Edition and archive note. Updated resource at the original DGSA URL, reviewed on 24 October 2026. Original legislation and later amendments are identified separately below. This is a guide to the sources, not a consolidated legal text or an exhaustive catalogue of national exceptions.
What the Directive covers
Directive 2008/68/EC of 24 September 2008 establishes an EU framework for dangerous goods carriage by road, rail and inland waterways, within or between Member States. Article 1 includes loading, unloading, transfers between modes and stops required by the transport circumstances, subject to its express exclusions.
Annex I refers to ADR, Annex II to RID and Annex III to ADN. This inland framework is not the maritime IMDG Code or the ICAO air-transport regime. Article 6 provides a controlled route for specified national derogations; it does not let an operator invent an exemption.
2025: updated modal references
Delegated Directive (EU) 2025/149, adopted on 15 November 2024 and published on 24 January 2025, replaced the references in sections I.1, II.1 and III.1 with the ADR, RID and ADN provisions applicable from 1 January 2025. It entered into force on 13 February 2025 and set 30 June 2025 as the national transposition deadline.
Consequently, an archived copy of the 2008 annexes is not sufficient to identify the technical edition for a current shipment.
2026: national derogations are a different type of update
Implementing Decision (EU) 2026/1041 of 5 May 2026, published on 12 May, replaced the national-derogation lists in sections I.3, II.3 and III.3. It authorises the named Member States to apply the listed derogations within their territories; it does not introduce a new general ADR edition.
For Spain, entry RO-a-ES-1 concerns placards on containers carrying packaged goods exclusively in road transport, excluding Classes 1 and 7. It is not a blanket exemption for intermodal containers, tanks, vehicle markings or other requirements. The listed expiry is 30 June 2027. Read the complete entry and the Spanish implementing rule before applying it.
Spanish implementation and a practical source check
Royal Decree 97/2014 implements the Directive's road-transport aspects in Spain and adds the relevant national operational framework.
DGSA review approach: establish the mode, countries, date, substance and operation first; identify the applicable modal edition and any transition; then check national rules and the exact scope, territory and expiry of a claimed derogation. Keep the source and version with the assessment. A rule mentioned in an old news item is not, by itself, evidence that it applies to a new shipment.
Discuss your operation with DGSA
Send us the information relevant to your proposed shipment or training needs. Our review will distinguish the source publication from the rules applicable to your operation.