Rules and Regulations for International Shipping
The USA becomes more of a melting pot each year and this means that more residents are sending and receiving packages from all over the country. Every country has rules and regulations for international shipping. To ensure that their packages are delivered quickly on time and in the most efficient manner possible, shipping companies should learn and adhere to the requirements.
Safety is Top Priority in International Shipping
Reputable carriers top priority should be toward on safety when shipping packages internationally. When using the USPS, a shipper should not place a package that weighs more than 13 Ounce into a USPS collection box, lobby drop, or other unattended USPS location. If the package is left in a mailbox, it will not be picked up. If it is dropped into a lobby drop or collection box, it will be returned to the shipper.
Shippers should verify that the drop-off location will accept it, before sending international mail. Any piece of mail without a completed customs declaration form must be presented to a representative at a U.S. Post Office location even if the package has postage stamps on it.
International Shipping Rules and Restrictions
Many shippers do not realize that there are rules and regulations for what can and cannot be mailed through the USPS and many major carriers. The USPS will not mail alcoholic beverages so if a shipper uses a box that previously contained alcohol, all labeling must be removed from the container before mailing. Perfume that contains alcohol cannot be shipped internationally and when it is shipped domestically, it cannot be sent via air.
The following items are not acceptable for carriage via Global Express Guaranteed service to any international destinations unless otherwise indicated. (Additional restrictions may apply depending on destination. Various regulatory clearances in addition to Customs clearance may be required for certain commodities, thereby extending the transit time.)
- Alcoholic beverages (e.g., beer, wine, spirits).
- APO/FPO/DPO addresses.
- Collectible and/or irreplaceable items (any item worth more than its original purchase price or that is not commonly available), including but not limited to antiques, fine art, or collectible coins and stamps.
- Bullion.
- Collect On Delivery (C.O.D.) shipments.
- Human corpses, human organs or body parts, human and animal embryos, or cremated or disinterred human remains.
- Explosives and incendiary devices.
- Firearms, weaponry, and their parts or ammunition.
- Perishable foodstuffs and foods/beverages requiring refrigeration or other environmental control.
- Live animals, eggs, larva, live insects, live spiders.
- Ivory and endangered animals.
- Plants and plant material, including cut flowers.
- Cigarettes (including roll-your-own tobacco) and smokeless tobacco products, as defined by applicable Postal Service regulations for domestic or international mail.
- Lottery tickets and gambling devices where prohibited by local, state, provincial, or national law.
- Money (coins, cash, currency, paper money and negotiable instruments equivalent to cash such as endorsed stocks, bonds and cash letters).
- Pornographic and/or obscene material.
- Shipments being processed under:
a. Duty drawback claims.
b. Temporary Import Bonds.
c. U.S. State Department licenses.
d. Carnets.
e. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration export permit.
f. Shipments destined to or being withdrawn from a Foreign Trade Zone.
g. Letters of Credit.
h. Certificate of Registration shipments (CF4455).
i. Shipments moving into or out of Foreign Trade Zones or bonded warehouses. - Shipments requiring filing of Electronic Export Information, or EEI (formerly known as Shipper’s Export Declaration, or SED), or any such filing of export data.
- Hazardous waste, including, but not limited to, used hypodermic needles or syringes or other medical waste.
- Shipments that may cause damage to, or delay of, equipment, personnel, or other shipments.
- Shipments that require us to obtain any special license or permit for transportation, importation or exportation.
- Shipments or commodities whose carriage, importation or exportation is prohibited by any law, statue or regulation.
- Shipments with a declared value for customs in excess of that permitted for a specific destination.
- Dangerous goods, hazardous goods or combustible materials as defined by International Air Transport Association, by applicable sea or road transport regulation, or by applicable Postal Service regulations for domestic or international mail, including but not limited to:.
a. Asbestos.
b. Category A infectious substances.
c. Compressed gases, including those that are flammable or those that are nonflammable with an absolute pressure exceeding 40 psi at 70º F or 104 psi at 130º F.
d. Corrosives (liquid or solid).
e. Dry ice (carbon dioxide solid).
f. Flammable materials, including pyrophoric, flammable, or combustible liquids with a closed cup flash point below 200º F; or flammable solids, including matches.
g. Magnetized material with a magnetic field strength of .002 gauss or more at a distance of 7 feet.
h. Poisons, irritants, or controlled substances.
i. Oxidizers.
j. Lithium Batteries - Processed or unprocessed dead animals, including insects and pets.
- Drugs/narcotics (illegal) or drug paraphernalia.
- Packages that are wet, leaking, or emit an odor of any kind.
- Wildlife products that require U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service export clearance prior to exportation from the U.S.
An entity registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration can ship prescription medications. For certain over-the-counter medications, similar restrictions apply so shippers should check before mailing. Shipping packages the correct way shortens delivery time and with medication this can mean the difference between life and death.
Despite the fact that an emptied shotgun or rifle might be qualified for mailing, it is subject to many shipping regulations. Just an authorized merchant or producer is allowed to mail or get a handgun. Though it is much less dangerous from an explosive standpoint, perishable matter is subject to rules and restrictions and in most situations a substance fitting this description may not be mailed internationally. Shippers should contact their carrier services to determine whether their international shipments are restricted or prohibited.
Posted on August 18, 2018
