EPA RCRA Hazardous Waste Management 263.20: § 263.20 The manifest system

A transporter may not accept hazardous waste without a manifest signed by the generator under 262.23 or a valid electronic manifest (and, for exports, a movement document meeting 262.83). Electronic manifests are the legal equivalent of paper, with rules on signatures, transmission, retention in the transporter's e-Manifest account and liability for system failures; where DOT requires paper shipping papers the transporter carries one printed copy; if the system fails mid-shipment the transporter reproduces the printed copy or completes a paper replacement manifest noted in Item 14, individually signed, and continues on paper; pilot signature methods also require ink signatures. Data corrections requested by EPA on transporter portions must be addressed within 30 days. Before transporting, the transporter must sign and date the manifest and return a signed copy to the generator before leaving its property; ensure the manifest (and for exports or imports the movement document) accompanies the waste; and on delivery obtain the date and handwritten signature of the next transporter or the designated facility, keep a copy and hand over the rest. Special rules apply to bulk water shipments (a shipping paper with the manifest information and signatures obtained on delivery) and rail shipments (initial rail transporter signs, returns a copy and forwards at least three copies; shipping papers accompany the waste; intermediate rail carriers need not sign). Transporters taking waste out of the United States sign the International Shipments block with the departure date, keep a copy and, from December 1, 2025, return the signed top copies to the exporter. A transporter carrying waste under a 262.20(e) reclamation agreement for a generator of 100 to 1,000 kg a month may instead keep a log of generator, quantity, DOT shipping information and acceptance date, carried with the shipment and kept three years after the agreement ends.