IFTDGN — EDIFACT Dangerous Goods Notification (D.21B)
The IFTDGN message is the dangerous-goods notification sent to the carrier or port/airport authorities: UN code, ADR/IMDG/IATA class, packaging, net/gross masses, flash point, emergency instructions. It hardens the supply chain against IMO, ADR and IATA-DGR requirements. This page summarises the segment structure as published by UN/CEFACT for directory D.21B.
Purpose
The IFTDGN message is the dangerous-goods notification sent to the carrier or port/airport authorities: UN code, ADR/IMDG/IATA class, packaging, net/gross masses, flash point, emergency instructions. It hardens the supply chain against IMO, ADR and IATA-DGR requirements.
This page focuses on the structure published by UN/CEFACT for directory D.21B. The segments listed, their status (M / C), position and repetition factor are extracted from the official file iftdgn_c.htm hosted on service.unece.org.
Segment structure
The IFTDGN D.21B message has 59 header entries, 0 detail entries and 0 summary entries (segments and groups combined). Groups are shown in bold and their members are indented by actual nesting depth.
Header
| Pos. | Tag | Name | S | Rep. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
00010 | UNH | Message header | M | 1 |
00020 | BGM | Beginning of message | M | 1 |
00030 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×9 |
00040 | FTX | Free text | C | ×9 |
00050 | HAN | Handling instructions | C | 1 |
00060 | SG1 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00070 | RFF | Reference | M | 1 |
00080 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×9 |
00090 | SG2 | Group (×1) | C | 1 |
00100 | TDT | Transport information | M | 1 |
00110 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×9 |
00120 | RFF | Reference | C | ×9 |
00130 | SG3 | Group (×99) | C | ×99 |
00140 | LOC | Place/location identification | M | 1 |
00150 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×9 |
00160 | SG4 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00170 | NAD | Name and address | M | 1 |
00180 | SG5 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00190 | CTA | Contact information | M | 1 |
00200 | COM | Communication contact | C | ×9 |
00210 | SG6 | Group (×999) | C | ×999 |
00220 | EQD | Equipment details | M | 1 |
00230 | MEA | Measurements | C | ×9 |
00240 | SEL | Seal number | C | ×99 |
00250 | SG7 | Group (×9999) | M | ×9999 |
00260 | CNI | Consignment information | M | 1 |
00270 | HAN | Handling instructions | C | 1 |
00280 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×4 |
00290 | LOC | Place/location identification | C | ×4 |
00300 | SG8 | Group (×1) | C | 1 |
00310 | TDT | Transport information | M | 1 |
00320 | RFF | Reference | C | ×9 |
00330 | SG9 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00340 | LOC | Place/location identification | M | 1 |
00350 | DTM | Date/time/period | C | ×9 |
00360 | SG10 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00370 | NAD | Name and address | M | 1 |
00380 | SG11 | Group (×9) | C | ×9 |
00390 | CTA | Contact information | M | 1 |
00400 | COM | Communication contact | C | ×9 |
00410 | RFF | Reference | C | 1 |
00420 | SG12 | Group (×9999) | M | ×9999 |
00430 | GID | Goods item details | M | 1 |
00440 | FTX | Free text | C | ×2 |
00450 | PCI | Package identification | C | 1 |
00460 | SG13 | Group (×99) | C | ×99 |
00470 | SGP | Split goods placement | M | 1 |
00480 | MEA | Measurements | C | ×9 |
00490 | SG14 | Group (×1) | M | 1 |
00500 | DGS | Dangerous goods | M | 1 |
00510 | FTX | Free text | M | ×9 |
00520 | MEA | Measurements | M | ×9 |
00530 | LOC | Place/location identification | C | ×99 |
00540 | RFF | Reference | C | ×9 |
00550 | SG15 | Group (×99) | C | ×99 |
00560 | SGP | Split goods placement | M | 1 |
00570 | LOC | Place/location identification | C | 1 |
00580 | MEA | Measurements | C | ×9 |
00590 | UNT | Message trailer | M | 1 |
Detail
No segment in this section.
Summary
No segment in this section.
Changes vs D.96A
Top-level differences between D.96A and D.21B for the IFTDGN message (segments directly inside header / detail / summary, ignoring nested groups). The comparison is indicative: a given tag may have evolved inside nested groups without showing up in this synthesis.
Segments added vs D.96A
SELin the header section (status C, repeat ×99) — not present at the top of the corresponding D.96A section.
Status changes (M ↔ C)
LOC(header): status C in D.96A → M in D.21B.
Max-repeat changes
LOC(header): repeat ×10 in D.96A → ×1 in D.21B.
Structural example
Minimal example of an IFTDGN D.21B message with mandatory segments only. The goal is to show the exact version declared in UNH (IFTDGN:D:21B:UN) — not to replicate a full business case (see the IFTDGN D.96A page for an annotated example).
UNB+UNOC:3+5410000000123:14+5410000000456:14+260514:1430+CTRL021001'
UNH+1+IFTDGN:D:21B:UN'
BGM+266+IFTDGN-2026-DG-0042+9'
DTM+137:20260514:102'
FTX+AAI+++Dangerous goods notification - IMDG class 3 - flammable liquids'
HAN+L'
RFF+BM:BL-2026-7811'
UNT+7+1'
UNZ+1+CTRL021001'Common errors
- Misaligned UNH tokens — The
UNH+...+IFTDGN:D:21B:UNtoken must reflect exactly the directory in use — a mismatch between the UNH release and the release agreed with the partner is rejected by every strict validator. - Wrong UNT segment count — The value after
UNT+must include UNH and UNT themselves. By far the most common sender-side error, regardless of the directory in use. - Stale code lists — Between D.96A and D.21B, several code lists received new qualifiers (DTM status, RFF qualifier, NAD codes…). Reusing an older directory’s code tables triggers warnings or even rejections depending on the partner’s strict-conformance mode.
Related messages
Other versions of this message available on ediverse.io: IFTDGN D.96A, IFTDGN D.10A, IFTDGN D.16B, IFTDGN D.24A.