# Rechargeable Battery Association — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 12-0078 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2012-06-27 12-0078 response to Rechargeable Battery Association concerning 173.185. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 JUN 2 7 2012 Mr. George Kerchner Executive Director Rechargeable Battery Association 1776 K Street, NW . Washington, DC 20006 Ref. No.: 12-0078 Dear Mr. Kerchner: This responds to your March 19, 2012letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the lithium ion battery testing requirements. The requirements you address are contained in Section 38.3 of the United Nations (UN) Manual of Test and Criteria and are implemented through the provisions of§ 173.185 of the HMR. Your questions are. paraphrased and answered as follows: Ql. Section 38.3.3 of the UN Manual ofTest and Criteria states "when batteries (comprised of successfully-tested component cells) that have passed all applicable tests are electrically connected to form a battery assembly in which the aggregate lithium content of all anodes, when fully charged, is more than 500 g, or in the case of a lithium ion battery, with a Watt-hour rating of more than 6,200 Watt-hours, that battery assembly does not need to be tested if it is equipped with a system capable of monitoring the battery assembly and preventing short circuits, or over discharge between the batteries in the assembly and any overheat or overcharge of the battery assembly." Are Tests 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 in Section 38.3 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria the only applicable tests for batteries designed for use in a battery assembly over 6200 Watt-hours when the batteries are not equipped with overcharge protection and the battery assembly affords such protection? Al. The answer is yes, provided that the component cells passed all applicable tests as required in Section 38.3. 02. If the answer to 01 is yes, must the completed battery assembly be subjected to the Test 7 overcharge test? <<>> A2. The answer is no. Per Section 38.3.3( d) of the UN Manual of Test and Criteria, when testing rechargeable batteries under Test 7, batteries not equipped with overcharge protection that are designed for use only in a battery assembly (which affords such protection) are not subject to the requirements of this test. I hope this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of furth~r assistance. Sincerely, ~~~~-- T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> March 19,2012 N·,ekels 1j/(3. 195 Lt.l-h;um fu+feri-es Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Re: Request for Intetpretation on UN Lithium Battery Testing Requirements I am writing to request a clarification on an issue related to testing large lithium ion battery assemblies with a Watt-hour rating of over 6200 in accordance with section 38.3 ofthe UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. The lithium battery tests in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria contain the following proviSion: When batteries that have passed all applicable tests [emphasis added] are electrically connected to form a battery assembly in which the aggregate lithium content of all anodes, when fully charged, is more than 500 g, or in the case of a lithium ion battery, with a Watt-hour rating of more than 6200 Watt-hours, that battery assembly does not need to be tested if it is equipped with a system capable of monitoring the battery assembly and preventing short circuits, or over discharge between the batteries in the assembly and any overheat or overcharge of the battery assembly. Our understanding of the "applicable tests" for lithium ion batteries used in battery assemblies as referred to in the provision above may in some cases only be Tests 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. That is because Tests 6 and 8 are only applicable to cells (not batteries), and Test 7 (Overcharge) is not required in cases where batteries are not equipped with overcharge protection and are designed for use only in a battery assembly, which affords such protection. (See last paragraph in Section 38.3.3(d).) Therefore, we would like confirmation from your office on the following two questions: 1. Please confirm that Tests 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 in Section 38.3 ofthe UN Manual of Tests and Criteria may in some cases be the only "applicable tests" for batteries designed for use in a battery assembly over 6200 Wh when the batteries are not equipped with overcharge protection and the battery assembly affords such protection. (Z-00'7~ PRBA- The Rechargeable Battery Association 1776 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 202.719.4987 <<>> Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration U.S. Department of Transportation Page 2 2. In the case above when only Tests 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 are required for the batteries and no overcharge test is conducted, must the completed battery assembly be subject to the Test 7 Overcharge test? * * * Please contact me at 202.719.4109 ifyou have any questions regarding this request for interpretation. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, George Kerchner Executive Director ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `ec86aa326b6a1f4a9ba50b1dc495aa37734b12fbd5b641aac32c174f594a12b4` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T03:26:25.113Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0078` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Rechargeable Battery Association" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. George Kerchner" ], "refIds": [ "12-0078" ], "catalogDates": [ "2012-06-27" ], "catalogParts": [ 173 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/50291" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "173.185" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173185" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120078.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120078.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120078.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0078-f66854090e.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "b277eb5965b9640681b8f560867129874b3bf80cd83f6abc05c314885b0c8423", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0078-f66854090e.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "a1fa81414a7ae87c52ccee689cbb6f352d7c5d3e4a95a2bbc899dc1854b52201", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```