ADR certificate

21. November 2024

ADR is the abbreviation for the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route). The ADR contains regulations for the packaging, load securing and labelling of dangerous goods in road transport. The ADR certificate is a dangerous goods licence that allows dangerous goods to be transported by road.

Certain general cargo and tanker drivers are required to obtain a dangerous goods driving licence. ADR training courses are generally approved by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Following the training, the participants receive the ADR certificate.

Examination to obtain the ADR certificate

The basic course and various advanced courses end with a written examination and, in the event of failure, may be repeated once without attending the course again. The duration of the examination for the basic course and advanced courses of the initial training is currently either 30 minutes or 45 minutes, depending on the course. A maximum of 5 out of 30 questions may be answered incorrectly.

Validity of the ADR certificate

The ADR certificate is valid for five years from the time it is issued. In order to renew the certificate, a dangerous goods driver must successfully complete a new training course. This training must be successfully completed before the last certificate issued expires. The refresher course is currently scheduled to last 30 minutes. The training for a refresher course usually lasts one and a half days.

In Germany, paper driving licences have been replaced by ADR cards (cheque cards) since 1 January 2013. The change to cheque cards is prescribed internationally by the amendment to Chapter 8.2 ADR. However, not all dangerous goods classes may be transported with the ADR certificate. Holders of the certificate may only transport goods in dangerous goods classes two to six as well as eight and nine.

You can find more information on dangerous goods classes under Dangerous goods.