IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration — What it is and how to prepare it
Prepare an IATA DGD faster with AI assistance.
What is an IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration?
The IATA Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD), formally known as the Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods, is the legal document required for every air shipment containing regulated dangerous goods. It is mandated by the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, themselves aligned with the ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air. The DGD certifies that the shipment has been properly classified, packed, marked and labelled, and that it complies with the applicable State and operator variations.
Every airline, ground handler and freight forwarder will refuse dangerous goods at acceptance if the DGD is missing, incomplete or inaccurate. In aviation MRO, the DGD is typically prepared by a certified DG specialist or shipping clerk based on the part's current Safety Data Sheet, and accompanies the airway bill all the way to the receiving station.
What information is required on a DGD?
- UN number (e.g. UN3480)
- Proper Shipping Name (as listed in IATA DGR 4.2)
- Hazard Class and any subsidiary risk
- Packing Group (I, II or III where applicable)
- Quantity and type of inner / outer packaging
- Packing Instruction (PI) number
- Shipper and consignee full details
- Airport of departure and destination
- Aircraft type permitted (passenger and cargo, or cargo only)
- Emergency response telephone number where required
- Signature, name and date of the certified shipper
Common DGD mistakes in aviation MRO
The most frequent reasons MRO shipments are rejected at acceptance are: wrong or outdated UN number transcribed from an old SDS revision, missing or incorrect Packing Instruction number, mismatch between the declared net quantity and the actual content, missing subsidiary risk class, and use of an obsolete proper shipping name. These errors are almost always caused by manual data transfer between the SDS and the DGD — exactly the step DG Copilot automates.
How DG Copilot helps prepare your DGD
- Enter the part number or product designation.
- DG Copilot retrieves the latest official SDS.
- UN number, proper shipping name, class, PG and PI are extracted automatically.
- Fill in shipment-specific fields: quantity, origin, destination, consignee.
- Export a fully formatted IATA DGD PDF, ready for review and signature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a DGD required for all dangerous goods shipments by air?
Yes. With limited exceptions (such as Excepted Quantities and certain consumer commodity shipments), IATA DGR requires a written Shipper's Declaration for Dangerous Goods for every air shipment containing dangerous goods. The DGD must accompany the airway bill and be presented at acceptance.
Who is authorized to sign a Dangerous Goods Declaration?
The DGD must be signed by a person trained and certified under IATA DGR category 6 (shippers) or equivalent national rules. The signatory accepts legal responsibility for the accuracy of the classification, packaging, marking and labelling of the shipment.
What happens if a DGD contains an error?
Carriers will refuse the shipment at acceptance, leading to delays and additional handling costs. Serious or repeated errors can trigger civil aviation authority investigations, fines and suspension of shipping privileges. This is why MRO teams increasingly use software to pre-fill DGDs directly from the SDS.
Can I use DG Copilot to prepare a DGD?
Yes. DG Copilot extracts the UN number, proper shipping name, hazard class, packing group and packing instruction from the official SDS, then generates a fully formatted IATA DGD PDF ready for review and signature by your certified DG specialist.
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Related guides
This information is provided for guidance only. Always verify against the current IATA DGR edition. Final DGD must be validated by a certified DG specialist.