Altor guide · 2026-10-08

PHMSA HM-215R state of charge is still a proposal

A work instruction went out after a summary of PHMSA HM-215R state of charge. One reading discharges every lithium carton, truck or aircraft, spare or installed. The other tells the air desk the charge does not matter because the notice is not final.

What is in force

49 CFR 172.102 limits special provisions coded with the letter A to transportation by aircraft. On the eCFR hazardous materials table current as of 6 October 2026, special provision A100 appears only on UN 3480, lithium ion batteries, including lithium ion polymer batteries. That row is passenger aircraft forbidden and 35 kg on cargo aircraft. The two UN 3481 rows, packed with equipment and contained in equipment, do not list A100.

Under A100, an air offer of UN 3480 stays at or below 30 percent of rated capacity. Above that, the offer needs an Associate Administrator approval under 49 CFR part 107 subpart H.

A Shipper's Declaration certifies, under 49 CFR 172.204(c)(3), that applicable air transport requirements have been met. The 67th Edition of the IATA DGR, effective 1 January 2026, made a 30 percent state of charge limit mandatory for certain UN 3481 packed with equipment consignments under packing instruction 966. The notice describes the matching ICAO change as a requirement above 2.7 watt hours and a recommendation at or below that rating. Contained in equipment stayed a recommendation. Read packing instruction 967 before you copy a 966 sentence onto it. The air side of this change is at https://altor.consulting/lithium-2026.html.

The local Table 3-1 extract for UN 3480 shows passenger aircraft forbidden, cargo packing instruction 965, and a blank cargo maximum. Do not paste the 49 CFR figure of 35 kg into that blank cell. Special provisions on that extract row are A88, A99, A154, A164, A183, A201, and A213. A100 is not in that list.

Table 3-1 and the 49 CFR hazardous materials table are different books. On the extract, battery powered equipment is UN 3171, special provisions A67, A87, A94, A154, A164, A182, and A214. Battery powered vehicle is UN 3171, special provisions A67, A87, A94, A154, A164, and A214. Neither row lists A100. Column 7 of the 49 CFR table lists special provisions 134 and 360 for UN 3171, and it does not list A100. Neither book has a row for UN 3551, UN 3552, UN 3556, UN 3557, or UN 3558.

What PHMSA HM-215R state of charge would change

On 10 February 2026 PHMSA published HM-215R, docket PHMSA-2023-0111, at 91 FR 5996. Comments were due 13 April 2026, and late comments can still be considered while a final rule is written. The 6 October 2026 eCFR text does not contain the amendment. August 2026 PHMSA final rules were other dockets.

The notice would rewrite A100. UN 3480 shipped alone would stay a requirement at not more than 30 percent of rated capacity. For UN 3481 packed with equipment, the proposed text requires that limit above 2.7 watt hours and says should at or below it. For UN 3481 contained in equipment, the proposed wording is should: not more than 30 percent of rated capacity, or an indicated battery capacity not exceeding 25 percent.

Sodium ion batteries shipped alone would be new entry UN 3551, at not more than 30 percent. PHMSA is not proposing that limit for ordinary sodium ion batteries packed with or contained in equipment. Proposed paragraph (e) requires a state of charge not exceeding 30 percent of rated capacity for low production runs and prototypes of UN 3480, UN 3481, UN 3551, and UN 3552, including when packed with or contained in equipment. Proposed paragraph (f) requires that same 30 percent limit for cells or batteries of those four entries with a mass exceeding 35 kg that are approved under special provision A54, including when packed with or contained in equipment.

Proposed vehicle entries UN 3556, UN 3557, and UN 3558 would require a 30 percent limit, or an indicated capacity not exceeding 25 percent, above 100 watt hours. At or below 100 watt hours the wording is should. The date 1 January 2026 inside that proposed text is not the day 49 CFR changed.

The mistake

One desk offers a highway bill as if A100 had grown new rows. Another calls the packing instruction 966 condition optional because HM-215R is not final. A proposal does not delete a packing instruction, and it does not amend the table. UN 3551, UN 3556, and a sodium ion battery described as UN 3480 do not belong on a current 49 CFR paper.

How to fix the offer

Name the book before you name the percent. A100 does not follow a UN 3480 pallet onto a truck.

For air, use the edition you will sign. UN 3480 is packing instruction 965 plus A100, at or below 30 percent of rated capacity unless the part 107 approval is in the file. Take the quantity from that instruction, not from the 49 CFR figure of 35 kg. Packed with equipment is packing instruction 966. Contained in equipment is packing instruction 967. Do not copy a 966 sentence onto 967.

Sign the name that edition contains, and record the charge. Do not hang a proposed number on domestic UN 3171. If the book you are signing has no sodium ion entry, class the article before anyone signs.

49 CFR 173.22 leaves classification and packaging with the person who offers. 49 CFR 172.204 is the certification that person signs. On air, 172.204(c)(3) adds that applicable air requirements have been met. A docket is not one of them.

Altor pre-checks a completed Dangerous Goods Declaration line by line against the current regulations and returns a written report, with every finding cited, typically within one business day of payment. You keep the pen. altor.consulting

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