What is it?

To drive a vehicle "in scope" quantities of goods classified as dangerous you must be in possession of a current Vocational/ADR certificate pertaining to the substances being carried. To be a crew member other than a driver in such a vehicle you need to have received appropriate fully documented training.
To obtain the qualification you must attend an approved ADR course and pass the relevant SQA examination. If successul your license lasts for 5 years, after which it can be renewed by taking a refresher course, this can be taken any time during the last 12 months of the current license.

What is involved?

All candidates must take and pass the core exam. Candidates then have the option of either taking the course covering the carriage of dangerous goods in tanks or the carriage of dangerous goods in packages.
Candidates must also take and pass the exams for the relevant "classes" of dangerous goods that they wish or expect to transport. There are nine separate classes

Module	Code	Required For:
Core Module	C	All candidates must take and pass
Tanker Module	T	Required if you intend to carry dangerous goods in tanks or tank containers. You must take either this module or the packages module or you can take both
Packages Module	P	Required if you intend to carry dangerous goods in anything other than tank containers such as packages or bulk. You must take either this module or the tanker module or you can take both

Class	Code	Required For:
Class 1: Explosives*	1	Explosives such as types of fireworks/detonators
Class 2: Gases	2	Compressed non-toxic/non-flammable gases
Class 3: Flammable Liquids	3	Flammable liquids with a flash point below 61c such as petrol and diesel
Class 4: Flammable Solids	4	Flammable solids, materials which spontaneously combust and dangerous when wet
Class 5: Oxidising Agents/Organic Peroxides	5	Most commonly for transport of nitrogen ferilisers
Class 6: Toxic and Infectious Substances	6	Transport of pesticides and week killers/industrial materials or clinical waste
Class 7: Radioactive Materials	7	Radiation hazard. A specialist course
Class 8: Corrosives	8	Transport of acids and alkaline and other corrosive materials
Class 9: Miscellaneous	9	Materials not necessarily dangerous on their own but represent a danger when grouped for transport. Includes environmentally hazardous and is a class which is growing as mroe substances are recognised

*LATA offers training for all modules and classes except specialist classes 1 & 7

Course	Cost
5 day combined Core/Tanker & Packages and all classes (except 1 & 7)	£350.00 + VAT + EXAM FEES (No VAT on Exams)
3.5 day Core & Packages and all classes	£300.00 + VAT + EXAM FEES (No VAT on Exams)