QUICK ANSWER Lithium batteries ship as dangerous goods under UN numbers that decide everything downstream: UN3480 for lithium-ion batteries shipped alone, UN3481 for batteries packed with or inside equipment, UN3090 and UN3091 for lithium metal. Standalone lithium-ion cargo is banned from passenger aircraft, capped at 30 percent state of charge, and since January 1, 2026 the 30 percent cap extends to batteries packed with equipment above 2.7 Wh. Ocean freight under the IMDG Code carries none of the charge limits, which is why pure battery shipments increasingly sail rather than fly.
Battery rules changed again on January 1, 2026, and most guides on the first page of Google predate the change. This page maps the UN numbers, labels, and mode rules for shipping lithium batteries to the US as they stand under the 2026 IATA DGR and IMDG 42-24, and we re-check it against each new DGR edition.
The UN numbers, decoded
Every battery shipment gets classified before it gets priced. The UN number on the declaration is the single line that sets the packing instruction, the labels, and which aircraft or vessel will take the cargo at all; it is the first thing an air freight desk checks on a battery booking.
Lithium battery UN numbers at a glance
| UN number | What it covers | Typical cargo | Air packing instruction | Key restriction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UN3480 | Lithium-ion batteries shipped alone | Replacement packs, power banks, bulk cells | PI 965 | Cargo aircraft only, 30% state of charge |
| UN3481 | Lithium-ion packed with or contained in equipment | Laptops, tools with spare pack, IoT devices | PI 966 / PI 967 | 30% charge cap for packed-with since 2026 |
| UN3090 | Lithium metal batteries shipped alone | Coin cells in bulk, industrial primaries | PI 968 | Cargo aircraft only |
| UN3091 | Lithium metal packed with or contained in equipment | Meters, trackers, medical devices | PI 969 / PI 970 | Passenger aircraft allowed within limits |
| UN3171 and UN3556 series | Battery-powered vehicles and equipment | E-bikes, scooters, ride-ons | PI 952 and vehicle entries | Lithium vehicles moved out of UN3171 in 2025 |
The vehicle rows deserve a note: since the 2025 rulebooks, lithium-powered vehicles classify under their own UN entries rather than sharing the generic UN3171 entry, so an e-bike shipment quotes differently than a battery shipment even from the same factory.
UN3480 or UN3481: the split that decides your options
The split is physical, not commercial. A battery traveling in its own box, with no device, is UN3480 even if a matching device ships on the same pallet in separate cartons. Put the battery in the retail box next to the tool and it becomes UN3481 packed with equipment. Install it inside the device and it is UN3481 contained in equipment, the most permissive of the three configurations.
One product trips importers constantly: power banks. A power bank is a battery, not a device, so it ships as UN3480 with everything that implies, cargo aircraft only and a 30 percent charge cap. The IATA battery guidance says this in plain words, and marketplaces still fill with sellers who booked power banks as accessories.
TAKEAWAY Classification comes before quoting. The same 10,000 units can be UN3480 or UN3481 depending on how the factory packs the cartons, and that packing decision moves the freight options more than any rate negotiation will.
What your supplier hands over before booking
A battery shipment is documented before it is bookable, and every item below comes from the manufacturer side. Chasing them after cargo delivery is the single most common cause of missed battery sailings and flights.
The pre-booking battery file
| Document or mark | What it proves | Required since |
|---|---|---|
| UN 38.3 test summary | The cell passed vibration, shock, thermal, and short-circuit testing | January 2020 |
| Safety data sheet (SDS/MSDS) | Chemistry, Wh rating, handling data for carriers | Standard practice |
| Watt-hour rating on the case | Wh printed on the battery itself | May 2024 under US rules |
| Packing specification | Inner packaging, short-circuit protection, net quantity per box | Always |
| State of charge confirmation | 30% cap met where it applies | 2016 for UN3480, 2026 for packed-with |
The UN 38.3 test summary is the document carriers actually ask for. A supplier who cannot produce one within a day is telling you something about the cells, and that answer is cheaper to hear before the deposit than at the export screening point. Our supplier document validation service pulls this file together before anything is booked.
Labels and marks: what goes on the box
Battery cargo is labeled at the package level. The marks are specified down to the millimeter, and handlers reject on them.
Marks and labels on battery packages
| Mark or label | When required | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Lithium battery mark (battery symbol, UN number) | Most battery shipments including Section II | 120 x 110 mm, reducible to 105 x 74 mm on small boxes |
| Class 9 hazard label | Fully regulated shipments (Section IA/IB and IMDG) | Diamond, top half black stripes, battery pictogram |
| Cargo aircraft only label | UN3480 and UN3090 by air | Orange CAO label next to the hazard label |
| Proper shipping name and UN number | Fully regulated shipments | Marked on the package, matching the declaration |
Small-quantity relief still exists for equipment shipments: cells at or below 20 Wh and batteries at or below 100 Wh packed with or in equipment can move under Section II of the relevant packing instructions, with the lithium battery mark but without the full declaration set. For standalone lithium-ion that relief is gone; every UN3480 package has shipped fully regulated since 2022.
Air or ocean: two rulebooks for the same cell
Air battery cargo runs under the IATA DGR, the 2026 edition at this writing, and the rules tightened on January 1, 2026: the 30 percent state of charge cap that has applied to standalone UN3480 since 2016 now also applies to lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment above 2.7 Wh, and to battery-powered vehicles. Standalone lithium-ion and lithium metal remain banned from passenger aircraft outright, which shrinks the usable network to freighters on exactly the lanes where freighter space is tightest.
Ocean battery cargo runs under the IMDG Code, amendment 42-24, as Class 9 with a dangerous goods declaration and UN specification packaging for standalone batteries. What ocean does not have is a state of charge limit or a passenger-aircraft problem, and for full-charge inventory, large packs, or container quantities that difference decides the mode by itself. The trade-off is time, covered honestly in our air versus ocean guide.
TAKEAWAY If your batteries must arrive charged, or in volume, plan on ocean. The 2026 air rules cap charge at 30 percent across most configurations, and recharging thousands of units at destination is a real cost that belongs in the landed calculation.
The DG layer on cost and transit
The dangerous goods layer adds declaration paperwork, certified packing checks, and carrier handling premiums, and it removes carriers from your option list; our air freight cost guide covers where the DG premium sits in a per-kilo build. On transit, battery cargo books against DG acceptance cutoffs that close earlier than general cargo, and a rejected declaration does not delay a shipment by hours, it rolls it to the next departure with space and acceptance, which on freighter-only lanes can mean days.
Refusals, penalties, and where shipments fail
Carrier acceptance is the quiet filter, and in the files we handle it fails bookings more often than the regulations themselves do. Every airline and ocean carrier maintains its own battery acceptance policy on top of the regulations, some refuse standalone lithium entirely, and integrator networks cap what a single account may tender. A booking that ignores acceptance policy fails at the cutoff even with perfect paperwork.
Misdeclaration is the loud one. Undeclared or misdeclared lithium batteries in US transport expose the shipper to civil penalties under 49 CFR that run to six figures per violation, and an undeclared battery discovered inside a consolidation grounds the whole container while every shipper in it waits. It is the one corner in freight where cutting it can hurt people, which is why no serious forwarder will look away from it.
How Platton books battery cargo to the US
Battery files fail on documents and acceptance, not on rates, so that is where the work goes first.
DG documents checked before the quote
The 38.3 summary, SDS, Wh marks, and packing spec are collected and checked against the classification before a price is issued, so the quote is written on the shipment that will actually tender.
Carriers that actually accept the class
Bookings go to carriers whose current acceptance policy covers the exact UN number and configuration, checked at booking time, because those policies change more often than the regulations do.
Ocean consolidation when air says no
Charged inventory, container volumes, and standalone packs move on ocean freight with the IMDG file built the same way, and the weekly consolidation cadence is planned around DG acceptance cutoffs.
The entry running while the cargo moves
The broker files the US entry off the same shipment file, so customs clearance runs while the cargo is still on the water or in the air.
Common Questions About Shipping Lithium Batteries
What is the difference between UN3480 and UN3481?
UN3480 covers lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own; UN3481 covers lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment or contained in equipment. The difference is the physical packing configuration, and it matters because UN3480 is banned from passenger aircraft and capped at 30 percent charge, while UN3481 keeps access to passenger-aircraft belly capacity within limits.
What does the UN3481 label mean?
A UN3481 mark on a box means it holds lithium-ion batteries packed with or inside equipment, a laptop, a tool with its pack, a device with an installed cell. The lithium battery mark showing UN3481 signals the hazard class to every handler in the chain, and packages carrying it must trace back to a UN 38.3 tested cell and compliant inner packaging.
Can lithium batteries ship by ocean instead of air?
Yes, and at volume they usually should. Ocean battery cargo moves under the IMDG Code as Class 9 with a dangerous goods declaration, and it carries no state of charge cap and no passenger-aircraft restriction. Transit is measured in weeks instead of days, so the decision is the standard air-ocean trade with a regulatory thumb on the ocean side.
What is the 30 percent state of charge rule?
Lithium-ion batteries shipped by air must be at or below 30 percent of rated capacity. It has applied to standalone UN3480 since 2016, and since January 1, 2026 it also covers batteries packed with equipment above 2.7 Wh and lithium-powered vehicles, under the 2025-2026 ICAO Technical Instructions and the 2026 IATA DGR. Ocean shipments carry no charge cap.
Do power banks ship as UN3480 or UN3481?
UN3480. A power bank is a battery in its own housing, not equipment, so it takes the standalone classification with the cargo-aircraft-only restriction and the 30 percent charge cap. Booking power banks as accessories under UN3481 is one of the most common misdeclarations in the e-commerce lanes, and carriers screen for it specifically.
What happens if lithium batteries are misdeclared?
In US transport, civil penalties under 49 CFR reach six figures per violation, and criminal exposure exists for willful cases. Operationally the cargo is refused or offloaded, and an undeclared battery found inside a consolidated container holds every shipment in the box. Carriers also blacklist repeat offenders, which quietly removes capacity from your lane.
Can lithium batteries go through the postal service?
Only in narrow domestic cases. USPS Publication 52 allows small cells installed in equipment, and by ground some packed-with and standalone configurations, within strict limits and with the battery mark; international battery mail is limited to installed-in-equipment only. Commercial quantities do not belong in the mail at all; they move as declared air or ocean cargo with the file this page describes.
Related Industry Guides
Importing electronics: the FCC layer that applies to the devices these batteries power.
Air freight cost: where the DG premium sits inside a per-kilo air quote.
Air vs ocean freight: the mode decision the charge rules keep making for you.
Electronics freight forwarding: how Platton runs battery-heavy electronics lanes to the US.
