The open-top plastic jerrican: what the code allows, what it does not, and where a round pail fits instead.
UN 3H2 is the packaging code for a plastic 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 3H2 mark Ask for 3H2 containers
| Character | Meaning |
|---|---|
3 | Jerrican: rectangular or polygonal cross-section |
H | Plastics |
2 | Removable head, or a fixed head with an opening wider than 7 cm |
| Maximum capacity | 60 litres (6.1.4.8.7; ADR 6.1.4.8.9) |
|---|---|
| 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). It may not carry packing group I solids that can turn liquid in transport unless the design is approved for packing group I liquids. 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 | Cooled to −18 °C, 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 30 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 28 days at 40 °C when made for liquids, 24 hours when made for solids. | 6.1.5.6 |
| Compatibility | The plastic has to be shown to resist the contents. ADR names the methods: six months filled with the goods, or for polyethylene three weeks at 40 °C with standard liquids. | 6.1.5.2.4; ADR 6.1.5.2.5, 6.1.6 |
| Permeability, ADR | For flammable liquids, no more than 0.008 g per litre per hour lost through the wall at 23 °C. Polyethylene designs need the test only for benzene, toluene, xylene and mixtures with them. | ADR 6.1.5.7 |
A design marked S for solids needs the drop and stacking tests only. The leakproofness and pressure tests belong to designs for liquids.
Five years from the month of manufacture for dangerous goods, unless the competent authority approves a longer period or the substance sets a shorter one: two years, for example, for nitric acid over 55 per cent. The month and year are marked, usually on a clock symbol. The clock does not restart after reconditioning (4.1.1.15).
3H1 has a fixed head with openings no wider than 7 cm and carries liquids in any packing group the mark allows. A round open-top plastic pail is not a 3H2 at all: the regulations count pail-shaped packagings as drums, so it codes as 1H2.
UN 3H2/Y30/S/25/NL/VL833An open-head plastic jerrican, approved for packing groups II and III, up to 30 kg gross, made in 2025, design approved in the Netherlands.
| Part | On the mark | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging code | 3H2 | Open-head plastic jerrican (3 = jerrican, H = plastic, 2 = removable head) |
| Performance level | Y | Approved for packing groups II and III (medium and low danger) |
| Maximum gross mass | 30 | 30 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 | VL833 | Identifies the manufacturer or the approved design, as set by the approving authority |
Plastic drums and jerricans also carry the month of manufacture, usually on a clock symbol beside the mark.
Another 3H2 mark, decoded: UN 3H2/Y/100/25/GB/2469
Approval is per design and per plant, and each design carries its own level, density and test pressure. Send your contents and we confirm the design that matches your mark.
Yes. It may carry liquids of packing groups II and III. In packing group I it takes only viscous liquids, above 200 mm2/s under the UN text or 2 680 mm2/s under ADR 2025.
No. Pail-shaped packagings count as drums under the UN definitions, so a round open-top plastic pail codes as 1H2.
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.
