(a) General requirements. A person may not accept a hazardous material for transportation or transport a hazardous material by highway unless that person has received a shipping paper prepared in accordance with part 172 of this subchapter or the material is excepted from shipping paper requirements under this subchapter. A subsequent carrier may not transport a hazardous material unless it is accompanied by a shipping paper prepared in accordance with part 172 of this subchapter, except for § 172.204, which is not required.

(b) Shipper certification. An initial carrier may not accept a hazardous material offered for transportation unless the shipping paper describing the material includes a shipper's certification which meets the requirements in § 172.204 of this subchapter. Except for a hazardous waste, the certification is not required for shipments to be transported entirely by private carriage and for bulk shipments to be transported in a cargo tank supplied by the carrier.

(c) Requirements when interlining with carriers by rail. A motor carrier shall mark on the shipping paper required by this section, if it offers or delivers a freight container or transport vehicle to a rail carrier for further transportation:

(1) A description of the freight container or transport vehicle; and

(2) The kind of placard affixed to the freight container or transport vehicle.

(d) Applicability. This section does not apply to a material that is excepted from shipping paper requirements as specified in § 172.200 of this subchapter.

(e) Shipping paper accessibility—accident or inspection. A driver of a motor vehicle containing hazardous material, and each carrier using such a vehicle, shall ensure that the shipping paper required by this section is readily available to, and recognizable by, authorities in the event of accident or inspection. Specifically, the driver and the carrier shall:

(1) Clearly distinguish the shipping paper, if it is carried with other shipping papers or other papers of any kind, by either distinctively tabbing it or by having it appear first; and

(2) Store the shipping paper as follows:

(i) When the driver is at the vehicle's controls, the shipping paper shall be: (A) Within his immediate reach while he is restrained by the lap belt; and (B) either readily visible to a person entering the driver's compartment or in a holder which is mounted to the inside of the door on the driver's side of the vehicle.

(ii) When the driver is not at the vehicle's controls, the shipping paper shall be: (A) In a holder which is mounted to the inside of the door on the driver's side of the vehicle; or (B) on the driver's seat in the vehicle.

(f) Retention of shipping papers. Each person receiving a shipping paper required by this section must retain a copy or an electronic image thereof, that is accessible at or through its principal place of business and must make the shipping paper available, upon request, to an authorized official of a Federal, State, or local government agency at reasonable times and locations. For a hazardous waste, the shipping paper copy must be retained for three years after the material is accepted by the initial carrier. For all other hazardous materials, the shipping paper copy must be retained for one year after the material is accepted by the carrier. Each shipping paper copy must include the date of acceptance by the carrier. A motor carrier (as defined in § 390.5 of subchapter B of chapter III of subtitle B) using a shipping paper without change for multiple shipments of one or more hazardous materials having the same shipping name and identification number may retain a single copy of the shipping paper, instead of a copy for each shipment made, if the carrier also retains a record of each shipment made that includes shipping name, identification number, quantity transported, and date of shipment.

[Amdt. 177-35, 41 FR 16130, Apr. 15, 1976, as amended by Amdt. 177-35A, 41 FR 40691, Sept. 20, 1976; Amdt. 177-48, 45 FR 47670, Nov. 10, 1980; Amdt. 177-65, 50 FR 11055, Mar. 19, 1985; Amdt. 177-72, 53 FR 17160, May 13, 1988; 67 FR 46128, July 12, 2002; 67 FR 66574, Nov. 1, 2002; 68 FR 19277, Apr. 18, 2003; 68 FR 57633, Oct. 6, 2003; 70 FR 73165, Dec. 9, 2005; 87 FR 79784, Dec. 27, 2022]