How to decide if you need a dangerous goods safety adviser (DGSA) and what their role is.
Do you need to appoint a dangerous goods safety adviser (DGSA)?
You must appoint a DGSA if your business regularly transports, packs, fills, loads or unloads dangerous goods. This applies to goods sent by:
DGSAs are not expected to monitor procedures related to the carriage of dangerous goods by sea or air.
There are exemptions to the requirement to appoint a DGSA, depending on how often your business handles dangerous goods and in what quantities.
Exemptions from the requirement to appoint a DGSA
In Great Britain and Northern Ireland, there are some exemptions from the requirement to appoint a DGSA.
The exemption applies if:
The exemptions do not apply to international carriage.
Consignors only exemption
The rules that applied until 31 December 2018 said that you did not have to appoint a DGSA if you only acted as a consignor of dangerous goods. However, this has now changed and businesses that only act as consignors have until 31 December 2022 to appoint a DGSA.
This does not apply if you have a derogation from DfT
The current national legislation containing this requirement is the Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2009 as amended.
Separate but similar legislation has been made available in Northern Ireland.
Whom to appoint as a DGSA
It is up to the employers to decide whether to train one of their own staff to be a DGSA or to contract third parties to act as a DGSA.
The DGSA must have the time and resources to undertake their functions properly. A business that operates on several sites or deals with large or complex operations may need more than one DGSA.
Responsibilities of the DGSA
The responsibilities of the DGSA include:
You can find a full list of responsibilities in chapter 1.8.3.3.
DGSA training and certification
DGSAs must pass written examinations. On passing the examination a DGSA certificate, valid for 5 years, is issued specifying the mode(s) of transport (road, rail, inland waterway) and the classes of dangerous goods that the DGSA is qualified to monitor and advise on.
A DfT approved examination and certificate-issuing regime applies throughout the United Kingdom. DGSA certificates are mutually recognised in all EU member states and in any non-EU states, which are signatories to RID, ADR or ADN.
There is no legal requirement for DGSAs to undertake training, and DfT does not keep a list of recommended DGSA training providers. The form and type of training undertaken is a matter for the individual candidate and the employer to decide, based on the candidate’s knowledge and experience.
Training courses for DGSAs are run by independent providers and trade associations and course lengths vary from 2 to 5 days. They are not required to be approved by the DfT. The fees charged are a matter for the training provider.
Obtaining a DGSA certificate
The DfT has appointed the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) as its agent to organise, set and mark the examinations and issue the DGSA certificates in the UK. A DGSA certificate is issued to a candidate on successfully passing DfT approved examinations.
The examinations relate to one or more specific modes of transport – road, rail or inland waterway – covering the classes of dangerous goods and would be recognised by all countries that have signed up to RID, ADR or ADN.
Information on the examination syllabus, location and dates of the examinations, costs and general advice for candidates and training providers is available from SQA.
Scottish Qualifications Authority
DGSA Team
The Optima Building
58 Robertson Street
Glasgow
G2 8DQ
Tel: 0345 270 0123
Renewing a DGSA certificate
A DGSA certificate must be renewed every 5 years. This is done by the holder passing relevant examinations, which can be taken in the last year of the certificate’s validity.
The new certificate will be valid for 5 years from the date of expiry of the previous certificate.
DGSA certificates are only issued or revalidated after successful completion of the approved examinations and not in relation to previous knowledge or experience in the field of the transport of dangerous goods.
It is the view of the UK competent authority that certificate holders seeking to revalidate their certificates must successfully undertake the case study specified in 1.8.3.12.4 (b) as part of the revalidation process.
Renewal should not be left until the last minute – candidates will receive their certificates no later than 8 weeks after the exam date.
Additional guidance available
European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR)
Convention Concerning International Carriage by Rail (RID)
Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations
Current legal texts
Source Department for Transport
