UN numbers, shipping names and Schedule 1

Once a product is classified, it needs an identity that everyone in the transport chain recognizes. That identity is its UN number and its shipping name, both taken from the dangerous goods list in Schedule 1 of the TDG Regulations. The UN number is a four-digit number preceded by the letters UN, such as UN1203 for gasoline. The shipping name is the official name of the product as it appears in the list, such as GASOLINE. Together with the class and packing group, they form the shipping description that appears on documents, and the UN number often appears on the vehicle itself.

UN numbers

UN numbers are assigned by the UN Sub-Committee of Experts and run from UN0004 to above UN3500. Low numbers starting with 0 are explosives. Numbers in the 1000s include many common gases, liquids and solids; numbers in the 3000s and above tend to be newer entries, including many generic entries and lithium battery entries. A UN number can cover a single substance (UN1090 Acetone), a group of similar substances (UN1987 Alcohols, N.O.S.) or an article (UN3480 Lithium ion batteries). Responders use the UN number as their key to emergency information, so an incorrect number can send them to the wrong guidance.

A few numbers beginning with NA (North America) are used only in the United States and for shipments between Canada and the United States, for products that have no UN number or that the US classifies differently. For example, NA1993 is used in the United States for diesel fuel and combustible liquids that are not regulated internationally. Inside Canada, the UN number from Schedule 1 is used, although NA numbers are accepted on shipments travelling under the US rules allowed by Part 9.

Shipping names

In Schedule 1, the shipping name is the part of the description written in capital letters. Any text in lower case is descriptive and is not part of the shipping name, although it helps you choose the right entry; for example, SULFURIC ACID with more than 51 % acid tells you the concentration range the entry covers. Some entries allow a choice of names, separated by or. Shipping names may be written in English or French, and in either upper or lower case on the shipping document, but they must not be changed or abbreviated, apart from some permitted variations such as singular and plural forms.

Choosing the right entry

When more than one entry might fit, the rules give an order of preference. First, use an entry that names the substance exactly. Second, if there is no specific entry, use a generic entry that describes the chemical group, such as Alcohols, N.O.S. or Pesticide, liquid, toxic, flammable, N.O.S. Third, use the broadest generic entry for the hazard, such as Flammable liquid, N.O.S. or Toxic solid, organic, N.O.S. Generic and N.O.S. entries often require the technical name of the hazardous component, or of the two most hazardous components in a mixture, in brackets after the shipping name, for example FLAMMABLE LIQUID, N.O.S. (Toluene, Methanol). A trade name such as a brand name is never acceptable as a technical name.

Some entries carry special provisions, listed by number in column 5. Special provisions are found in Schedule 2. They can require extra information on the shipping document, limit the packaging, exempt the product under certain conditions, or forbid certain modes. For example, special provisions explain when lithium batteries contained in equipment are exempt and when they are not. Always read the special provisions listed for your entry before deciding how to ship.

Reading the list

Each row of Schedule 1 contains the information you need to start a shipment. The table below summarizes the main columns. The values for a few entries are given later in the worked example; always check the current Schedule 1 for the actual values, which change from time to time.

A small number of products are listed as forbidden for transport, usually because they are too unstable, or are allowed only with special approval. If the list shows that a product is forbidden, it cannot be shipped by that mode unless Transport Canada issues an equivalency certificate, now called a permit for equivalent level of safety.

Additional descriptions

Some shipments need more than the basic description. Products that harm aquatic life must be identified as a marine pollutant when transported by ship, and may need the words ENVIRONMENTALLY HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE entries (UN3077 for solids and UN3082 for liquids) when they have no other hazard. Products shipped hot, such as molten sulfur, need an elevated temperature description. Wastes need the word Waste. Products that require a control or emergency temperature must have those temperatures on the document. Lesson 8 covers these additions.

# Building basic shipping descriptions from a small, simplified extract of the list (illustrative).
LIST = {
    "UN1203": ("GASOLINE", "3", None, "II"),
    "UN1075": ("PETROLEUM GASES, LIQUEFIED", "2.1", None, None),
    "UN1830": ("SULFURIC ACID", "8", None, "II"),
    "UN3480": ("LITHIUM ION BATTERIES", "9", None, None),
    "UN1005": ("AMMONIA, ANHYDROUS", "2.3", "8", None),
}

def description(un, technical=None):
    name, cls, sub, pg = LIST[un]
    parts = [un, name + (f" ({technical})" if technical else "")]
    parts.append(cls + (f" ({sub})" if sub else ""))
    if pg:
        parts.append("PG " + pg)
    return ", ".join(parts)

for un in LIST:
    print(description(un))

UN1203, GASOLINE, 3, PG II
UN1075, PETROLEUM GASES, LIQUEFIED, 2.1
UN1830, SULFURIC ACID, 8, PG II
UN3480, LITHIUM ION BATTERIES, 9
UN1005, AMMONIA, ANHYDROUS, 2.3 (8)

The order of the basic description is fixed: UN number, shipping name, primary class, subsidiary classes in brackets, packing group. The output above uses the classification of anhydrous ammonia used in Canada and internationally, 2.3 with a subsidiary class 8.

Using the list in practice

Most people search the list by name, not by number. Schedule 3 of the TDG Regulations is an alphabetical index of shipping names with their UN numbers, and Transport Canada's online search tool lets you search by name, UN number or keyword. Searching by keyword helps when the product name on a label is a trade name or a synonym; the safety data sheet's section 14 usually gives the UN number, which you can then confirm in Schedule 1.

Similar names cause many errors. Ammonia, anhydrous (UN1005), a gas, and ammonia solution (UN2672), a class 8 corrosive liquid, are very different products. Sodium hydroxide, solid (UN1823) and sodium hydroxide solution (UN1824) have different entries because a solid and a liquid need different packaging. Several products have entries that depend on concentration, such as hydrogen peroxide or nitric acid, where the descriptive text tells you which range the entry covers. Always read the whole entry, including the descriptive text, before choosing.

When a product could fit more than one entry and you are unsure, ask the manufacturer, a dangerous goods specialist or the regulator before shipping. Writing down why you chose an entry, with the source you used, makes the decision easier to defend and easier for the next person to check.

When the list changes

Entries are added, removed and rewritten as the UN Model Regulations evolve. The 2026 amendments to the TDG Regulations, for example, added new UN numbers, removed obsolete ones and rewrote several special provisions to match the UN text. A shipper that copied descriptions into its order system years ago may now be using an entry that has changed. Reviewing your regular products against the current Schedule 1 after each amendment, and keeping a dated record of the review, avoids that drift.