UN 38.3, the DG Declaration and 30% State of Charge, by Mode

Sub-section 38.3.5 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria is the root obligation: a cell and battery "test summary shall be made available," with prescribed contents — the manufacturer's identity, a unique test report identification number, the cell/battery description, the list of tests conducted and results, the testing laboratory, and the "name and title of responsible person as an indication of the validity of information provided." The modal regulations then bind the supply chain: manufacturers and subsequent distributors of cells, batteries and battery-powered equipment manufactured after 30 June 2003 must make the summary available.

Two operational readings follow. First, the summary is a type document with shipment consequences: it certifies a design, but every consignment must be traceable to a summary matching the cells actually packed — a pack assembled this quarter from a different cell vendor needs the new vendor's summary, not the old PDF in the shared drive. Second, "made available" means producible on demand — to the carrier's DG desk at booking, to the airline's acceptance check, and later to a surveyor. The summary's unique report ID is the join key an examiner uses; a summary whose model designation does not match the invoice's is, for acceptance purposes, the wrong document.

By air, the 30% figure is hard law. Under IATA's Dangerous Goods Regulations, standalone lithium-ion batteries under Packing Instruction 965 "must be shipped at a state of charge not exceeding 30% of their rated capacity," with higher SoC only under State-of-Origin and State-of-Operator approvals (Special Provision A331) — and standalone UN 3480 is forbidden on passenger aircraft outright, flying Cargo Aircraft Only with the CAO label. From 1 January 2026, the cap widened: batteries packed with equipment (PI 966) must also be offered at ≤30% SoC, with 30% "strongly recommended" though not mandatory for batteries contained in equipment (PI 967).

By sea, the honest statement is different, and this library corrects its own research lineage here: the IMDG Code — including Amendment 42-24, mandatory from 1 January 2026 — contains no general state-of-charge limit for lithium-ion cargo. Amendment 42-24's battery changes are real but elsewhere: new UN numbers 3556–3558 for battery-powered vehicles, the Class 9A lithium label regime, updated special provisions. The ≤30% figure at sea lives in the practice layer: CINS and International Group guidelines, carrier acceptance policies, and — decisively for exporters — insurer warranties written into marine covers for battery cargo. A sea shipment at 45% SoC may be perfectly lawful under the Code and still be a warranty breach under the policy or a booking misdeclaration under the carrier's terms. The compliance question at sea is therefore not "what does IMDG say" but "what do the cover and the booking terms require — and is it evidenced?"

The insurance linkage is the expensive one. Lithium fires invite the inherent vice exclusion (ICC (A) clause 4.4) and, in battery-specific covers, express warranties on testing and SoC. The claims pattern documented in this library's denial taxonomy applies with force: after a thermal event, the insurer's first requests are the UN 38.3 summary matching the cells, the DG declaration, and whatever SoC evidence exists — charge records at pack-out, pre-shipment inspection notes. Where the file is silent, the insurer does not need to prove the batteries were defective; the missing evidence itself does the work. The preventive posture is a per-shipment lithium annex: the matching test summary, the signed DG declaration, SoC records where the mode or policy requires them, and packaging photos — assembled before sailing, per the mode actually used.

TradeWatch builds this annex inside its readiness packets for the EV lane: test-summary-to- invoice matching, DG-declaration consistency, and mode-correct SoC evidence requirements — air law and sea warranty distinguished explicitly — each cited to its instrument. Kanan Labs prepares evidence and readiness. It does not advise on, select, or bind insurance, and DG classification sign-off remains the shipper's declaration — your IRDAI-licensed broker advises on cover; your DG-trained signatory signs.