Class 1 label: explosives (orange diamond, bomb)

The package contains explosives or articles containing them: ammunition, fireworks, flares, detonators, airbag and seat-belt pretensioner units in some cases.

Who puts it on the box

The sender (consignor), who must classify the goods; explosives also need a classification approved by the competent authority.

How to read it

The division says how bad: 1.1 mass explosion, 1.2 projection, 1.3 fire, 1.4 minor hazard (in 1.4S the effects stay inside the package), 1.5 very insensitive, 1.6 extremely insensitive. The letter is the compatibility group, used to decide what may travel together.

What it does not promise

It does not promise the parcel is legal to send by post or courier — most postal services refuse explosives outright — and it does not say how much explosive is inside.

A mark on a parcel is the sender’s statement about what is inside and how it should be handled. It is not a certificate that the parcel is packed safely, that anyone handled it as marked, or that your carrier accepts it: for what you may send, read the carrier’s own terms.

What it looks like: An orange diamond with a black exploding bomb at the top for divisions 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3; for 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6 the figures “1.4”, “1.5” or “1.6” replace the bomb. A compatibility-group letter (for example 1.4S, 1.4G) and the figure 1 are in the bottom corner.
Regulation: ADR 2025, 5.2.2.2.2, label models No. 1, 1.4, 1.5 and 1.6; UN Model Regulations 5.2.2.2.2
Kind of mark: A dangerous-goods mark or label from the UN Model Regulations, applied in Europe by ADR (road) and its sister agreements for rail and waterways, and on the same pattern by the US 49 CFR. It says the package holds dangerous goods.
Also called: Explosive label; Orange diamond; Class 1 diamond

Other marks with the same shape

Class 2 labels: gases (red, green or white diamond)The package contains gas: compressed, liquefied, dissolved or…Class 3 label: flammable liquids (red diamond, flame)The package contains a flammable liquid: petrol, paint, varnish,…Class 4 labels: flammable solids (striped, half red or blue)The package contains a flammable solid (4.1: matches,…Class 5 labels: oxidisers and organic peroxides (yellow, or red and yellow)The package contains an oxidiser, which makes other things burn…Class 6 labels: toxic and infectious substances (white, skull or three crescents)The package contains a toxic substance (6.1: pesticides, some…Class 7 labels: radioactive material (trefoil, white or yellow)The package contains radioactive material, and the category says…Class 8 label: corrosive substances (white top, black bottom)The package contains a corrosive substance that destroys skin and…Class 9 label: miscellaneous dangerous goods, including the lithium battery label (black stripes)The package contains dangerous goods that fit no other class:…

Sources

Each document was fetched and read on the date shown. Written in our own words; quotations are the documents’ wording.

Regulator guidance — Health and Safety Executive (UK regulator for the carriage of dangerous goods): Carriage of dangerous goods manual — Consignment procedures: marking and labelling of packages (ADR 5.2) — Package labels are the “hazard diamonds” of ADR 5.2.2 with the class number; specimen labels are in ADR 5.2.2.2.2 and sizes in 5.2.2.2.1.1; the consignor is responsible for marking and labelling. Checked 2026-09-27.
Law adopting the same mark — US Government Publishing Office (govinfo), 49 CFR, edition of 1 October 2024: 49 CFR Part 172 Subpart E — Labeling (§§ 172.400–172.450, the hazard class labels) — § 172.411: the EXPLOSIVE 1.1–1.6 labels, the bomb on 1.1–1.3 and the division figures on 1.4–1.6, with the compatibility group letter; orange background. Labels are at least 100 mm on each side with an inner border about 5 mm inside the edge (§ 172.407). Checked 2026-09-27.