The open-head steel jerrican: what the code allows, and why a round steel pail codes as 1A2 instead.
UN 3A2 is the packaging code for a steel jerrican with a removable head, or any opening wider than 7 cm. It holds at most 60 litres and 120 kg net, carries solids and packing group II and III liquids, and takes packing group I liquids only when they are viscous.
Decode a full 3A2 mark Ask for 3A2 containers
| Character | Meaning |
|---|---|
3 | Jerrican: rectangular or polygonal cross-section |
A | Steel, of any type and surface treatment |
2 | Removable head, or a fixed head with an opening wider than 7 cm |
| Maximum capacity | 60 litres (6.1.4.4.5) |
|---|---|
| Maximum net mass | 120 kg |
As a single packaging for liquids, packing instruction P001 sets the working limits by packing group.
Solids, and liquids of packing groups II and III. In packing group I it may carry only viscous liquids: above 200 mm²/s under the UN text, above 2 680 mm²/s under ADR 2025 (P001, note a). Marks on a removable-head design must sit on a part that does not come off, not on the lid alone.
| Test | What the design has to survive | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Drop | Filled to at least 98 per cent and dropped on its weakest points: from 1.8 m for packing group I, 1.2 m for II and 0.8 m for III. Tested with water, a liquid denser than 1.2 drops from its relative density times 1.5, 1.0 or 0.67 m. | 6.1.5.3 |
| Leakproofness | Held under water for five minutes at an air pressure of 30 kPa for packing group I or 20 kPa for II and III. Every container made for liquids passes the same test before its first use. | 6.1.5.4, 6.1.1.3 |
| Internal pressure | Held for five minutes at the hydraulic pressure the mark states, at least 250 kPa for packing group I. | 6.1.5.5 |
| Stacking | Carries the weight of a 3 m stack of identical full packages for 24 hours without leaking or losing strength. | 6.1.5.6 |
A design marked S for solids needs the drop and stacking tests only. The leakproofness and pressure tests belong to designs for liquids.
No period-of-use limit applies to steel or aluminium drums and jerricans: the five-year rule in 4.1.1.15 covers plastics only. A container made for liquids passes a leakproofness test before its first use.
3A1 has a fixed head with openings no wider than 7 cm. A round steel pail with a lid is not a 3A2: pail-shaped packagings count as drums, so it codes as 1A2. A rectangular tin with a lever lid is a jerrican, and codes as 3A2.
UN 3A2/Y25/S/25/NL/VL829An open-head steel jerrican, approved for packing groups II and III, up to 25 kg gross, made in 2025, design approved in the Netherlands.
| Part | On the mark | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging code | 3A2 | Open-head steel jerrican (3 = jerrican, A = steel, 2 = removable head) |
| Performance level | Y | Approved for packing groups II and III (medium and low danger) |
| Maximum gross mass | 25 | 25 kg, the heaviest the filled package may weigh |
| Solids marker | S | For solids or for inner packagings, so no hydraulic pressure test applies |
| Year of manufacture | 25 | Made in 2025 |
| Approving country | NL | Design approved in the Netherlands |
| Manufacturer or approval number | VL829 | Identifies the manufacturer or the approved design, as set by the approving authority |
Another 3A2 mark, decoded: UN 3A2/Y/100/25/NL/VL830
We do not list this exact code. Our nearest designs are 3A1.
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Both are steel jerricans. 3A1 has a fixed head with openings no wider than 7 cm. 3A2 has a removable head or a wider opening, and carries solids and packing group II and III liquids; in packing group I only viscous liquids.
No. Pail-shaped packagings count as drums, so a round steel pail with a removable lid codes as 1A2.
The standards and regulations this page relies on, at their issuing body. Where a market rule is named here, check the current revision before you specify against it.
Checked against the UN Model Regulations, Rev. 24, and ADR 2025 on 5 October 2026. Decode any other mark with our UN packaging code decoder.
Send what goes in them, the size and where they ship. We reply with the design certified to this code, the plant named on its certificate, and a price.