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Most dangerous goods are placed into different Packing Groups (PG) depending upon the degree of danger presented by the substance. The UN allocates three packing groups according to the degree of danger involved in their transport:
| Packing Group I | High Danger |
| Packing Group II | Medium Danger |
| Packing Group III | Low Danger |
The way the Packing Group is assigned to a substance depends upon the hazards the substance represents.
For Example:
For a flammable liquid of class 3, the packing group will be based upon the flash point (FP) and boiling point (BP) of the substance (ie how readily it can ignite).
whereas:
Corrosive substances of class 8 are placed in packing groups on the basis of the length of time of contact necessary to produce full thickness destruction of human skin or their potential to cause corrosion to certain metal surfaces.
NB: Not all dangerous gooods are assigned to packing groups, some such as gas cylinders or aerosols are not.
