Limited quantities (LQ) are the ADR relief for dangerous goods packed in small inner packagings placed in suitable outer packagings. Goods meeting every condition of Chapter 3.4 are not subject to the other provisions of ADR beyond a short list of surviving requirements (ADR 3.4.1) — in practice no danger labels or UN number on the package (the LQ mark replaces them), no orange plates or ADR transport document, and no ADR training certificate for the driver.
Threshold per inner packaging — Column (7a). The applicable quantity limit for the inner packaging or article is specified for each substance in column (7a) of Table A of Chapter 3.2 — the value “0” means the entry is not permitted to be carried as LQ at all (ADR 3.4.1). Examples from Table A, column (7a).
- UN 1203 petrol (PG II) — 1 L
- UN 1202 diesel / gas oil (PG III) — 5 L
- UN 1263 paint (PG I) — 500 ml, PG II and III — 5 L
- UN 2031 nitric acid (PG I) — 0, LQ not available
Packaging conditions.
- Inner packagings placed in suitable outer packagings, intermediate packagings may be used — total gross mass of the package not more than 30 kg (ADR 3.4.2)
- Articles such as aerosols or small receptacles containing gas need no inner packaging (ADR 3.4.2)
- Shrink-wrapped or stretch-wrapped trays are acceptable outer packagings up to 20 kg gross mass. Inner packagings liable to break or be easily punctured (glass, porcelain, stoneware, certain plastics) must be placed in suitable intermediate packagings (ADR 3.4.3)
- Liquids of Class 8, packing group II in glass, porcelain or stoneware inner packagings need a compatible and rigid intermediate packaging (ADR 3.4.4)
- Of Part 6 only the construction requirements of 6.1.4 (plus the gas-receptacle provisions of 6.2) survive (ADR 3.4.1), so outer packagings do not have to be UN design-type tested — but they must still be built to those construction requirements
Marking. Each package carries the LQ diamond, minimum 100 × 100 mm (ADR 3.4.7.1). Sizes, the reduced 50 × 50 mm version and the air-transport “Y” variant are covered in Limited quantity label (ADR).
Documentation. No ADR transport document is required — of the documentation chapter only 5.4.2 continues to apply (ADR 3.4.1). Instead, in advance of carriage the consignor must inform the carrier in a traceable form of the total gross mass of LQ goods to be consigned (ADR 3.4.12).
Transport unit marking. Transport units with a maximum mass exceeding 12 tonnes carrying LQ goods must display LQ marks at the front and rear, and containers on such units on all four sides (ADR 3.4.13) — the marks are the package mark enlarged to at least 250 × 250 mm (ADR 3.4.15). The marking may be dispensed with when the total gross mass of LQ packages does not exceed 8 tonnes per transport unit (ADR 3.4.14). Tunnel restrictions do not apply to LQ carriage except for units required to carry those marks, which are barred from category E tunnels (ADR 8.6.3.3, ADR 8.6.4).
Driver and crew. Of Part 8 only 8.2.3, 8.6.3.3 and 8.6.4 apply (ADR 3.4.1) — the driver does not need an ADR training certificate, but everyone whose duties concern the carriage — the driver included — must be trained appropriate to their responsibilities and duties (ADR 8.2.3).
LQ and the 1.1.3.6 small-load exemption are two separate reliefs — LQ works per package through Chapter 3.4 (ADR 1.1.3.4.2), while 1.1.3.6 works per transport unit through the 1000-point calculation. Goods packed in limited quantities are not counted into that calculation — 1.1.3.6.5 leaves out of account the goods exempted under 1.1.3.2 to 1.1.3.5, and the LQ relief is exactly the exemption of 1.1.3.4.2. If part of your load cannot meet the column (7a) limits, run the remainder through the 1.1.3.6 calculator to see whether it stays under the threshold.
Common mistake — treating LQ as a blanket exemption. A package whose inner packagings exceed the column (7a) limit does not meet Chapter 3.4 and travels under full ADR — danger labels, marking, documentation — and inner packagings are checked during roadside inspections.
References — ADR 2025 3.4.1 (scope and surviving provisions), 3.4.2-3.4.4 (packagings), 3.4.7 (mark), 3.4.12 (consignor information), 3.4.13-3.4.15 (transport units), Table A column (7a) (per-substance limits).