman-type name; you cannot ship under an italicized entry.¹

The columns around the name carry the rest of what you need:

Column 1 lists symbols that modify how the entry can be used.
Column 2 is the Proper Shipping Name.
Column 3 gives the hazard class or division, or the word “Forbidden.”
Column 4 gives the four-digit identification number, preceded by “UN” (internationally recognized) or “NA” (domestic only).
Column 5 gives the packing group as Roman numeral I, II, or III, with I being the most severe.
Column 7 lists special provision codes that can add requirements or exceptions.

Column 1 Symbols That Change the Rules

The small letters in Column 1 govern what you can and cannot do with an entry:

A plus sign fixes the entry. You cannot reclassify the material under a different PSN, hazard class, or packing group even if testing suggests another classification would fit.¹
“D” means the name is valid domestically but may not be accepted under international regulations like ICAO (air) or IMDG (sea). For international shipments, verify or choose an alternate.
“G” means the entry is generic or “n.o.s.” and requires the technical name of the hazardous component in parentheses on your shipping papers.
“I” means the name is appropriate for international transport.
“W” means the material is regulated only when shipped by vessel, unless it also qualifies as a hazardous substance or hazardous waste.

Work Through the Selection Hierarchy

PSN selection follows a defined order. Start at the top and move down only when the level above does not fit.

Look for a Specific Chemical Name First

Check whether your material has its own named entry in the HMT. Common chemicals usually do. Acetone, for example, appears by name with UN1090, its own hazard class, and its own packing group. When a specific entry exists, use it and stop.¹

Then Try a Generic Description

If no specific name applies, look for a generic entry that describes both the hazard class and the chemical family. The regulations prefer these over broader catch-all entries. An unlisted alcohol should ship as “Alcohols, n.o.s.” rather than the more general “Flammable liquid, n.o.s.” A coating product fits “Coating solution” better than a generic flammable liquid entry. The goal at this step is to pick the name that most specifically describes what you are actually shipping.

Fall Back to N.O.S. Only as a Last Resort

When no specific or generic name fits, use a broad “Not Otherwise Specified” entry such as “Flammable liquid, n.o.s.” or “Corrosive solid, n.o.s.” These group materials purely by hazard class and general composition. Shippers sometimes jump straight to an n.o.s. entry because it feels simpler, but that shortcut can produce an enforcement action if a more specific name was available.

A few wording flexibilities are permitted. The word “poison” or “poisonous” can be used interchangeably with “toxic” domestically, and “n.o.i.” or “n.o.i.b.n.” can substitute for “n.o.s.” Alternate spellings that match ICAO or IMDG conventions, such as “aluminium” for “aluminum,” are allowed. The word “inflammable” cannot replace “flammable.”¹

Handle Materials With More Than One Hazard

Many materials present more than one type of hazard. A liquid may be flammable and toxic, or corrosive and an oxidizer. When a material meets the definition of multiple hazard classes and is not specifically listed by name in the HMT, classify it under the highest applicable hazard class using the precedence in 49 CFR 173.2a.³

From highest hazard down, the ranking runs:

Class 7 radioactive materials
Division 2.3 poisonous gases
Division 2.1 flammable gases
Division 2.2 nonflammable gases
Division 6.1 Packing Group I, poisonous-by-inhalation liquids only
Division 4.2 pyrophoric materials
Division 4.1 self-reactive materials
Class 3, Class 8, and Divisions 4.1 through 4.3, 5.1, and 6.1, resolved by a separate precedence table when two or more apply
Combustible liquids
Class 9 miscellaneous hazardous materials

The primary hazard class you land on determines which section of the HMT you draw the PSN from. Secondary hazards still appear as subsidiary hazard classes on shipping papers, but they do not drive the PSN itself. The most stringent packing group among the applicable hazards governs, so a material qualifying as Class 3 Packing Group II and Division 6.1 Packing Group I is classified as Class 3 but assigned Packing Group I.³

Add the Technical Name for Generic Entries

Whenever you use a PSN marked “G” in Column 1, the technical name of the hazardous component must appear in parentheses on your shipping papers. A single-ingredient material takes one technical name. A mixture of two or more hazardous ingredients requires the technical names of at least the two components contributing most to the hazards.⁴

A properly formatted description reads “UN 1760, Corrosive liquid, n.o.s., (Octanoyl chloride), 8, II.” You can also place the technical name after the class and packing group using “contains,” as in “UN 1760, Corrosive liquid, n.o.s., 8, II (contains Octanoyl chloride).” For toxic materials in Division 6.1 Packing Group I or II, or Division 2.3, the technical name of the toxic constituent is specifically required.⁴

Check the Special Provisions Column Before You Finalize

Column 7 of the HMT assigns special provision codes to many entries. These codes, defined in 49 CFR 172.102, can restrict transport modes, create small-quantity exceptions, change packaging options, or directly alter the shipping description.⁵

The letter prefix tells you the scope: numbers alone apply to all modes; “A” codes apply to air only; “B” to bulk packaging; “N” to non-bulk; “R” to rail; “W” to water; “IB” or “IP” to intermediate bulk containers; and “T” or “TP” to portable tanks.

Some numeric provisions directly change the PSN or what must appear on shipping papers. Special provisions 1 through 6 may require identifying the material as an inhalation hazard and selecting a PSN that reflects that danger. Special provision 13 requires the words “Inhalation Hazard” on both shipping papers and package markings alongside the PSN.⁵ Skipping Column 7 is a common oversight and can invalidate an otherwise correct description.

Why the Right Name Matters

An incorrect PSN can send emergency responders toward the wrong containment procedures, and PHMSA treats classification errors accordingly. Civil penalties for a knowing violation reach up to $102,348 per violation, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. If the violation results in death, serious injury, or substantial property destruction, the maximum rises to $238,809 per violation.⁶

Willful or reckless violations carry criminal liability. Individuals face fines under Title 18 and up to five years in prison, doubling to ten years if the violation causes a hazmat release resulting in death or bodily injury.⁷ Working the hierarchy carefully, verifying the SDS against the table, and reading the Column 1 symbols and Column 7 provisions before you commit to a name are the practical guardrails against both outcomes.