Dangerous goods officer; registration for the examination

In order to be appointed and work as a dangerous goods officer, you must have a training certificate. The training certificate is issued to you by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce after attending a training course and passing an examination.

As soon as a company is involved in the transportation of dangerous goods, a dangerous goods safety adviser must be appointed. The training certificate of the dangerous goods officer must correspond to the mode of transport on which the company transports dangerous goods.

There are training courses and examinations for:

• Road,
• railroads,
• inland waterway and
• maritime transport

You can take the examination as an initial examination, supplementary examination and repeat examination. For the initial examination, you must provide proof of at least 22.5 hours of training for the mode of transport tested. If you already have a certificate but would like to extend it to an additional mode of transport, you can take the supplementary examination. For this, you must provide proof of 7.5 hours of training for the additional mode of transport. If you have a training certificate that is about to expire, you can take a renewal test. You must present your training certificate for this.

Please note the following points for the exam:

• The duration of the examination depends on the number of modes of transport tested. It is between 100 (one mode of transport) and 250 minutes (maximum of four modes of transport) for the basic examination and between 50 and a maximum of 125 minutes for the extension examination. The duration of the supplementary examination is between 50 (one mode of transport) and 150 minutes (maximum of three modes of transport).
• The examination is conducted in writing. You can use the relevant regulatory texts for the respective modes of transport and a non-programmable calculator as aids. The use of other electronic aids is not permitted.

You can take the examination at any IHK in Germany, regardless of the training center and your place of residence.

• The following documents are required:
  • For basic, supplementary and repeat examinations: Copy of the course confirmation from the training provider, the original must be presented to the IHK on the day of the examination.
  • For supplementary and renewal examinations: Copy of the current training certificate for dangerous goods safety advisers, the original must be presented to the IHK on the day of the examination.

Basic examination

• Completed training of at least 22.5 hours with a recognized training provider for the respective mode of transport

Renewal examination

• Training certificate for the respective mode of transport that has not yet expired

Supplementary examination

• Valid training certificate
• Proof of supplementary training course for the mode of transport to be tested lasting at least 7.5 hours

First, you complete a training course for the desired mode(s) of transport with a private provider.

• After attending the training course, you register online or in writing for the examination at an IHK.
• The IHK confirms your exam registration after checking your documents.
• You take the examination on site at the IHK.
• The examination is passed if you achieve at least 50% of the maximum number of points specified in the respective examination questionnaire.

Once you have successfully passed the examination, you will be issued with a certificate of training as a dangerous goods safety advisor and you will be able to work as a dangerous goods safety advisor.

The training certificate is valid for five years after passing the basic examination.

As a rule, you will receive notification of whether you have passed or failed the examination approximately 2 weeks after taking it.

The examination fee is based on the applicable fee schedule of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce where you are taking the examination.