When is a shippers certification required?

• A shipper’s certification indicates that the hazmat being is being shipped in compliance with Hazardous Materials Regulations.

When a shipment is offered to the initial carrier, the shipping paper must bear the prescribed shipper’s certification. This certification indicates that the hazardous material is being offered in compliance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations.

No certification is required for the return of an empty tank car which previously contained a hazardous material and which has not been cleaned or purged.

Except for hazardous waste, a shipper’s certification is not required for the highway transport of hazardous materials when:

• Transported in a cargo tank supplied by the carrier, or
• Transported by the shipper as a private carrier, unless the material is to be re-shipped or transferred from one carrier to another.

The following two shipper’s certifications are authorized for use:

“This is to certify that the above-named materials are properly classified, described, packaged, marked and labeled, and are in proper condition for transportation according to the applicable regulations of the Department of Transportation.”

“I hereby declare that the contents of this consignment are fully and accurately described above by the proper shipping name, and are classified, packaged, marked and labeled/placarded, and are in all respects in proper condition for transport according to applicable international and national governmental regulations.”

For shipments by air the following certification is authorized:

“I hereby certify that the contents of this consignment are fully and accurately described above by proper shipping name and are classified, packaged, marked and labeled, and are in proper condition for carriage by air according to applicable national governmental regulations.”

On any shipment moving by air, the following statement must be added to the required certification:

“I declare that all of the applicable air transport requirements have been met.”

Shipper’s certifications must be printed (manually or mechanically) on the shipping paper. The certification must be legibly signed by an authorized representative of the shipper. The signature may be applied manually, by typewriter, or other mechanical means. On hazardous waste manifests the signature must be handwritten.