Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 86; Flight Crew Type 10583
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors
Just prior to pushback on our flight from ZZZ-ZZZ1 (within five minutes or so of scheduled departure time); we received an ACARS message that Dispatch was aware of HAZMAT on board--with Zulu time and initials. This confused me because: 1) I had not seen Dispatch do this before for HAZMAT; and 2) at the time; we had seen no HAZMAT paperwork. I turned around to query the Ops Agent; and just then; she handed me the NOTAC with a single line item regarding [radioactive] HAZMAT material and told me that she had just received it. I read the paperwork; signed both copies; and indicated that I had done so in a replay message to Dispatch. We then departed. After that leg was over; now flying from ZZZ1 to ZZZ2; I found my copy of the NOTAC--and was about to throw it away--when I started to think that I may have missed something. Sure enough; on further review; the first step for this type of NOTAC; as directed at [Section] of the FOM; requires the Captain to ensure that the Dispatch Release has been amended (if needed) to include a note regarding the presence of HAZMAT cargo. Our Dispatch Release did not have any such remark. Presumably; the Zulu time and the Dispatcher's initials should be included in the note that I should have added as a pen-and-ink change.
B737-800 Captain reported receiving NOTAC and a handwritten amendment to the Release just prior to departure. The handwritten release amendment was not in accordance with company policy.