What 172.326B means in plain language
When you haul hazardous materials in a portable tank, federal law requires that tank to be marked with the name of whoever owns it or leases it. This marking serves a critical safety function: it tells responders, inspectors, and other parties exactly who is responsible for that container if something goes wrong.
The requirement is straightforward—the owner's or lessee's name must be legibly displayed on the portable tank itself. If you're operating a portable tank that carries hazmat and it doesn't have this marking, or the marking is missing or illegible, you can be cited. This is a documentation and labeling compliance issue, not a mechanical failure or operational safety violation.
What our enforcement data actually shows
Across our 13 million inspection records, 172.326B is rarely cited. Our database shows 3 all-time citations for this code, with 1 citation in the last 12 months and 0 in the last 90 days. None of those 3 citations resulted in an out-of-service placement—giving this code a 0.0% OOS rate.
That 0.0% OOS rate is substantially lower than the all-FMCSR average of 31.4%, which reflects the relatively low-risk nature of the violation. When inspectors find this citation, they are not immediately removing you from service. However, the rarity of citations (172.326B ranks #2551 out of 3,036 FMCSR codes) does not mean the requirement is unimportant—it means most carriers are compliant, and violations are uncommon enough that they remain on the books without routine enforcement.
Who gets cited most
Our inspection records show this citation is heavily concentrated in one state: Texas reported 1 citation in the last 180 days with a 0.0% OOS rate. Given the extremely low overall citation volume, geographic patterns are limited, and enforcement activity does not show meaningful variation across states.
When we look at carriers, our all-time data shows citations distributed across three operations: Industrial Oils Inc (USDOT 351238), SSI Services LLC (USDOT 1763714), and RDL Transportation Inc (USDOT 2447861), each with 1 citation. This distribution suggests the violation is sporadic rather than systematic to any particular fleet or business model.
How severe is this compared to similar codes
In the hazardous materials compliance category, marking and placarding violations span a wide severity range. General loading and unloading hazmat violations (177.834A-HMC and 177.834(a)) carry an exceptionally high OOS rate of 99.2% and 97.9% respectively, reflecting the life-safety nature of those violations. Placarding violations (177.817(a)) show a 75.1% OOS rate.
By contrast, 172.326B's 0.0% OOS rate aligns more closely with other administrative marking deficiencies. Placard deterioration (177.817(e)) sits at 5.2% OOS, and maintenance of Emergency Response information (172.602(c)(1)) is also at 0.0% OOS. This positioning reflects the fact that 172.326B is a labeling and identification requirement rather than an active hazard during transport or loading. The violation is about accountability and documentation, not immediate operational risk.
How to avoid it
Compliance with 172.326B is straightforward and preventable:
-
Before you take possession of a portable tank, verify the owner or lessee name is clearly marked on the exterior. This check takes seconds and should be part of your pre-trip inspection for any portable tank unit. If the marking is missing, faded, or illegible, bring it to the shipper's or lessor's attention before you load.
-
If you lease or operate a portable tank for multiple customers, confirm the correct legal name of the current owner or lessee is on the tank. Ownership or lease changes require updated markings; do not assume the tank is labeled correctly just because it was correct last month.
-
Check the marking during daylight conditions and from multiple angles. Road grime, ice, or dirt can obscure the required name. A quick wipe-down during pre-trip is good practice, and it gives you an opportunity to confirm the information is actually there.
-
Photograph or document the tank marking before departing, especially if you are cross-checking with shipping documents. This creates a record that the tank was in compliance when you took it, which protects you if questions arise later.
The citation is rare, but the compliance bar is low—a legible name on the tank. Make it part of your hazmat portable tank checklist, and you will eliminate this violation.