Labeline’s Compliance Manager, Richard Shreeve, takes a look at the recent changes to the DGSA qualification.

It is a legal requirement if you are involved in the transport of dangerous goods to appoint a Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (DGSA). This obligation covers those undertaking the roles of packing, loading, unloading, filling or consigning dangerous goods for transport. 

There are some exemptions to this, including those for “Limited Quantities” and “Small Loads” but, even then, it can be beneficial to have access to a specialist to ensure that operations are kept out of the scope of the full regulations (ADR for road, RID for rail).

DGSA’s can be employed members of staff or a third-party consultant. The responsibilities of a DGSA include:

• reporting incidents and accidents involving dangerous goods to the Department for Transport .
  
• monitoring compliance with the legal requirements governing the carriage of dangerous goods.
  
• providing advice on how to transport dangerous goods safely.
  
• investigating any accidents or infringements of regulations and keeping records of them through reports. 
  
• monitoring the provision of training and advice to other staff.
  
• completing annual audit reports on the performance of their business or organisation.
  

Training and the Exam

Typically, to initially qualify as a DGSA, candidates undertake a 5-day training course in the preceding week to the published exam dates. There are, in fact, a minimum of 3 exams that need to be passed to qualify and they are all taken on the same day. The “Core” and “All Classes” modules are mandatory and candidates will need to take at least one transport module: Road, Rail or Inland Waterways.

The exam itself has been administered by SQA (now Qualifications Scotland) for many years, although the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has recently taken on the overall responsibility for the DGSA qualification. As a Government Agency, the scope of its activities also includes MOT tests, Driver and Operator Licences, HGV and Bus Driver qualifications, vehicle recalls and roadside vehicle checks etc.

This DGSA exams are taken in person at venues across the UK. They are held on specified dates throughout the year and are now applied for via the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods pages at www.gov.uk (search “Book a dangerous goods safety adviser exam”). Here, you will also find the prices for the exam, venues, scheduled dates and timelines for registering.

The qualification is valid for 5 years and, depending on a DGSA’s experience and knowledge, some choose to take a refresher course before renewing, or indeed they self-learn.

In 2025, the DfT conducted an in-depth survey primarily to determine how they could enhance the support they provide to DGSAs. In all, there were 292 respondents who took part in the survey, including 268 DGSAs. At the time this represented around 12% of the total cohort of DGSAs in the UK. However, although the response was low in number, it did throw up some interesting data. For example, the results indicated that around 55% of the DGSAs who responded were over 50 years of age! 

Other topics in the survey covered the quality of training that DGSAs had received, the exam content, exam feedback any changes that they would like to see. 

Since the survey, DVSA has increased the level of post-exam feedback and candidates are now issued a breakdown of their marks, instead of a more blunt “pass/fail” result. Additionally, DVSA has published the syllabus for each of the exams on their web pages, together with some useful guidance and information, including listing the topics covered in each exam, subject matter to understand, publications to use for revision and for the exam, and sample papers. DfT/DVSA have also created and made available a template for the annual DGSA audit.

There are plenty of other resources available to help both practicing and prospective DGSA’s. 

Support for DGSA’s

Labeline helps those taking the DGSA exam by supplying the current versions of the appropriate regulations in a bundle which includes the ADR manuals (regular bound or open-flat spiral bound), all the current Statutory Instruments, an A2 hazard label poster plus some useful reference tools and the option to add a carry-on bag to transport it all.

Labeline’s experienced DGSA, Terry Cooksey, also has CAA approvals for air and IMDG Code qualifications for sea. He is on-hand to help our customers through the complexities of dangerous goods compliance. Apart from providing support to Labeline’s customers, Terry is also assisting DGSA’s and trainers should they require extra resources. 

BADGP

Labeline has been a very strong supporter of the British Association of Dangerous Goods Professionals (BADGP) since its inception in 2010. BADGP offers a lot of support, including an Annual DGSA report template and a DGSA Development Programme which includes a mentoring scheme. 

These initiatives have been very well received and adopted by new (mainly younger) dangerous goods professionals. 

BADGP hosts seminars and webinars on all aspects of dangerous goods, publishes regular newsletters, organises the National Dangerous Goods Awareness Day and manages a popular LinkedIn forum. 

About Labeline…

Worldwide, Labeline Intl. has maintained its position as the leading authorised distributor for the regulations covering the transport of dangerous goods by road, rail, sea and air. 

Labeline is accredited as an IATA Verified Reseller. This is a scheme that IATA initiated to try and protect the market from counterfeit copies of their publications.

As the only authorised reseller in UK and Ireland for all modes of transport, Labeline is at the forefront of compliance when it comes to dangerous goods and stocks 1,000’s of Compliant regulations for ADR, IMO, IATA and ICAO publications.