IATA DGR Class 3: Flammable Liquids in Air Freight
Flash point ≤60°C closed-cup is the whole test — and it catches more everyday cosmetics and cargo than most shippers expect.
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Closed-cup flash point threshold defining Class 3
3
Packing groups (I, II, III), by flash point and boiling point
UN 1266
Perfumery products — the most common Class 3 ASEAN misdeclaration
ID 8000
Consumer commodity exception, limited quantities only
One test decides Class 3: the flash point
Class 3 Flammable Liquids covers any liquid giving off flammable vapour at a flash point not more than 60°C by the closed-cup test method (or not more than 65.6°C open-cup). Within that class, packing group is assigned by flash point combined with initial boiling point: Packing Group I is flash point below 23°C with boiling point at or below 35°C; Packing Group II is flash point below 23°C with boiling point above 35°C; Packing Group III is flash point at or above 23°C but not more than 60°C, with boiling point above 35°C.
The most common Class 3 misdeclaration on ASEAN-origin cargo is exactly the kind of shipment that doesn't sound hazardous: perfumes, colognes, and high-alcohol cosmetics. UN 1266, Perfumery products, covers these — typical fragrances run 40–70% alcohol by volume, which regularly puts their flash point below 23°C, landing them in Packing Group II. Shippers frequently declare these as "cosmetics" or "toiletries" and skip DGR handling entirely, which is a real classification error, not a labelling preference.
There is a narrower exception: perfumes, colognes, aerosols, and alcoholic beverages in limited retail/personal-use quantities can qualify as ID 8000 Consumer commodity, a classification that meaningfully reduces the documentation burden versus full Class 3 treatment. It only applies within the specific per-inner-packaging and per-package quantity limits set out in the DGR's own consumer-commodity table — it is not available for cargo-only shipments that exceed those limits, regardless of how the product is marketed.
Class 3 acceptance checklist
Before accepting a cosmetics, fragrance, or other liquid-chemical shipment, confirm each of these against the actual product.
Flash point
Get the actual flash point from the shipper or a safety data sheet — don't infer it from the product category. This single figure determines whether Class 3 applies at all.
Alcohol content by volume
For perfumes and cosmetics specifically, confirm alcohol content — products above 24% ABV in quantities exceeding the consumer commodity limits require full Class 3 treatment.
ID 8000 eligibilityLIMITED QUANTITIES ONLY
Check the shipment against the DGR's consumer commodity quantity table before assuming the reduced-documentation exception applies.
Packing group assignment
PG I/II/III by flash point and boiling point — this determines which Packing Instruction and quantity limits govern the shipment.
Shipper's Declaration
Required for any Class 3 shipment exceeding ID 8000 consumer commodity thresholds.
The Misdeclaration Risk
"Cosmetics" and "toiletries" are not DGR classifications — flash point is
A perfume or cologne shipment declared under a cosmetics description without a checked flash point is one of the most common Class 3 misdeclaration incidents on ASEAN-origin cargo. Alcohol content above roughly 24–70% ABV routinely puts fragrance products in Packing Group II, well within Class 3's scope.
Source: IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, UN 1266 Perfumery products classification and flash-point packing group boundaries (primary extraction from the 60th Edition, 2019 text; boundaries corroborated as unchanged against current public IATA 2026 guidance materials). Confirm the current DGR edition's specific Packing Instruction number for UN 1266 before filing — several candidate PI numbers in the PI35x/36x range appear across secondary sources with conflicting litre limits, which we flag as pending verification rather than cite a specific figure.
Worked example
Same shipment, two declarations — one wrong, one correct
Take a real-shaped shipment moving through the same consolidation covered on our dangerous goods overview: a carton of alcohol-based perfume declared as "cosmetics," next to the same carton declared correctly.
Declared as "cosmetics" with no flash point checked: the shipment moves with no UN number, no Shipper's Declaration, no Class 3 packaging or labelling — an outright misdeclaration if the product's actual flash point puts it in Class 3, which most alcohol-based fragrance does.
Declared correctly: the shipper (or UAL, verifying before acceptance) confirms the flash point and alcohol content, assigns UN 1266 and the correct packing group, and either files it as a full Class 3 Shipper's Declaration shipment or confirms it genuinely qualifies for the ID 8000 consumer commodity exception within quantity limits — a materially different, and materially more defensible, filing than guessing based on the product category alone.
What UAL handles for you
We require flash point, alcohol content, and quantity confirmed before accepting any cosmetics or fragrance shipment — not a category assumption. UAL is IATA DGR certified, so Class 3 classification and declaration are handled directly by our own trained team.
Frequently asked questions
Not automatically, but very often — typical fragrance alcohol content (40–70% ABV) frequently produces a flash point below 23°C, which is Class 3, Packing Group II. Confirm the actual flash point rather than assuming either way.
Related
UN 1266 classification, flash-point packing group boundaries, and ID 8000 consumer commodity criteria: IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, 60th Edition (2019) primary extraction, corroborated as unchanged against current public IATA guidance materials, 2026. Specific Packing Instruction number for UN 1266 under the current edition — pending verification; secondary sources conflict. Last verified: August 2026.
Dangerous Goods & Compliance
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