49 CFR 172.504 · Tables 1 and 2

Hazmat placard calculator

Know which placards go on before the truck leaves the dock.

Enter each class on the load with its gross weight to get the placards 49 CFR 172.504 and 172.505 require, where DANGEROUS may stand in, and which exceptions apply.

Last updated 2026-09-28. Math runs in your browser, no data leaves your computer.

Add one line per hazard class on the vehicle or container, with the gross weight of those packages including the packaging. The 1,001 pound test adds every Table 2 line together, so leave nothing out, even the partial pallet from the last stop.

Weight unit

Several exceptions in 172.504(f) apply to domestic transportation only, so the answer changes with this choice.

The 1,001 pound exception in 172.504(c) is written for highway and rail, which is why the tool asks.

Before the booking, screen the name on the invoice. Shipment pre-check is on the paid plans, from USD 59 a month.

General guidance only. Verify against the cited primary sources before you commit to a shipment, declaration, or contract.

How the placard rules are applied

Each line is sorted into Table 1 or Table 2 of 49 CFR 172.504(e). Table 1 lines need their placard at any quantity. Table 2 lines are added together, and if the total gross weight on the vehicle or container is under 454 kg (1,001 pounds) by highway or rail, 172.504(c) removes the Table 2 placards unless a line is in bulk or falls under 172.505.

When Table 2 placards are required and two or more different ones apply, the tool offers DANGEROUS under 172.504(b) and then tests each category against 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds). A category at or above that weight keeps its own placard. The tool treats each line as loaded at one loading facility, which is the condition in the rule, so split a line if part of it was picked up elsewhere.

The additional placards in 172.505 are added on top: POISON INHALATION HAZARD or POISON GAS for any material with an inhalation hazard, and DANGEROUS WHEN WET for a material with a 4.3 subsidiary hazard. Then the exceptions in 172.504(f) are applied, such as the lowest division rule for explosives and the domestic Class 9 exception, and each one used is named in the result.

The UN lookup reads the 49 CFR 172.101 table, where special provisions 1 to 6 flag inhalation hazards. The FMCSA marking, labeling and placarding guide is a good visual check on the placard designs themselves.

Worked example. Three classes and one DANGEROUS placard

The booking. A chemical distributor loads 2,400 pounds gross of a Class 8 cleaner, 600 pounds of a Class 3 solvent and 300 pounds of a Division 5.1 oxidizer, all in drums, on one truck at its own warehouse. Every line is Table 2, the total of 3,300 pounds is over 1,001, and three different placards apply, so the dispatcher plans one DANGEROUS placard on each side and end, which looks fine on paper.

The failure. 172.504(b) lets DANGEROUS stand in only until one category reaches 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds) loaded at one facility. The Class 8 line is 2,400 pounds, so it needs its own CORROSIVE placard. A truck showing DANGEROUS alone is misplacarded, so either the placards change or the load does.

The fix. The truck goes out with CORROSIVE for the 2,400 pounds of Class 8 and DANGEROUS covering the solvent and the oxidizer, which the rule allows. Run the same three lines through the tool and it shows CORROSIVE as required and DANGEROUS as the option for the other two, with the paragraph behind each placard.

Before the drums go on, check that the classes may ride together at all. The hazmat segregation checker reads the 49 CFR 177.848 table pair by pair. For the gross weight of each drum or tote from its fill and specific gravity, the drum and tote weight calculator does the arithmetic.

Frequently asked

When is a hazmat placard required?

Under 49 CFR 172.504, any quantity of a Table 1 material needs placards: Divisions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, Division 2.3, Division 4.3, Type B temperature controlled organic peroxides, Division 6.1 inhalation hazards and Radioactive Yellow III packages. Table 2 materials need placards once the vehicle or container holds 454 kg (1,001 pounds) or more of them in aggregate gross weight, and a bulk packaging needs them at any quantity.

What is the 1,001 pound rule for placards?

Paragraph 172.504(c) says a transport vehicle or freight container going by highway or rail does not need placards for Table 2 materials when it holds less than 454 kg (1,001 pounds) of them in aggregate gross weight. The weight is the gross weight of every Table 2 package added together, not per class. The exception does not cover bulk packagings or Table 1 materials, and it does not cover materials under 172.505.

When can I use the DANGEROUS placard?

Under 172.504(b) a vehicle or container with non-bulk packages of two or more Table 2 categories that need different placards may show DANGEROUS instead of each placard. Once 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds) or more of one category is loaded at one loading facility, that category needs its own placard as well. DANGEROUS never replaces a Table 1 placard.

Do combustible liquids need a placard?

They need one only when they travel in bulk. 49 CFR 173.150(f)(2) takes combustible liquids in non-bulk packaging out of the hazardous materials regulations unless the liquid is a hazardous substance, a hazardous waste or a marine pollutant, and (f)(3)(iv) keeps the placard requirement for bulk packagings only.

Does a Class 9 load need a placard in the US?

Table 2 lists a CLASS 9 placard, but 172.504(f)(9) says it is not required for domestic transportation, including the part of an international move that happens inside the United States. A bulk packaging of Class 9 still has to show its identification number on a CLASS 9 placard, an orange panel or a white square on point display.

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Sourzi shows what official files say. It is not customs or legal advice. For a binding answer, ask a licensed customs broker, a CBP ruling or an Australian Border Force Tariff Advice.

File dates and links are on Data sources.