IATA Shipper's Responsibilities

Subsection 1.3 outlines the shipper's responsibilities in complying with these regulations. Shippers must fully comply with these regulations when offering a consignment of dangerous goods, as well as any applicable regulations set forth by the States of origin, transit, and destination. A shipper who violates these regulations may be in breach of national laws and could face legal penalties.

Dangerous goods may be consolidated in a shipment with goods not subject to these regulations; however, the dangerous goods must still be identified, classified, packed, marked, labeled, and documented in accordance with these regulations, and the consolidated shipment is subject to an acceptance check. Consolidation is defined as a consignment of multiple packages that has been originated by more than one person, each of whom has made an agreement for carriage by air with another person other than the scheduled air carrier.

The shipper must retain at least one copy (or produce a printed copy from an electronic copy) of all relevant documents to a dangerous goods consignment for a minimum of three months. These documents include the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods and any other applicable transport documents specified in the DGR.

The following specific responsibilities apply to shippers:

• Provide information to employees to allow them to meet their responsibilities for transporting dangerous goods.
• Ensure that articles or substances are not prohibited for transport by air.
• Ensure that articles or substances are properly identified, classified, packed, marked, labeled, documented, and in good condition for transport, meeting all DGR requirements.
• Ensure that relevant people are properly trained on preparing a dangerous goods consignment, allowing them to carry out their responsibilities.
• Ensure that dangerous goods are packaged in compliance with air transport requirements

To learn more about IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations visit our IATA DGR Online Training Certification Courses web page.