How to ship: Ship hazardous materials

Freightquote makes shipping hazmat easy and fast. We've listed the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) list of hazardous materials classes. Identifying a hazardous material before you ship will protect you from costly charges from the carrier later. Coming soon: hazardous products you may not know about.

What is a hazardous material?

If you don’t know if your product is hazardous, call Freightquote for assistance. Hazardous materials are defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation in accordance with the Federal Hazardous Material Law regulations. A hazardous material is hazmat if the transportation of the material in a particular amount and form poses an unreasonable risk to health and safety or property.

DOT hazardous material may include: an poison, explosive, radioactive material, etiologic agent, flammable or combustible liquid or solid, oxidizing or corrosive material, and compressed gas. Hazardous materials are accepted in most cases as long as they are properly classified, packaged, and labeled. However, many hazardous material commodities are prohibited from transportation by Freightquote.com and its carriers. Please call customer service or your salesperson for specific information. Hazardous materials may cost a little more to ship.

Hazard class list

Dangerous goods are substances which pose risk to safety, health, property or the environment during operation and/or transportation. All of these substances are divided in classes in accordance to the specific chemical characteristics resulting in a degree of danger.

Class 1: Explosives
  • Division 1.1: Substances and articles which have a mass explosion hazard
  • Division 1.2: Substances and articles which have a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard
  • Division 1.3: Substances and articles which have a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projection hazard or both, but not a mass explosion hazard
  • Division 1.4: Substances and articles which present no significant hazard
  • Division 1.5: Very insensitive substances which have a mass explosion hazard
  • Division 1.6: Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard
Class 2: Gases
  • Division 2.1: Flammable gases
  • Division 2.2: Non-flammable, non-toxic gases
  • Division 2.3: Toxic gases
Class 3: Flammable liquids

Class 4: Flammable solids; substances liable to spontaneous combustion; substances which, on contact with water, emit flammable gases
  • Division 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and solid desensitized explosives
  • Division 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion
  • Division 4.3: Substances which in contact with water emit flammable gases
Class 5: Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides
  • Division 5.1: Oxidizing substances
  • Division 5.2: Organic peroxides
Class 6: Toxic and infectious substances
  • Division 6.1: Toxic substances
  • Division 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion
  • Division 4.3: Substances which in contact with water emit flammable gases
Class 7: Radioactive material
Class 8: Corrosive substances
Class 9: Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles

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