{"id":717872,"date":"2020-05-28T10:48:35","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T14:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecompliancecenter.com\/ca\/?p=717872"},"modified":"2025-09-05T03:51:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T07:51:45","slug":"what-is-a-proper-shipping-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecompliancecenter.com\/ca\/help-center\/articles\/what-is-a-proper-shipping-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Proper Shipping Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Someone recently asked me what I love about my job as a Hazardous Materials Trainer and Regulatory Specialist at ICC. The first part of my answer is working with my co-workers and customers. After that, it is all about the challenge of understanding these ever-changing regulations. You see, I love learning just for the sake of learning. It wouldn\u2019t be hard for me to still be in school if money weren\u2019t an issue. As such, the whole concept of initial and recurrent training<\/a> fits right in with the way my brain works. Occasionally, I too need a \u201crefresher\u201d on certain parts of the regulations. Even after 10 years in this business, there are times when you need to remind yourself that the devil is in the details.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Everyone that handles, ships, transports hazardous materials, or dangerous goods knows what a Proper Shipping Name (PSN) is. It is one of the first things you learn in any transport training course regardless of the mode \u2013 49CFR<\/a>, IATA<\/a>, IMDG<\/a>. Generally speaking, it is the name found in the tables of each regulation that best matches what you are shipping. In 49CFR<\/a> and IMDG<\/a> that means looking in column 2. For IATA<\/a>, the shipping names are found in column B. It is also the name marked on packages and listed on official paperwork.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To be clear, let\u2019s look at the definition of what a PSN really is. In 49CFR Section 171.8, a PSN is the \u201cname of the hazardous material shown in Roman print (not italics) in 172.101.\u201d IATA adjusts the definition slightly in Appendix A. There is a PSN \u201cname to be used to describe a particular article or substance in all shipping documents and notifications and where appropriate, on packagings. Note: These names are indicated in boldface characters in the List of Dangerous Goods. See also 8.1.3.\u201d IMDG follows the same concept but has the information in 3.1.2. Here it says a PSN is the name \u201cmost accurately describing the goods in the Dangerous Goods List which is shown in upper-case character.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In all of those definitions, they allude to other text that could be seen with the name. This is most commonly known \u201cdescriptive text\u201d. It is there to help a shipper decide the best name to choose. Depending on the regulation, the descriptive text is shown in an obvious way to further solidify that it is not part of the proper shipping name. Shown below are just a few examples of how descriptive text is shown in each regulation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Descriptive Text Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n