To use the Hazardous Materials Table at 49 CFR 172.101, identify your material’s chemical name, physical state, and concentration, find the matching row, then read across the ten columns in order to pull the proper shipping name, hazard class, identification number, packing group, required labels, special provisions, packaging section, air quantity limits, and vessel stowage rules that govern the shipment. The table is the federal government’s master list of substances regulated during transportation, and every shipper, carrier, and freight forwarder is legally required to consult it before offering or accepting regulated cargo.1eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of the Hazardous Materials Table The rules apply across highway, rail, air, and water, and they reach international shipments passing through U.S. borders.
What to Know About Your Material First
Before opening the table, write down the technical chemical name, the physical state at normal temperatures (solid, liquid, or gas), and the concentration of any hazardous components in a mixture. Those three data points decide whether the material meets the federal threshold and which row applies.
The Safety Data Sheet from the manufacturer is the fastest shortcut. Section 14 offers preliminary transport classification, including a suggested proper shipping name and hazard class.2Society for Chemical Hazard Communication. Hazard Communication Information Sheet Treat it as a lead, not an answer. OSHA does not enforce the content of Sections 12 through 15, so transport data there can be incomplete or outdated.3Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hazard Communication Standard: Safety Data Sheets Confirm the SDS suggestion against the actual table entry every time.
How to Read a Row Across the Ten Columns
Each entry has ten columns, several of which are subdivided, giving fourteen distinct fields. Read them in order; every column can change what you do next.
Column 1: Symbols
Column 1 carries up to six symbols that modify the rest of the row:1eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of the Hazardous Materials Table
- A plus sign locks the proper shipping name, hazard class, and packing group to that entry even if the material does not technically meet the class definition.
- “A” means regulated only by aircraft, unless the material is also a hazardous substance or hazardous waste.
- “W” means regulated only by water, with the same exception.
- “D” marks a name acceptable for domestic U.S. shipments but potentially unsuitable internationally.
- “I” marks a name recognized for international transport.
- “G” requires the technical name of the hazardous component in parentheses after the proper shipping name.
Miss one symbol and you can over-classify a material regulated only by air, or leave out a required technical name.
Column 2: Proper Shipping Name
Column 2 is the exact description you will use on documents and package markings. Only text in Roman type is part of the official name; italicized words are cross-references or clarifications and not part of it. When an entry uses “see” followed by another name in Roman type, either name works.4eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of the Hazardous Materials Table
Column 3: Hazard Class or Division
Column 3 assigns the hazard class or division. The nine primary classes run from explosives (Class 1) through miscellaneous hazards (Class 9), with divisions like flammable gas (2.1), poison gas (2.3), and organic peroxide (5.2) drawing finer distinctions.
Column 4: Identification Number
Column 4 gives the four-digit ID number prefixed with “UN” (internationally recognized) or “NA” (North America only). Emergency responders use this number to identify the material during an incident, so accuracy is non-negotiable.
Column 5: Packing Group
Column 5 shows the packing group in Roman numerals. Group I is great danger, Group II is medium, Group III is minor. Gases (Class 2), radioactive materials (Class 7), and infectious substances (Division 6.2) do not use packing groups at all.1eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of the Hazardous Materials Table
Column 6: Label Codes
Column 6 lists codes that correspond to the diamond-shaped hazard labels you must affix to each package. Each code maps to a standardized label defined elsewhere in the regulations, so handlers anywhere in the country can identify the risk at a glance.
Column 7: Special Provisions
Column 7 holds numeric codes pointing to material-specific rules that can add requirements, grant exceptions, or set quantity limits beyond what the other columns show. A single entry can have several codes, and skipping one can turn a compliant shipment into a violation.
Column 8: Packaging Authorizations
Column 8 splits into three sub-columns, each pointing to a section of Part 173:
- 8A (Exceptions) points to packaging exceptions that relax certain requirements. “None” means no exceptions apply.
- 8B (Non-bulk packaging) points to the section governing standard-sized containers. “None” means non-bulk packaging is not authorized.
- 8C (Bulk packaging) points to the section governing large containers like drums, intermediate bulk containers, and cargo tanks. “None” means bulk packaging is not authorized.
The numbers are shorthand. “202” in Column 8B sends you to 49 CFR 173.202 for non-bulk packaging rules.
Column 9: Air Transport Quantity Limits
Column 9 has two sub-columns capping how much material can travel in a single package by air. Column 9A is the limit for passenger aircraft and passenger rail cars; Column 9B is the limit for cargo-only aircraft. “Forbidden” means the material cannot travel by that mode at all. Quantities are net weight or volume unless the entry says otherwise. A package that exceeds the passenger-aircraft limit but stays within the cargo-aircraft limit must carry a “Cargo Aircraft Only” label.
Column 10: Vessel Stowage
Column 10A assigns a stowage category letter (A through E, plus numeric codes) that determines where on a ship the material can be placed. Category A is most permissive, allowing stowage on deck or below deck on both cargo and passenger vessels. Higher categories restrict placement, and some prohibit passenger vessels entirely. Column 10B adds handling codes for specific stowage and segregation procedures.4eCFR. 49 CFR 172.101 – Purpose and Use of the Hazardous Materials Table
When Your Material Isn’t Listed by Name
The table cannot list every chemical. When yours does not appear under its specific technical name, select a generic or “n.o.s.” (not otherwise specified) entry that matches the correct hazard class, packing group, and any subsidiary hazard. The regulation requires the most descriptive name available. An unlisted alcohol should ship as “Alcohol, n.o.s.” rather than the broader “Flammable liquid, n.o.s.” Some mixtures fit better under an application-based name like “Coating solution” than under a generic n.o.s. entry.
If the material meets the definition of more than one hazard class and is not listed by name, determine the primary hazard class using the precedence rules in 49 CFR 173.2a, then select the corresponding n.o.s. description. The “G” symbol in Column 1 for these entries means you must add the technical name of the hazardous component in parentheses on shipping papers and package markings.
Appendix A and Appendix B
Two appendices can pull a material into the regulations or change how it moves. Appendix A identifies hazardous substances and their reportable quantities under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). A material in Appendix A is regulated as both a hazardous material and a hazardous substance, which triggers additional shipping paper notations and affects how the “A” and “W” symbols in Column 1 apply.
Appendix B lists marine pollutants, which may or may not appear in the main table by name. If a marine pollutant in Appendix B does not match any entry in hazard classes 1 through 8, ship it under one of two Class 9 entries: “Environmentally hazardous substances, liquid, n.o.s.” (UN3082) or “Environmentally hazardous substances, solid, n.o.s.” (UN3077). Appendix B also distinguishes severe marine pollutants, marked “PP,” from ordinary marine pollutants.
Turning the Row Into a Shipping Paper Entry
Once you have the right row, transcribe four pieces of information onto the shipping paper in this exact order: identification number, proper shipping name, hazard class or division, and packing group (if one is assigned).5eCFR. 49 CFR 172.202 – Description of Hazardous Material on Shipping Papers The sequence is mandatory. Rearranging it is a violation even if all four elements are present.
The description must be legible and printed in English. Additional languages are allowed, but English comes first. Handwritten entries are acceptable if legible. A carrier that receives a shipping paper with an incorrect or illegible hazmat description can and should refuse the shipment.
The Limited Quantity Shortcut
Small shipments of certain materials qualify for reduced requirements. If Column 8A references 49 CFR 173.150 or a similar exceptions section, and the inner packaging stays within the volume limits for the assigned packing group, you can ship under the limited quantity framework.6eCFR. 49 CFR 173.150 – Exceptions for Class 3 (Flammable and Combustible Liquids) For flammable liquids, inner packaging limits are 0.5 liters for Packing Group I, 1.0 liter for Packing Group II, and 5.0 liters for Packing Group III. Regardless of packing group, the complete package cannot exceed 30 kilograms (66 pounds) gross weight.
Limited quantity packages must display a square-on-point marking with black top and bottom portions, a black border, and a white center. Each side measures at least 100 millimeters; packages too small can use a reduced mark no smaller than 50 millimeters per side.7eCFR. 49 CFR 172.315 – Limited Quantities A package displaying this mark is exempt from the standard hazard marking requirements unless the contents also qualify as a hazardous substance or hazardous waste. Limited quantity shipments also receive the most permissive vessel stowage category (A) and are not subject to the Column 10B handling codes.
What Getting It Wrong Costs
The base statutory civil penalty is up to $75,000 per violation, or up to $175,000 when a violation results in death, serious illness, severe injury, or substantial property destruction.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 5123 – Civil Penalty Those amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. Effective December 30, 2024, the maximums stand at $102,348 per violation per day and $238,809 per violation per day for incidents involving death or serious harm.9Federal Register. Revisions to Civil Penalty Amounts, 2025 Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.
Criminal prosecution enters when a violation is willful or reckless. A person who knowingly violates the hazmat transportation laws faces up to five years in prison, doubling to ten years when a release causes death or bodily injury.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 5124 – Criminal Penalty “Willfully” means the person knows both the facts giving rise to the violation and that the conduct is unlawful. Once someone has been put on notice, ignorance of the table’s requirements is not a defense.