IATA Shipper's Declaration

A Shipper's Declaration of Dangerous Goods is required for all articles and substances of dangerous goods, with the exception of the items listed in Subsection 8.0.1.2 of the IATA DGR. The Shipper's Declaration must be completed in English. However, it may be accompanied by an accurate translation in another language.

Pre-printed declaration forms may be used. The format of the boxes and dotted lines may be changed to accommodate the shipper's requirements. The form can be printed in black and red on white paper, or it may be printed in red only on white paper. The diagonal hatchings in the margins must be printed in red. See Subsection 8.1.7 for examples. Subsection 8.1.1.3 provides paper size requirements, which are standard letter and ledger size paper.

If multiple pages are required to complete the Nature and Quantity of Dangerous Goods box, an extension list may be used. These pages must include the vertical red hatchings as well as a page number and total number of pages and the Air Waybill number. An extension list does not require a signature.

In some cases, consignments of multiple packages are consolidated into one shipment. This consolidation consists of packages originated by more than one person, each of whom made an agreement for air transport with someone other than the scheduled carrier. A consolidated shipment requires a separate declaration form for each component consignment of the dangerous goods.

The shipper must provide two copies of any completed and signed declaration forms to the operator. One copy is retained by the accepting operator and the other copy is forwarded with the shipment to its destination. If EDP or EDI is used, the data from the forms must be produced as a paper document without delay.

Alterations and amendments to the declaration form are prohibited unless the altered or amended entry is signed by the shipper with the same signature used on the document.

All articles and substances offered for transport must be declared using their Proper Shipping Name, as listed in bold in Subsection 4.2 of the IATA List of Dangerous Goods. Any additional text after the bold Proper Shipping Name is optional, but may be included on the declaration form. If waste goods, other than radioactive waste, are being transported, the Proper Shipping Name must be preceded by the word "WASTE." Review Subsection 8.1.3 for more details on the proper shipping name requirements.

The declaration form must be signed by the shipper or a designated representative. Reproduced signatures are acceptable if the applicable laws recognize them as legally valid. However, typewritten signatures are not acceptable. Electronic signatures are used for EDP or EDI transmissions.

The operator does not have to accept the dangerous goods consignment. The operator reserves the right to require the shipper to have the Shipper's Declaration confirmed or endorsed by an authority nominated by the operator. In addition, an operator may require the shipper to certify that a shipment does not contain dangerous goods if it is classified as such.

To learn more about Multimodal Shipping visit our Multimodal DOT, IATA & IMDG HAZMAT Shipping Online Training web page.