Put your dangerous goods question to a qualified DGSA. Get a written answer.
Classification, packaging, labelling, limited quantities, documentation, driver training, lithium batteries, hazardous waste. If it moves by road in the UK under ADR, ask. Answers in plain English, referenced to ADR 2025, from £18. No contract, no call centre.
Ask your question Written answer within one working day for quick questions.A 30-second welcome from Tim — who's behind Ask The DGSA, and how it works.
How it works
Four steps, no meetings, no retainer. The clock starts when your payment lands.
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Describe your question
Tell us the substance, quantities and what you need to know, in your own words.
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Attach your documents
Upload the safety data sheet, label photos or transport documents if you have them.
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Pay securely
Card or PayPal. You get a reference number and confirmation straight away.
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Receive your answer
A written reply by email, with the ADR references, within the stated turnaround.
Pricing
Prices include VAT. The figure in brackets is the price excluding VAT for business buyers.
Quick question
One substance or scenario, answered concisely.
- Written answer by email
- The relevant ADR reference included
- Within 1 working day
- No document review, just your question as described
Full written answer
We review your documents and give a formal written opinion.
- Review of your SDS, labels or transport documents
- Formal written answer with ADR clause references
- Assumptions and limitations stated, suitable for your compliance file
- Within 2 working days
Monthly subscription
For businesses whose questions keep coming.
- Up to 3 quick questions, or 1 full written answer, each month
- Priority turnaround
- Cancel any time, no minimum term
- Allowance doesn't roll over between months
Not sure which you need? Start with a quick question. If it turns out to need document review, we'll tell you, and you only pay the difference.
What an answer looks like
A shortened, anonymised example of a quick question.
Ref ATD-0027 · Quick question · Answered same day
“We deliver 20-litre drums of a cleaning product marked UN 1760, PG III. The driver takes 12 drums at a time in a box van. Does he need an ADR licence?”
On the facts given, no. Taking your classification as stated, UN 1760, Class 8, PG III, twelve 20-litre drums is 240 litres, which is within the 1,000-point threshold for transport category 3 goods under the small-load exemption in ADR 1.1.3.6.
Your driver does not need the full ADR training certificate for these loads, but he must have received awareness training under ADR 1.3, the drums must be properly labelled, and a 2 kg dry-powder fire extinguisher must be on the vehicle. If you ever carry other dangerous goods on the same vehicle, the calculation changes, so ask us again before you do.
One caution: this relies on the classification you've quoted from the drum marking. Before treating it as settled, check Section 14 of the product's safety data sheet confirms UN 1760, PG III, and whether a technical name or any special provisions apply. If you'd like us to verify that for you, send the SDS with a full written answer and we'll confirm it properly.
Every answer states what it relies on, what it assumes, and where its limits are. You get the full version by email, yours to keep on file.
Who answers your question
Every question is answered personally by Tim Hourahine, Director and Principal DGSA of DGSA Solutions Limited. Not a call centre, not a junior, not software.
Tim has spent 47 years in transport, waste and environmental compliance, and is as at home with hazardous waste classification as with ADR, a combination most advisers can't offer. He writes regularly on dangerous goods and waste at DGSA Insights.
DGSA — Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser (Road, All Classes)
BADGP — member, British Association of Dangerous Goods Professionals
AMCIWM — Associate Member, Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
47 years — in transport, waste and environmental compliance
Questions people ask before they ask
Does using this service make you my Dangerous Goods Safety Adviser?
No, and this matters. If your business is in scope of ADR 1.8.3, the law requires you to formally appoint a DGSA, a role that includes monitoring your operations and producing an annual report. Answering individual questions doesn't do that, and this service doesn't satisfy that duty.
If you need a formally appointed DGSA, we offer that too. Email us for a quote.
What if my question needs more information than I've given?
We'll email you once, listing exactly what's missing, and the turnaround clock pauses until you reply. If it turns out your quick question really needs document review, we'll say so, and you pay only the difference to upgrade to a full answer.
Can I ask a follow-up?
One brief clarification of the answer we gave is included free. A new scenario, substance or “while I've got you…” is a new question, which keeps prices this low for everyone.
What areas do you cover, and not cover?
We answer on the carriage of dangerous goods by road in the UK, under ADR 2025 and the GB provisions of the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Regulations 2009. That includes classification, packaging, marking and labelling, limited and excepted quantities, load thresholds, documentation, vehicle equipment, driver training, lithium batteries and hazardous waste.
We don't answer on sea (IMDG), air (IATA/ICAO), rail (RID), explosives (Class 1) or radioactive material (Class 7) through this service. Email us and we'll point you the right way.
Can I rely on the answer?
Every answer is prepared with reasonable care and skill by a qualified DGSA, is referenced to the regulations, and states what it relies on. It is based solely on the information and documents you provide, and we don't inspect your goods, packaging or vehicles, so its accuracy depends on the accuracy of what you tell us. The full basis is in our terms of service.
Refunds and cancellation
If you're a consumer, you have a 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Because you'll want your answer sooner than that, the order form asks you to request immediate delivery. Once your answer has been delivered, the work is done and the cancellation right ends. If you cancel before we've answered, you get a full or proportionate refund. Subscriptions can be cancelled any time from your PayPal account and stop at the end of the paid month.
Who's behind this?
Ask The DGSA is a service of DGSA Solutions Limited, a compliance consultancy based in Newport, South Wales, working across dangerous goods, hazardous waste and environmental regulation.
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Written by Tim, not a marketing team. Unsubscribe any time.
Need more than an answer?
On-site compliance audits, annual DGSA appointment, the ADR 1.8.3.3 annual report, staff awareness training and hazardous waste consultancy are all available through DGSA Solutions, delivered in person and priced by quotation.