Railroad - Subpart B

Shipping Papers

Unless excepted under certain provisions, you must not accept or transport any hazardous material unless it is accompanied by a shipping paper. Shipping papers contain information identifying the hazardous materials being transported and is important during a hazardous materials incident to help initiate protective measures for your safety and the safety of the public. They must accompany any quantity of hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, and marine pollutants. Each shipping paper must include the date of acceptance by the initial carrier. A shipping paper may include:

• A shipping order
• A bill of lading
• A hazardous materials manifest
• Any other type of shipping document serving a similar purpose and containing the required information

A copy of the shipping paper, or an electronic image of it, must be retained for one year after the hazardous material is accepted by the initial carrier. However, for hazardous wastes, the shipping paper must be retained for three years after the material is accepted by the initial carrier. Shipping papers must be readily available, upon request, to an authorized official of a federal, state, or local government agency.

Provisions for shipping papers can be found in Part 172 and §174.24.

Notice to Train Crews

The train crew is required to have a document that indicates where, within each rail car, there is a hazardous material package. The document must be updated whenever there is a change in placement of a rail car within a train.

Documentation specific to train crews can be found in §174.26.

To learn more about Railroad HAZMAT visit our DOT Railroad HAZMAT Online Training web page.