To fill out the Dangerous Goods Declaration form, you identify each hazardous item by its UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, and packing group; enter those details in the prescribed sequence on the form that matches your mode of transport; add quantities, packing instructions, and a monitored 24-hour emergency phone number; and sign as a trained hazmat employee before handing the required copies to your carrier. The exact form and layout depend on whether the shipment moves by air (IATA), sea (IMO/IMDG), or domestic ground (49 CFR shipping papers), but the information required is largely the same. Errors are expensive: civil penalties now reach $102,348 per violation per day.
Pick the Right Form for Your Mode
For air transport, use the IATA Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods, a fillable PDF available from IATA’s website and through carrier portals like UPS and FedEx.1IATA. Dangerous Goods Shipper’s Declaration Form The 67th Edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations takes effect January 1, 2026.2IATA. IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations 67th Edition Addendum For ocean freight, the IMO Dangerous Goods Declaration follows the layout prescribed by the IMDG Code and comes from your freight forwarder or shipping line.
Domestic highway and rail shipments do not use a single official form. Under 49 CFR 172.201, you prepare a shipping paper containing all mandatory description elements in the correct sequence. Any document that carries the required information qualifies, and most carriers provide their own template.
Gather Four Data Points Before You Start
Every hazardous item on the declaration needs four identifiers. Getting any of them wrong is the fastest route to a rejection at the dock.
- UN identification number: the four-digit number assigned to each hazardous substance under international standards. Find it in the Hazardous Materials Table at 49 CFR 172.101 or in Column 1 of the relevant IATA or IMDG listings.3United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. ADN 2011 – Table C List of Dangerous Goods
- Proper shipping name: the official name from Column 2 of the 172.101 table. Trade names and abbreviations are not acceptable.4eCFR. 49 CFR 172.202 – Description of Hazardous Material on Shipping Papers
- Hazard class or division: one of nine primary classes, from explosives (Class 1) through miscellaneous dangerous goods (Class 9), with several classes broken into divisions. A subsidiary hazard goes in parentheses after the primary class number.5Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Nine Classes of Hazardous Materials
- Packing group: Roman numerals I, II, or III, indicating great, medium, or minor danger. This drives packaging strength. Class 1 explosives and Class 7 radioactive materials are among the substances that do not carry a packing group.6Federal Aviation Administration. Packaging Your Dangerous Goods
You also need the total quantity of each material, expressed by mass or volume with the unit included (for example, “200 kg” or “50 L”). For Class 1 explosives, provide the net explosive mass. For Class 7 radioactive materials, express quantity by activity.4eCFR. 49 CFR 172.202 – Description of Hazardous Material on Shipping Papers
Complete the IATA Air Form Section by Section
The IATA Shipper’s Declaration is the form most shippers encounter. Its sections must be completed in order.
Shipper and Consignee
Enter the full name and address of the shipper (the party offering the goods) and the consignee (the intended recipient). The air waybill number is added once assigned. A blank consignee field, or a generic entry like “to order,” will get the shipment refused.
Transport Details
The form offers two options and you delete the one that does not apply: “Passenger and Cargo Aircraft” or “Cargo Aircraft Only.”1IATA. Dangerous Goods Shipper’s Declaration Form Some hazardous materials are banned from passenger aircraft entirely, and others are allowed only in limited quantities. Choosing the wrong option here can put restricted materials on a passenger flight.
Nature and Quantity of Dangerous Goods
This is the core of the form. For each item, enter the UN or ID number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division with any subsidiary hazards, packing group, quantity and type of packing, applicable packing instruction number, and any authorization references.1IATA. Dangerous Goods Shipper’s Declaration Form If a substance has been classified under the special provisions in section 3.0.1.67 of the DGR, the declaration must include a statement to that effect, and a copy of the approval must travel with the consignment.2IATA. IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations 67th Edition Addendum
The sequence matters. On domestic U.S. shipping papers under 49 CFR 172.202, the required order is: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division, subsidiary hazard in parentheses, and packing group.4eCFR. 49 CFR 172.202 – Description of Hazardous Material on Shipping Papers IATA’s column format follows a similar logic. Reordering the elements or leaving gaps gives acceptance inspectors an easy reason to refuse the shipment.
Additional Handling Information
Use this field for special handling requirements, overpack statements, or additional regulatory notations. Note any specific transport temperature range here. Lithium batteries shipped under certain packing instructions require additional language about battery type and state of charge per the IATA Battery Shipping Regulations.
Sign as a Trained Hazmat Employee
The bottom of the form carries a pre-printed certification that the shipment has been properly classified, packaged, marked, labeled, and is in proper condition for transport. The person who prepared the shipment, or someone authorized by their employer to certify on their behalf, signs and dates the form. Under 49 CFR 172.204, domestic shipping papers must carry a shipper’s certification unless a narrow exemption applies, such as a private carrier moving its own materials.
Both manual ink signatures and legally authorized digital signatures are accepted. The signer must be a trained hazmat employee who has completed function-specific training covering the materials in the shipment. Function-specific training under 49 CFR 172.704 is one of five required areas alongside general awareness, safety, security awareness, and, where applicable, in-depth security.7eCFR. 49 CFR 172.704 – Training Requirements DOT requires recurrent training at least every three years; the IATA cycle for air shipments is every two years.8CHEMTREC. How Often Do I Need Hazmat Training Letting an untrained employee sign is itself a violation, with a minimum penalty of $617 per day.9Federal Register. 10eCFR. 49 CFR 172.602 – Emergency Response Information
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration publishes the Emergency Response Guidebook, currently in its 2024 edition, which contains standardized response codes indexed by UN number.11PHMSA. Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG)
The declaration must also include a 24-hour emergency telephone number, monitored the entire time the material is in transit, including storage stops. The person answering must either know the specific material and its hazards or have immediate access to someone who does. An answering machine or callback service does not qualify.12eCFR. 49 CFR 172.604 – Emergency Response Telephone Number
Shippers without their own around-the-clock response capability typically use a third-party provider. CHEMTREC is the largest, with a base plan starting at about $1,100 per year for a single U.S. shipper with cleanup coverage; a global shipper covering multiple origins can expect to pay upward of $6,000 per year.13HAZMAT LINE. CHEMTREC Cost and Pricing Breakdown Whichever provider you use, they must hold current information about the specific material in your shipment, not just a generic call-handling script.
Submit the Right Number of Copies
The IATA form itself requires two completed and signed copies to be handed to the operator.1IATA. Dangerous Goods Shipper’s Declaration Form Some carriers demand more. UPS requires three originals per hazardous materials package, or on the lead package of a multi-piece shipment.14UPS. Dangerous Goods Declaration (IATA) Check your carrier’s specific requirement before tendering. Forms are usually placed in a waterproof pouch and secured to the outside of the transport unit for quick access by acceptance agents and first responders.
At acceptance, carrier agents compare the declaration against the physical packages. They verify that UN numbers on the form match the hazard labels on the boxes or drums, that markings are legible, and that package condition matches the description. Any inconsistency, whether a mismatched UN number, a missing subsidiary hazard label, or a quantity exceeding the packing instruction, means rejection until you issue a corrected declaration.
The air cargo industry is moving toward the electronic Dangerous Goods Declaration (eDGD), which replaces paper with a digital data set shared through an industry platform and linked to the electronic air waybill. A successful dangerous goods check remains a prerequisite for acceptance regardless of format.
When You Do Not Need a Full Declaration
Not every hazardous shipment needs a full declaration. Getting the quantities wrong, however, eliminates the exemption entirely.
Limited quantity shipments generally do not require shipping papers for domestic ground transport. If the material is a reportable quantity, a marine pollutant, or hazardous waste, full shipping papers are still required and must include the notation “limited quantity” or “ltd qty.”
Under 49 CFR 173.4, materials in very small inner packages, generally 30 mL or 30 g maximum per receptacle, are exempt from full hazmat requirements for highway or rail if the package meets strict construction and drop-test standards. The outer package must be marked “This package conforms to 49 CFR 173.4 for domestic highway or rail transport only,” and total gross mass cannot exceed 29 kg (64 pounds).15eCFR. 49 CFR 173.4 – Small Quantities for Highway and Rail
Under 49 CFR 173.4a, excepted quantities are exempt from most hazmat requirements, including shipping papers. Inner packaging limits are 30 mL or 30 g for most materials, and 1 mL or 1 g for high-toxicity Division 6.1 substances. Class 1 explosives and certain other categories do not qualify, and the material must be authorized for passenger aircraft.16eCFR. 49 CFR 173.4a – Excepted Quantities
Even when the Shipper’s Declaration is not required for air, the IATA DGR still requires the UN or ID number, proper shipping name, number of packages (if the consignment also contains non-dangerous goods packages), and any mandatory statements from the applicable packing instructions to appear on the air waybill.2IATA. IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations 67th Edition Addendum
What Errors Cost
The federal statute at 49 U.S.C. ยง 5123 authorizes penalties for hazmat violations, with base amounts adjusted annually for inflation.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 5123 – Civil Penalty The current maximums, effective since late 2024, are:
- General violations: up to $102,348 per violation per day.
- Violations causing death, serious illness, severe injury, or substantial property damage: up to $238,809 per violation per day.
- Training violations: a minimum of $617 per untrained employee per day, capped at the general $102,348 maximum.
Penalties apply per violation per day, so a declaration with multiple errors can stack fines fast. The violations that most often generate penalties on the paperwork itself include misclassifying the hazard class, omitting subsidiary hazards, failing to include the emergency response phone number, and allowing untrained employees to prepare or certify the form.