How to Fill Out a TDG Shipping Document

More TDG fines start with this piece of paper than with anything else on the truck. Here is every line the law requires, in order, along with the mistakes inspectors catch in the first ten seconds.

Who prepares it

Not the driver, and not the receiving dock. The shipping document is the consignor's legal responsibility, and it must exist before the goods move an inch:

The driver's job is to carry it and keep it within reach. The consignor's job is to make every line on it true. That division matters because when an inspector finds an error, the question of who wrote the line decides who answers for it. Which lines, exactly? That is where most fines hide.

The required lines, in order

Section 3.5 sets out the description of each dangerous good, and the order is not a suggestion:

Beyond the description of the goods themselves, the document must also show the consignor's name and address, the date the document or an electronic copy was prepared or first given to a carrier, and the total number of means of containment where required. The shipping name comes from column 2 of Schedule 1, and the classification behind every one of these lines flows from the consignor's duty to classify, covered in our guide to the 9 classes of dangerous goods.

Now the line that surprises almost everyone the first time they prepare one.

The 24-hour number rule

Every shipping document needs a phone number that answers at 3 a.m.:

That number must reach a person who knows the goods on the vehicle, not a voicemail, and not an answering service that takes messages. There is one alternative: CANUTEC, the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre, can serve as the 24-hour number, but only with written permission. A consignor must apply to CANUTEC and receive its agreement before printing that number on documents. Using CANUTEC's number without the agreement is itself a violation.

When ERAP information must appear

Higher-risk goods require an Emergency Response Assistance Plan, and when they do, the plan follows the paperwork:

If your goods need an ERAP, they also lose the DANGER placard option and the 500 kg placarding exemption, the same short list of highest-risk loads showing up everywhere in TDG for the same reason: zero guesswork for first responders.

Where the document lives during transport

The document's location during the trip is regulated right down to the door pocket. While the driver is in the vehicle, the document stays within the driver's reach. When the driver leaves the vehicle, Section 3.7 requires the document to be left in a pocket mounted on the driver's door, or on the driver's seat, exactly where an emergency responder is trained to look first when the cab is empty.

The reason is grim but simple: after a crash, the driver may not be able to answer questions. The document speaks when nobody else can, which is why an unreadable or incomplete one is treated as seriously as a missing placard.

How long to keep copies

Two years, for both consignor and carrier, paper or electronic. Pair it with the classification proof from Section 2.2.1 (five years) and the training records from Section 6.6, and a clean TDG filing system runs on three timers. Set them up once.

Air and marine differences

Ground rules are the baseline. The moment goods travel by air, the document requirements follow the ICAO Technical Instructions, and marine shipments follow the IMDG Code. Both layer additional declaration requirements on top of Part 3. If your shipment touches an airport or a port, the ground document alone is not enough, and the consignor's training must cover that mode. The exam tests this, and the free TDG practice test will show you where you stand on documentation questions before the real thing.

"I can read a shipping document's quality from across the desk. The clean ones list the UN number first, every time, in the legal order. The trouble ones lead with a trade name like 'Blue Solvent 40' because that is what the invoice says. Invoices sell product. Shipping documents keep people alive. They are not the same paper."

Samira AliCertified Public Health Inspector, 10+ years across Canada and the U.S.

The errors inspectors catch first

• Trade name instead of shipping name. The document must carry the Schedule 1 shipping name, not the product's marketing name.
• Wrong order. UN number, shipping name, class, packing group, quantity. Rearranged lines are non-compliant, even when every fact is right.
• A 9-to-5 phone number. The 24-hour number must answer immediately at any hour, with a person who knows the shipment.
• CANUTEC's number without the agreement. Written permission first, printed number second.
• Missing subsidiary class. A flammable corrosive shows both, the subsidiary in parentheses.
• Document locked in the glovebox. If the driver is out of the vehicle, the document goes in the door pocket or on the driver's seat, nowhere else.

The short version

1. The consignor prepares the shipping document before the carrier takes possession, always.
2. Each dangerous good is described in fixed order: UN number, shipping name, class (subsidiary in parentheses), packing group, quantity.
3. A 24-hour emergency number must reach a knowledgeable person immediately. CANUTEC can be that number only with its written agreement.
4. ERAP goods add the ERAP reference number and telephone number to the document.
5. In transport: within the driver's reach, or in the driver's door pocket or on the seat when the cab is empty.
6. Consignor and carrier each keep a copy for two years.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Documentation requirements depend on the specific dangerous goods, quantities, and mode of transport. Always verify against the current Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 and Regulations.