RID — Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail

Scope

Appendix C to the COTIF Convention, laying down the conditions for international carriage of dangerous goods by rail: classification, packaging, tank and wagon requirements, marking, and consignment procedures. Transposed into EU internal law by Directive 2008/68/EC, it binds railway undertakings, consignors and fillers across OTIF member states; updated biennially, with the 2025 edition in force since 1 January 2025.

RID, the Regulations concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail, is Appendix C to the COTIF Convention administered by the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), laying down the conditions under which dangerous goods may be carried by rail across OTIF member states. It covers the classification of dangerous substances and articles into hazard classes, packaging and tank requirements appropriate to each class, requirements for the wagons used to carry dangerous goods, marking and placarding rules that let emergency responders quickly identify a hazard, and the documentation that must accompany a dangerous goods consignment. RID is transposed into EU internal law by Directive 2008/68/EC, meaning EU railway undertakings, consignors and fillers are bound by its requirements as a matter of EU law as well as under the international convention, giving it dual legal force within the Union. It is updated biennially to reflect changes in dangerous goods classification and packaging technology, with the current 2025 edition in force since 1 January 2025. Railway undertakings, consignors, fillers and dangerous-goods safety advisers across OTIF member states apply it whenever dangerous goods move by rail, whether domestically within a member state or across international borders.