ADR classes 1 to 9
The nine ADR classes decide the vehicle, the driver qualification and the tunnel a load may pass. This page lists all nine with their subdivisions, gives the official Dutch wording beside the English, and says plainly which of them we carry.
| Class | Name (English) | Official Dutch wording | We carry it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Explosive substances and articles | Ontplofbare stoffen en voorwerpen | no |
| 2 | Gases | Gassen | yes |
| 3 | Flammable liquids | Brandbare vloeistoffen | yes |
| 4.1 | Flammable solids | Brandbare vaste stoffen, zelfontledende stoffen, polymeriserende stoffen en vaste ontplofbare stoffen in niet explosieve toestand | yes |
| 4.2 | Substances liable to spontaneous combustion | Voor zelfontbranding vatbare stoffen | yes |
| 4.3 | Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases | Stoffen die in contact met water brandbare gassen ontwikkelen | yes |
| 5.1 | Oxidising substances | Oxiderende stoffen | yes |
| 5.2 | Organic peroxides | Organische peroxiden | yes |
| 6.1 | Toxic substances | Giftige stoffen | yes |
| 6.2 | Infectious substances | Infectieuze stoffen (besmettelijke stoffen) | no |
| 7 | Radioactive material | Radioactieve stoffen | no |
| 8 | Corrosive substances | Bijtende stoffen | yes |
| 9 | Miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles | Diverse gevaarlijke stoffen en voorwerpen | yes |
What the class actually decides
A class is not a label on a box, it is the first input to three separate decisions. It sets the vehicle type, because an FL vehicle is required for certain flammable liquids and an EX/II or EX/III vehicle for class 1. It sets the driver qualification, because an ADR certificate is endorsed per class and a driver certified for class 8 is not thereby certified for class 1. And it feeds the tunnel restriction code, which is what actually closes a route.
That last one is the trap. Two loads of the same class can carry different tunnel codes, so the class alone never tells you whether a route is open. We return the tunnel code with the class whenever we quote, because a route that has to be redrawn after booking is a cost, not a detail.
Why the Dutch wording is here too
Most English language ADR references give you the English titles and stop. If your load moves through the Netherlands, the paperwork, the inspector and the terminal all use the Dutch wording, and the two do not always map one to one. Class 4.1 is the clearest case: the English title runs to four categories and the Dutch text spells them in a different order.
The Dutch column on this page is transcribed from the official Dutch ADR text published by the Rijksoverheid, not translated by us. Where our English wording comes from our own verified UN dataset we say so in the provenance below, and where it follows the ADR's own English naming we say that too.
Frequently asked
How many ADR classes are there?
Nine, but thirteen entries once the subdivisions are counted. Class 4 splits into 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, class 5 into 5.1 and 5.2, and class 6 into 6.1 and 6.2.
Does the class tell me which tunnels I can use?
No. The tunnel restriction code does, and two substances in the same class can carry different codes. Ask for the code with the class.
Which classes does Vektor Group carry?
Classes 2, 3, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 8 and 9. We do not carry class 1 explosives, class 6.2 infectious substances or class 7 radioactive material.
Related references
Take the data
Source
The Dutch names are transcribed from the official Dutch text of ADR 2025 published by the Rijksoverheid, held as a source document. The English names for classes 3, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7, 8 and 9 come from our own verified UN dataset, where the label wording is recorded per substance. The remaining six English names follow the ADR's own English naming and are marked as such in the dataset, because no English ADR document is held on disk. Nothing on this page is a translation of our German page.
Cite this page
Vektor Group. ADR classes 1 to 9. 2026. https://vektorgroup.eu/adr-classes
Moving a load in one of these classes?
Send the UN number and the route. We return the class, the packing group, the hazard identification number and the tunnel code before we talk about price.
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