About the Dangerous Goods (DG) declaration...

In the two posts directly above, Simon and kawazoki have referred to a 'DG certificate'. Before any further confusion arises about this subject, I want to explain exactly what a Dangerous Good Declaration (not 'certificate') is.

First of all, it's not some kind of inspection or authorization of any kind. It is nothing more than a declaration (a statement, a description) that states exactly what the shipment consists of, how the shipment is classified, and what packing instruction has been followed to enable the shipment to be safely transported by aircraft.

No-one should ever have to pay money to have a Dangerous Goods Declaration filled out. You can do it yourself in 5 minutes, it is not at all difficult.

The problem - I would go so far as to call it a scam - that gives rise to people paying to have the DG declaration filled out arises from a very sensible rule in the Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGRs) that states that the air carrier or the air carrier's cargo acceptance agent (which includes brokers, freight forwarders, etc.) is not permitted to fill out the DG declaration themselves - the shipper (meaning, the person who is shipping the motorcycle, which in our case means the person who owns the motorcycle) must fill out the DG declaration themselves.

This rule makes sense, because in the case of DGs in general (for example, chemicals packed in boxes), only the shipper knows what's inside the box. Although that's not the case with motorcycles - it's pretty easy to tell by looking that the object is a motorcycle - the rule applies to all DG shipments.

So, what to do?

Simple. Ask the cargo acceptance agent to give you a blank DG declaration form. Then, fill the form out EXACTLY as I have explained (10 years ago) at this post: Rules for shipping motorcycles by air freight. See post #2 in that discussion, which includes a photo of a correctly completed DG declaration for a motorcycle.

Although the cargo acceptance agent is forbidden from filling in the declaration for you, it is perfectly OK for the cargo acceptance agent to assist you to fill out the declaration yourself, by answering any questions you may have and then reviewing the completed declaration to confirm that you have correctly completed it. In fact, they are required by law to inspect your completed DG declaration and make sure it is properly filled out before they accept your shipment.

Below is a photo of a DG declaration for a motorcycle (happens to be my motorcycle). As you can see, it's not rocket science to complete this form, and there is no reason at all that anyone should have to pay money to have another person complete the form.

Michael

Example of a DG declaration for a motorcycle

Hi Micheal,

I'd love to use your information that you have generously provided as I am so much difficulty trying to fly my bike from BNE to Denpasar but I can zoom on any of you document links that you have provided.
I keep ringing CT freight here in Brisbane and they are less than helpful. They tell me they want a purge declaration and I cant find any other company willing to help me that doesnt to bullshit me.
Any suggestions from anyone?
Thanks