How to Ship Class 7 Radioactive Material: The Complete Step-by-Step Process

Why Shipping Radioactive Material Is Different

Shipping a package of radioactive material is not like shipping anything else. The regulations are unforgiving, the carriers are strict, and the consequences of getting it wrong range from a rejected package to civil penalties that run into the tens of thousands of dollars per violation, per day. Class 7 is also the one hazard class where your package design, your paperwork, and even the numbers printed on the label all have to agree with each other — an inspector can check your math.

Here's the reality, though: the process is a sequence, not a maze. Every compliant radioactive shipment — from a single smoke-detector source to a Type B cask — goes through the same steps in the same order. Once you understand the sequence, the individual steps are manageable. What gets people in trouble is skipping a step or doing them out of order.

I have seen shipments fail at every single one of these steps — and in almost every case, the shipper was not careless. They just did not know the step existed. That is the gap this guide closes.

Who Needs to Know This

This applies to anyone who:

• Has never shipped Class 7 and needs to understand the full process before their first shipment
• Works at a lab, hospital, university, or industrial facility that is starting to ship sources, samples, or waste
• Is taking over shipping duties from someone else and wants to verify nothing is being skipped
• Manages people who ship and needs to understand what their job actually involves

The Seven Steps to Ship Class 7 Radioactive Material

Every compliant Class 7 shipment follows this sequence:

Step 1: Get Trained Before You Touch Anything

This step surprises people because it comes before the material, the box, and the paperwork: under 49 CFR 172.704, anyone who performs a regulated function — classifying, selecting packaging, marking, labeling, or signing the shipping paper — is a hazmat employee and must be trained before doing the work. The only flexibility is for new employees, who may work under the direct supervision of a trained person for up to 90 days.

Training covers general awareness, function-specific procedures, safety, and security awareness, with recurrent training every 3 years for ground (every 2 years if you ship by air under IATA). Our guides on what the training involves and how certification works walk through the details.

Do not treat this as a formality to backfill later. The certification statement on every shipping paper is a legal declaration that a trained person prepared the shipment — an untrained signature makes the document false the moment it is signed.

Step 2: Confirm the Material Is Actually Regulated

Not everything radioactive is radioactive material in DOT's eyes. Class 7 regulation kicks in only when the material exceeds both an activity concentration threshold and a total consignment activity threshold (49 CFR 173.403, with values in 173.436 or derived under 173.433). Below either threshold, you are not shipping Class 7 — and preparing it as Class 7 anyway adds cost and paperwork for nothing.

The most common mistake I see at this step runs in both directions: shippers who assume a barely-detectable sample must be regulated, and shippers who assume a “small” sealed source cannot be. Neither assumption survives contact with the actual numbers. Run the calculation with the real radionuclide and the real activity — it takes minutes and settles the question.

Step 3: Classify the Material

Classification is where the shipment's identity gets locked in. Three inputs drive everything:

• The radionuclide(s) — each has its own A1 and A2 values from 49 CFR 173.435
• The activity — how many becquerel or curies are in the package (see what activity means)
• The form — special form vs normal form determines whether A1 or A2 applies

Compare the activity against the applicable limits and the material lands in exactly one of the twenty Class 7 UN numbers in 49 CFR 172.101 — excepted package, LSA, SCO, Type A, Type B, or one of the fissile entries. The UN number and its proper shipping name then dictate the packaging, the label, and every entry on the shipping paper. Get this step right and the rest of the process follows almost mechanically; get it wrong and every downstream step inherits the error.

My approach with new shippers is always the same: do not classify by analogy. “The last vendor shipped it as UN2915” is not a classification — it is a rumor about someone else's math. Classify from your own radionuclide, your own activity, your own form, every time.

Step 4: Select the Packaging

The classification tells you the minimum package standard; the package types guide covers each in depth:

• Excepted packages: strong, tight packaging for very small quantities — most regulatory relief, strictest activity limits
• Industrial packages (IP-1/2/3): for LSA material and SCO
• Type A packages: tested designs for activity up to A1 (special form) or A2 (normal form)
• Type B packages: certified, accident-resistant designs for quantities above A1/A2 — these require an NRC certificate and registration as a user

Remember that the package limits are per package, not per shipment. Splitting a consignment across more packages of a lower type is often legal — and sometimes far cheaper than sourcing a higher-type package. Whether it makes sense depends on your material; see LSA vs Type A for one common version of that choice.

Step 5: Mark and Label the Package

Marking and labeling is where your classification becomes visible on the box. The package gets its UN number and proper shipping name, the applicable markings, and — for non-excepted shipments — two radioactive labels on opposite sides. Which label (WHITE-I, YELLOW-II, or YELLOW-III) depends on the radiation level at the package surface and the Transport Index — a measured number, not a judgment call.

The label entries are one of the first things an inspector checks, because they are easy to verify: the nuclide, activity, and TI written on the label must match the shipping paper and the actual package measurements. Fill them in completely — a blank TI line on a YELLOW-II label is a violation sitting in plain sight.

Step 6: Prepare the Documentation

Ground shipments need a shipping paper — usually a bill of lading — with the basic description in the required sequence, the Class 7 additional entries from 49 CFR 172.203(d), the 24-hour emergency response telephone number, and your signed certification. Air shipments use the DGD instead; our BOL vs DGD guide explains why you never prepare both.

Documentation is where most violations get written, and in my experience they are nearly always transcription errors — the classification was right, and then a unit got dropped or a nuclide symbol got mistyped copying it onto the form. Whatever your process, make the document flow from the classification instead of being retyped from it.

Step 7: Offer It to the Right Carrier

Not every carrier accepts Class 7, and the ones that do have their own programs layered on top of DOT's rules. Check before you build the shipment, not after — carrier restrictions on package types, activity limits, and service levels can change which options from Step 4 are actually available to you. If the vehicle requires placards (YELLOW-III shipments, exclusive use, and certain others), the placarding obligation is triggered by what you tender, so it is part of your offer even though the carrier supplies the truck.

Keep your copies: the shipping paper retention requirement applies to you as the shipper, and your training records need to be available if anyone asks who prepared the shipment.

Shipping by Air Adds a Layer

Everything above assumes ground transport. If any leg of the journey is by air, the same classification applies but the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations take over: stricter Transport Index limits per package, some materials prohibited outright, passenger vs cargo aircraft restrictions, training recurrence every 2 years, and the DGD as the shipping document. Start with our air shipping overview before your first air consignment.

How RadShip.com Helps

RadShip.com automates steps 2 through 6 of this process:

• RAMcalc takes your radionuclides, activities, and forms and returns the classification — UN number, proper shipping name, package type, and label category — with the math shown.
• It checks air eligibility against IATA limits when you plan to fly the package.
• It generates the shipping paper from the classification, so the document and the box always agree.

The value is not that the calculation is impossible by hand — it is that the sequence above has a dozen places where a manual handoff can drop a digit. Doing classification-through-documentation in one connected flow removes those handoffs.

Try it free for 7 days.

Common Questions

Can I ship radioactive material without training?

No. Training under 49 CFR 172.704 is required before you perform any regulated function. A new employee can work under direct supervision of a trained person for up to 90 days while completing training, but someone trained must be responsible for the shipment.

Can I ship radioactive material through USPS, FedEx, or UPS?

It depends on the carrier. USPS accepts only very limited radioactive material under its own rules. FedEx and UPS accept many Class 7 shipments but layer their own requirements on top of DOT's — specific services, package types, and account approvals. Check the carrier's hazmat program before you build the shipment.

How do I know if my material is regulated?

Compare it to the thresholds. Material is Class 7 when it exceeds both the activity concentration and the total consignment activity values (49 CFR 173.436, or derived under 173.433). Our definition guide walks through the comparison.

How long does it take to be able to ship?

Realistically, training is the long pole. A comprehensive Class 7 course takes days, not weeks. After that, a routine Type A or excepted shipment can be classified, packaged, and documented in under an hour once your process is established. First shipments take longer — give yourself margin, not a same-day deadline.

Do I need an NRC license to ship?

Shipping itself is DOT's domain, but possession usually is not. If you possess licensable quantities, your NRC or Agreement State license governs who you may transfer material to and how you verify the recipient. The transport rules in this guide apply on top of — not instead of — your license conditions. See NRC vs DOT.

Summary: Your First-Shipment Checklist

Before your first radioactive material shipment, confirm:

• ☐ Training completed and documented for everyone touching the shipment (49 CFR 172.704)
• ☐ Material confirmed as regulated Class 7 (or confirmed exempt) against the 173.436 thresholds
• ☐ Classification done from your own data: radionuclide, activity, form → UN number and PSN
• ☐ Package type matches the classification; Type B designs have current certificates
• ☐ Markings applied; correct label category with nuclide, activity, and TI filled in on both labels
• ☐ Shipping paper (or DGD for air) complete, with emergency phone number and signed certification
• ☐ Carrier confirmed to accept Class 7; placards supplied if required
• ☐ Copies retained: shipping paper and training records

Regulatory References

DOT Requirements:

• 49 CFR 172.704 – Hazmat training requirements
• 49 CFR 173.403 – Class 7 definitions, including radioactive material
• 49 CFR 173.435 – A1 and A2 values table
• 49 CFR 172.101 – Hazardous Materials Table (UN numbers and proper shipping names)
• 49 CFR 172.200–204 – Shipping paper requirements
• 49 CFR 172.403 – Class 7 label selection

NRC Requirements:

• 10 CFR Part 71 – Packaging and transportation of radioactive material (Type B certification, quality assurance)

IATA (Air Transport):

• IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, Section 10 – Radioactive material requirements for air transport