What Does Hazmat Mean?
Hazmat is short for hazardous materials: substances or articles that, because of their chemical, physical or biological properties, pose a risk to health, safety or the environment while being handled, stored or transported — fuels, compressed gases, corrosives, explosives, toxic or radioactive substances, among others.
The term is used across the logistics chain: "hazmat cargo", "hazmat transport" or "hazmat certification" distinguish these operations from general freight, because they carry extra rules, paperwork and training requirements.
The 9 Hazard Classes
The UN classification — adopted by Mexican regulation and most of the world — divides dangerous goods into 9 classes:
- Explosives (fireworks, ammunition)
- Gases (LP gas, oxygen, aerosols)
- Flammable liquids (gasoline, solvents, alcohols)
- Flammable solids (sulfur, phosphorus)
- Oxidizers and organic peroxides
- Toxic and infectious substances (pesticides, biological waste)
- Radioactive material
- Corrosives (acids, caustic soda)
- Miscellaneous (lithium batteries, dry ice)
Each substance also has a four-digit UN number (for example, UN 1203 = gasoline) that identifies it on documents, packaging and placards.
What Hazmat Transport Requires in Mexico
In Mexico, road transport of hazardous materials and waste is governed by the federal dangerous-goods transport regulation and SICT standards (such as NOM-002-SCT and NOM-004-SCT). In practice, a hazmat operation needs:
- A specific SICT permit for both the carrier and the vehicle
- Drivers with a federal type E license and dangerous-goods training
- Placarding according to the hazard class
- Shipping documentation with UN number, class, quantity and packaging
- Insurance covering third-party and environmental damage
Hazmat and the Carta Porte: Where They Meet
Since Mexico's SAT made the Carta Porte complement mandatory, hazmat data no longer lives only on paper: if you move dangerous goods, the complement requires declaring the UN number, the SAT catalog hazardous-material key and the packaging type for every item. An error in those fields makes the CFDI technically invalid even if it was stamped.
That is why companies moving hazmat cargo tend to automate the complement: the system pulls trip data and validates the keys against the official catalogs before stamping, instead of hand-typing them trip by trip.
Does your operation move dangerous goods and need error-free Carta Porte stamping? At AISDC we integrate CFDI 4.0 invoicing with the Carta Porte complement directly into your transport system. Get in touch.