DOT Training Requirements

Training Requirement Basics
All hazmat employees must be trained in the following areas dealing with hazardous materials, as required in DOT 49 CFR §172.704(a):

General awareness training - provides familiarity with the regulatory requirements and allows employees to recognize hazardous materials in the workplace environment,
Function-specific training - detailed job-specific training in preparing, handling or transporting shipments of hazardous materials,
Safety training - includes emergency response and measures to be taken in case of an emergency or hazmat spill, and
Security training - security risks associated with dangerous goods transport and the enhancement of transportation safety.

Initial Training Requirements
Employers and employees involved with dangerous goods in the United States must adhere to the training requirements as described in Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Subpart H, governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. For all modes and job functions, the following regulations apply (DOT 49 CFR §172.702):

It is the employer's responsibility to ensure their employees receive training,
The employee may not perform their duties unless they are under direct supervision of a properly trained and knowledgable hazmat employee, until they have received training,
Employees must be trained within 90 days of hire or change in job function(s),
The employer may provide training or use an outside source, and
The training must include a test.

Recurrent Training Requirements
Regulatory law for recurrent hazmat training requires that all hazmat employees are to receive mandatory recurrent training within a three-year time period, under Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, for shipping hazardous materials by ground transport within the United States.

Recurrent training is also required whenever changes to the regulations have been made pertaining to the hazardous materials that you transport or regarding your job function.

Training Record Retention
A record of current training, including the last three years, must be kept and maintained for each hazmat employee while they remain an employee, and for a period of 90 days after the employee leaves(DOT 49 CFR §172.704(d)).

The following information must be kept in the record:

Hazmat employee's name,
Most recent training completion date,
Description, copy or location of training materials used to meet the requirements from paragraph §172.704(a),
Name and address of the person providing the training, and
Certification that the hazmat employee has been trained and tested.

For more information on DOT training requirements and our online and classroom courses, please email sales@bureaudg.com.

Fact:
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Hazmat Security Awareness Course is available for free online through Hazmat University.

Multimodal Hazmat Training Courses
Save money by taking courses which combine transportation modes. We offer Complete Online Initial and Recurrent courses which contain all modules for 2 or 3 modes at significant savings over the combined cost of single mode courses.

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