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TDG overview

TDG: Exemptions and special cases

The most used exemptions: the 150 kg and 500 kg gross mass special cases, limited and excepted quantities, transport within a facility, emergency response, vehicle fuel tanks, diesel and gasoline in small tanks, and others.

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Exemptions and special cases · Question 1Score 0/0

A landscaper carries diesel in tanks totalling 1 500 L on a pickup, labelled and secured. Which requirement is waived?

Study reference: TDG Act and Regulations (current to 2026-09-30), Ch. 10 Special cases — Part 1, ss. 1.15–1.36

All 14 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

  1. A landscaper carries diesel in tanks totalling 1 500 L on a pickup, labelled and secured. Which requirement is waived?

    1. A label or placard visible from outside
    2. Every rule in all Parts of the Regulations
    3. The tanks being secured against movement
    4. The TDG training certificate (Part 6)

  2. What is the gross mass limit for each outer container of a limited quantity?

    1. 30 kg
    2. 150 kg
    3. 5 kg
    4. 500 kg

  3. A homeowner buys propane cylinders and paint at a store and drives them home. Which special case usually applies?

    1. The two-properties rule for distances under 3 km
    2. The 500 kg placarding exemption for commercial loads
    3. The 150 kg gross mass special case for consumer quantities
    4. The ERAP exemption for emergency response vehicles

  4. Which Class 3 liquid in small sound containers is exempt from Parts 3 to 7?

    1. One in PG I with a boiling point below 35 °C and no subsidiary class
    2. One shipped hot at 110 °C in a road tanker
    3. One with a Class 6.1 subsidiary class in PG II
    4. One with no subsidiary class, in PG III, flash point above 37.8 °C

  5. Which mark is used on packages shipped as excepted quantities?

    1. An orange panel with a UN number
    2. A diamond with the word DANGER
    3. A hatched square with a stylized E
    4. A white square with a black Y

  6. What does a letter Y in the centre of a limited quantity mark indicate?

    1. The package is going to the United States
    2. The package needs an approved ERAP
    3. The package also meets the ICAO air rules
    4. The package holds a waste product

  7. Which alcoholic beverages are exempt from Parts 3 to 10 of the Regulations?

    1. Those shipped by air for export only
    2. Those sold in bottles larger than 5 L
    3. Those with 24% alcohol or less by volume
    4. Only beer and wine under 5% alcohol

  8. Drums are moved by forklift only inside a chemical plant with controlled public access. Do the TDG Regulations apply?

    1. No, transport solely within such a facility is exempt
    2. Yes, but only if the drums weigh more than 500 kg
    3. Only if the forklift driver is under direct supervision
    4. Yes, every move of dangerous goods needs a document

  9. Which goods on a truck are outside the TDG Regulations under the vehicle operation special case?

    1. Gasoline delivered to a farm in a tote
    2. Ammunition used by the driver while hunting
    3. Diesel in the truck's permanently installed fuel tank
    4. Spare diesel carried in drums for a customer

  10. Which goods can never use the 150 kg gross mass special case?

    1. Class 2.3 toxic gases
    2. Class 8 drain cleaners
    3. Class 9 consumer goods
    4. Class 3 paints in cans

  11. Under the 150 kg special case, what is the limit for each container (other than gases)?

    1. 150 kg gross mass
    2. 30 kg gross mass
    3. 5 kg gross mass
    4. 50 kg gross mass

  12. Under the 500 kg special case, which Parts of the Regulations still apply?

    1. Part 6 training and Part 8 reporting still apply
    2. Only Part 3 documents continue to apply
    3. Only Part 7 on ERAPs continues to apply
    4. No part of the Regulations applies at all

  13. What does the limited quantity mark look like?

    1. An orange rectangle showing the four-digit UN number
    2. A red diamond with a black flame symbol and the class number 3 at the bottom
    3. A hatched square with a capital E inside a circle
    4. A square on point, black at top and bottom, white in the centre

  14. A contractor uses the 500 kg special case. What must the accompanying document show?

    1. The driver's home address and the vehicle's insurance number
    2. The receiving customer's purchase order and invoice total
    3. The ERAP reference number and CANUTEC's written permission letter
    4. The primary class and the number of marked containers for each class

Exemptions and special cases: key rules to remember

Our summary of what the official handbook says on this topic, in our own words. Read it before or after the practice questions above, then check the original chapter. Read the official chapter ↗

150 kg gross mass (s. 1.15)

  • Parts 3 to 6, 8 and 17 do not apply to goods in a quantity or concentration sold to the general public, carried by the user or purchaser or by a retailer to or from them.
  • Conditions: each container 30 kg gross mass or less (except gases), well-made containers, and a total gross mass of 150 kg or less.
  • The 150 kg exemption is not available for goods needing an ERAP, needing temperature control, most Class 1, Class 2.3, Class 6.2 and some other high-hazard goods.

500 kg gross mass (s. 1.16)

  • Parts 3 to 5 do not apply to goods on a road vehicle, railway vehicle or domestic vessel when the total gross mass is 500 kg or less and each container is 30 kg or less (or a compliant drum).
  • Each container must still display the dangerous goods marks (or the shipping name and consumer or hazardous product marks under other Acts) on a side it does not rest on.
  • A shipping document, or a document giving the primary class and the number of marked containers per class, must travel with the goods in the usual location.
  • Training (Part 6) is not waived by the 500 kg exemption.

Limited quantities (s. 1.17)

  • A limited quantity: goods (not explosives) in well-made containers, each outer container 30 kg gross mass or less, and each inner container within the column 6(a) quantity of Schedule 1.
  • Parts 3 to 8 and 17 do not apply to limited quantities displaying the limited quantity mark.
  • The limited quantity mark is a square on point at least 100 mm a side (may be reduced to 50 mm), black top and bottom with a white centre; a "Y" means it also meets ICAO rules.

Excepted quantities (s. 1.17.1)

  • Excepted quantities are very small amounts per inner and outer container, set by the code in column 6(b) of Schedule 1 (E1 to E5; E0 means not permitted).
  • Parts 3 to 8 and 17 do not apply when each container shows the excepted quantities mark: a hatched square with a stylized E.

Other common special cases (ss. 1.25–1.36)

  • The Regulations do not apply to dangerous goods moved only inside a manufacturing or processing facility where public access is controlled.
  • They do not apply to goods needed to respond to an emergency carried in a vehicle dedicated to emergency response, unless the goods are forbidden.
  • They do not apply to fuel in a vehicle's permanently installed fuel tank used for propulsion, or to items such as air bags, flares and fire extinguishers needed for the vehicle's operation or safety (ammunition is never covered).
  • Between two properties of the same manufacturer or user, goods (not Class 1 or 7) may move up to 3 km on a public road under section 1.28, with placards and other conditions.
  • Class 3 liquids with no subsidiary class, PG III and flash point above 37.8 °C, in small well-made containers, are exempt from Parts 3 to 7.
  • Diesel fuel (UN1202) or gasoline (UN1203) in containers totalling 2 000 L or less on a road vehicle, labelled or placarded and secured, are exempt from Part 3, parts of Part 4 and Part 6.
  • Alcoholic beverages with 24% alcohol or less by volume are exempt from Parts 3 to 10.

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