What is new in the 49 CFR dangerous goods regulations
DGAssistant prepares the road documentation of the United States under the Hazardous Materials Regulations of title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This note explains where those regulations stand and why the answer is less simple than for the ADR.
The rule in force is HM-215Q
The harmonisation rule known as HM-215Q was published on 10 April 2024, and compliance became compulsory a year later, on 10 April 2025. It is the rule that aligned the American regulations with the international texts: the 2023-2024 edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions, amendment 41-22 of the IMDG Code and the twenty-second revised edition of the UN Model Regulations.
What it moved is wide: proper shipping names, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorisations, bulk requirements, hazard classes and the maximum quantities allowed on passenger and cargo aircraft.
A gap that is being bridged
International texts have advanced since. The ICAO Instructions are already on the 2025-2026 edition and the IMDG Code on amendment 42-24, while the American regulations still incorporate the previous ones. In December 2024 the competent authority announced that it would not pursue anyone who follows those newer texts while the next harmonisation rule is being processed, whose comment period closed in April 2026.
In practice this means you may find two lawful ways of describing the same shipment, and that the one your consignee expects depends on which text they work from.
HM-215R, the proposal that closes the gap
That next rule has a name: HM-215R, published as a notice of proposed rulemaking in February 2026. It is still a proposal, so it is not in force, and the date on which it will be is not yet set.
What it puts forward is another round of harmonisation with the international texts —the UN Model Regulations, the IMDG Code and the ICAO Technical Instructions— and it touches the same ground as its predecessor: proper shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorisations and the quantity limits of each mode of transport.
Until it is published as a final rule nothing changes in what you have to declare: the regulations in force are still the ones left by HM-215Q, with the discretion announced for those who already follow the newer international texts.
What you have to do in DGAssistant
Enable the goods you ship to the United States for 49 CFR in the product, and keep in mind that the classification the application applies is the one in force. When the new harmonisation rule is published, the change will reach the application with the rest of the regulatory update, without you doing anything.