Twenty-five officer roles, all live todayArt. 33 GDPR, 72 hours to report a breach93 controls under ISO/IEC 27001:202237 ready-to-run audit templates in the workspace§ 130 OWiG, supervisory duty of the management boardOfficer appointment letter, signed, filed, evidencedOne workspace for tasks, trainings, audits, documentationDIN 14095 fire protection plans, standardisedEU AI Act, the first horizontal AI regulation worldwideTwenty-five officer roles, all live todayArt. 33 GDPR, 72 hours to report a breach93 controls under ISO/IEC 27001:202237 ready-to-run audit templates in the workspace§ 130 OWiG, supervisory duty of the management boardOfficer appointment letter, signed, filed, evidencedOne workspace for tasks, trainings, audits, documentationDIN 14095 fire protection plans, standardisedEU AI Act, the first horizontal AI regulation worldwide
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Dangerous Goods Officer

ADR, IMDG and IATA documentation, transport-safety checks, annual report to the operator. Appointed where transport volumes cross the § 3 GbV thresholds.

Focus areas
§ 3 GbVADRIMDGAnnual report
Legal basis

§ 3 GbV · ADR · GGVSEB

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What is a dangerous goods safety adviser under German law?

The dangerous goods safety adviser (Gefahrgutbeauftragter, DGSA) is appointed in writing under § 1a of the German DGSA Ordinance (GbV), which implements Chapter 1.8.3 ADR. Companies that consign, load, pack, fill, unload or carry dangerous goods above the exemption thresholds of section 1.1.3 ADR must appoint a DGSA. Thresholds derive from the transport categories of ADR 1.1.3.6 and correspond roughly to 50 kg of class 3 substances; no threshold applies for class 1 explosives, class 6.2 infectious substances or class 7 radioactive material. The DGSA must hold a valid certificate of training under section 1.8.3 ADR, issued by an approved training body and validated by examination before the local Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The certificate is valid for five years and renewable by refresher training and examination. Other participants in the dangerous goods transport need a chapter 1.3 ADR awareness training. The DGSA prepares a written annual report under § 8 GbV, retained for five years and presented to the Federal Office for Logistics and Mobility (BALM) on request. Incidents involving personal injury, property damage above 50,000 EUR or environmental impact must be reported under section 1.8.5 ADR. Breaches of the GbV are administrative offences under § 37 GGVSEB with fines up to 50,000 EUR.

DGSA duties under § 8 GbV

  • Monitoring compliance with ADR, RID, ADN, IMDG and IATA-DGR.
  • Advising on consignment, packing, filling, loading and unloading of dangerous goods.
  • Preparing the written annual report under § 8 GbV with five year retention.
  • Checking transport documents and written instructions under chapter 5.4 ADR.
  • Supervising labelling and placarding under chapters 5.2 and 5.3 ADR.
  • Ensuring 1.3 ADR awareness training of involved staff and driver training under chapter 8.2 ADR.
  • Lithium battery shipping under special provisions 188, 230, 310, 376 (UN 3480, 3481, 3090, 3091).
  • Cargo securing under VDI 2700 and CTU Code for container stuffing.
  • Investigating incidents and preparing reports under section 1.8.5 ADR.
  • Drafting the security plan under chapter 1.10 ADR for high consequence goods.

Appointment of the dangerous goods safety adviser

Appointment is required in writing under § 3 GbV and must specify name, scope and mode of transport. Consignors, loaders, packers, fillers, unloaders and carriers are subject to the duty. One company may appoint several DGSAs for different transport modes, and one DGSA may serve several companies provided the workload allows proper performance. Training must take place at a body recognised under § 4 GbV and is concluded with examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The certificate is valid for five years under section 1.8.3.7 ADR and renewable by refresher examination. Even with an external DGSA, the operator retains residual liability under § 9 of the Act on Regulatory Offences (OWiG).

  • Carriage of dangerous goods above the exemption thresholds of section 1.1.3.6 ADR.
  • Consignment of class 1, 6.2 or 7 substances without threshold.
  • Filling or unloading of tanks, tank containers, tank wagons or MEGCs under chapter 4.3 ADR.
  • Packing of dangerous goods in UN approved packagings under chapter 6.1 ADR.
  • Sea shipment of dangerous goods under the IMDG Code from German ports.
  • Air shipment under IATA-DGR or ICAO-TI, including lithium batteries (UN 3480/3481).
  • Lithium battery shipments under UN 3480/3481/3090/3091 as cargo, in equipment or packed with equipment.

Sectors with DGSA obligation

  • Chemical and petrochemical industry
  • Pharmaceutical manufacturing and wholesale
  • Mineral oil trade and fuel logistics
  • Battery manufacturers (UN 3480/3481/3090)
  • Freight forwarding and parcel services
  • Electroplating and surface treatment
  • Paint and printing industry
  • Waste management and hazardous waste transport
  • Food chemistry (CO2, ammonia)
  • Research laboratories and hospital logistics (class 6.2)
CIVAC

How CIVAC supports the DGSA function

CIVAC stores the appointment letter, the section 1.8.3 ADR certificate and the transport mode profile in one role record with automated renewal alerts 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry. The annual report under § 8 GbV is generated from shipment data; transport documents and written instructions are version-controlled. 1.3 ADR awareness training, driver ADR certificates and lithium battery training are linked to staff records and scheduled automatically. Incident reports under section 1.8.5 ADR are captured in BALM compliant fields. A link to the GefStoffV substance register and to safety data sheets under REACH Annex II avoids duplicated master data. CTU Code conformity and cargo securing under VDI 2700 are stored as inspection checklists.

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