IATA DGR 68th Edition materials released

Status: IATA industry requirements incorporating the 2027–2028 ICAO Technical Instructions, effective 1 January 2027. IATA DGR is not itself UK legislation, but operators normally mandate compliance through their conditions of carriage.

IATA’s documentation page now identifies the electronic 68th Edition as available and provides the official significant-changes document plus 2027 acceptance checklists. There is no general transition period: training, procedures and shipments prepared under the DGR must use the 68th Edition from 1 January 2027. Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR)

Material changes include:

• Passenger power banks: limited to two; lithium-ion power banks exceeding 100 Wh are forbidden. The general spare-battery allowance reduces from 20 to 18 because power banks are now treated separately.
• Mobility aids: additional operator controls where installed lithium-ion batteries exceed 300 Wh; spare batteries are limited to 300 Wh per device.
• Operator approvals: strengthened procedures, passenger information and fire-risk consideration for articles requiring operator approval.
• New entries: UN 3561 and UN 3562 chlorophenols, UN 3563 lithium-metal batteries installed in cargo transport units and UN 3564 sodium-ion batteries installed in cargo transport units.
• Hybrid batteries: new classification provisions for batteries combining lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells.
• Infectious substances: recognition that competent public-health bodies may provide additional classification guidance during emerging-health situations.
• Excepted quantities: clarified as applying to substances, not articles.
• Packing instructions: extensive changes, particularly for sodium-ion and prototype batteries.
• Battery mark: the former version containing a telephone-number field has been phased out. However, IATA expressly says its presence should not alone justify rejecting a package.
• Overpacks: clarified that not every underlying package marking must be duplicated; the battery mark must share the surface carrying other hazard labels where both are required.
• Passenger tables: Table 2.3.A has been reorganised into separate tables for articles requiring approval, not requiring approval and forbidden articles. The forbidden-items table is described as transitional until the 70th Edition. iata.org

Who is affected: Air consignors, freight forwarders, airlines, ground handlers, acceptance staff, passenger-service personnel and dangerous-goods instructors.