Prohibited & Restricted Items

Important information about items that cannot be shipped and those with special restrictions for international delivery.

What Are Prohibited and Restricted Items?

Under applicable law, certain goods may be transported only under prescribed conditions and certain goods are prohibited from transportation by air (ex. liquids in glass containers).

Important Notice

It is the shipper's responsibility to comply with current government regulations or laws applicable in each country. Shipments are subject to inspection and possible delay by customs or representatives of other government authorities.

We reserve the right to refuse or suspend transportation of any parcel which does not set out contact details for shipper and receiver and of goods.

We will not transport any goods which are prohibited by law or regulation of any federal, state, or local government in the origin or destination countries or which may breach any applicable export, import or other laws or endanger the safety of our employees, agents and subcontractors or the means of transportation.

Any shipment that is prohibited by applicable law or regulation including any federal, state, provincial, or local government in the origin or destination country will not be transported by UPS.

Terms and Conditions

Please Note

It is the responsibility of the Shipper to ensure that a Shipment tendered to UPS, and any UPS Shipping System entry that the Shipper prepares for that Shipment, does not violate any federal, state, provincial, or local laws or regulations applicable to the Shipment.

List of Prohibited Items

Examples of items prohibited by UPS include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Liquids and Gels of any type, in combination with any electronic device
  • Animal skins (non-domesticated)
  • Articles of exceptional value (e.g., works of art, antiques, precious stones, gold and silver)
  • Dangerous goods/Hazardous materials (following IATA regulations for Express and Expedited, and following ADR regulations for Standard)
  • Firearms
  • Furs
  • Ivory and ivory products
  • Live animals
  • Money and negotiable items
  • Perishable goods
  • Personal effects (except via MBE Centres to selected countries)
  • Plants
  • Pornographic materials
  • Seeds
  • Tobacco and tobacco products
  • Unaccompanied baggage (except via MBE Centres to selected countries)
  • Watches exceeding the value of $500 USD or local currency equivalent per parcel

Also prohibited are: Goods moving under ATA Carnet and all temporary exports and imports; goods moving under FCR, FCT and CAD (Cash Against Document); Shipments with inherent vice, which by their nature are likely to soil, impair or damage persons, merchandise, or equipment; goods, the carriage of which is prohibited by law in the country of origin, transit, or destination (such as ivory); Goods which attract excise duty (ex. spirits), or which require special facilities, safety precautions or permits.

For More Information

For the full list of Prohibited and Restricted Items: Terms and Conditions of Service

List of Restricted Items

Certain items we list as prohibited will be accepted by UPS on a contractual basis for shippers with regular volume and the ability to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. The items we can carry under certain criteria are:

  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Perishable goods
  • Plants
  • Seeds
  • Tobacco and tobacco products
  • Unset precious stones and industrial diamonds
  • Jewelry and watches (other than costume jewelry and costume watches) exceeding USD 500 or local currency equivalent per package

Bladed products:

  • It is forbidden to sell and deliver bladed products at a UK residential address without verifying that the recipients are over 18 years of age. Shipment should be made with the Adult Signature Required service available upon booking of the shipment with UPS.
  • If sending a bladed product from outside of the UK into the UK, the Adult Signature Required service must be used regardless of whether the shipment will be delivered to a residential or business address.

Corrosive products:

  • It is forbidden to deliver corrosive products to residential addresses or alternative delivery locations (e.g. a UPS Access Point)
  • It is forbidden to sell and deliver corrosive products to business addresses without verifying that the recipients are over 18 years of age. Shipment should be made with the Adult Signature Required service available upon booking of the shipment with UPS.

For More Information

For the full list of Prohibited and Restricted Items: UPS Tariff Terms and Conditions of Service

Prohibited Dangerous Good/Hazardous Materials

UPS Prohibits the following Dangerous Goods/Hazardous Material in our global network:

  • No hazardous waste
  • No fully regulated dangerous good in return services
  • No fully regulated dangerous good over the counter

Fully regulated refers to any dangerous goods/hazardous material shipment that is required by regulations to be accompanied by a Dangerous Goods Shippers Declaration, Hazardous Material Shipping Paper, or an equivalent document under TDG, ADR or other regulations.

Important Notice

It is prohibited to tender shipments (including pre-processed drop offs) to a Third-Party Retailer or UPS Access Point™ location containing any hazardous materials requiring shipping papers/shippers declaration, firearms, or ammunition. These prohibitions also apply to shipments delivered to a Third-Party Retailer or UPS Access Point™ location, except for ammunition that satisfies all requirements for the shipment of ammunition set forth in Section 3.6.2 ("Ammunition"), including qualifying for the exception for Limited Quantity/ ORM-D packages.

Prohibited Item Fee

Additional Charges Apply

UPS does not agree to carry any prohibited articles. Without prejudice to any other provision in these terms or the UPS Terms and Conditions of Carriage, if it comes to the attention of UPS that a parcel contains any prohibited article, you must pay to UPS an additional minimum administration fee (varies by country) in addition to any other applicable charges.

Payment by you of such fee does not in any way limit or exclude your liability to UPS resulting from the breach of the UPS Terms and Conditions of Carriage nor does it mean that UPS accepts any liability, or waives any rights, in respect of such prohibited articles.

Not all commodities can be shipped to all countries.

For more information, see our Service and Tariff Guides or Contact US.

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