Documentation and Shipping Papers
Documentation and shipping papers
This domain tests the shipping document as the legal communication of the shipment. Expect questions on required entries, who may prepare or sign, how corrections are made, and how the document travels with the goods.
Required entries
A compliant shipping document normally includes:
- date;
- consignor name and address;
- consignee name and address;
- proper shipping name;
- primary class and subsidiary class or classes;
- UN number;
- packing group, if assigned;
- total quantity and number of packages;
- emergency response information, including a 24-hour number and ERAP reference if required;
- special handling instructions, such as temperature control or orientation.
The document must be legible, in the required language or languages, and kept where the carrier can access it during transport. Electronic documents are acceptable only where the rules allow and a paper backup can be produced on request. The consignor is normally responsible for the accuracy of the description; the carrier must not accept a document it knows is false or incomplete.
Worked example
A document reads: Acetone, 3, UN1090, 200 L, 4 drums. It lacks the packing group and the consignor's 24-hour number. Acetone is Class 3, PG II, so the missing PG is a substantive defect, not a formatting issue. The emergency number is also required for the shipment. The carrier should hold the shipment until the consignor corrects the document; loading it shifts risk to the carrier.
Traps
- Accepting a trade name or product code instead of the proper shipping name.
- Omitting the packing group because everyone knows the product.
- Using a general office number that is not answered 24 hours.
- Writing the emergency number only on the SDS, not the shipping document.
- Assuming an electronic record is always enough without retrieval capability.
Exam focus
Check the document in a fixed order: name, class, UN number, PG, quantity, packages, emergency contact, ERAP. Then ask whether the person who prepared it had the training and authority to do so.