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All the UPS surcharges

A list of all the different UPS surcharges, including ones you may be subject to when buying UPS labels on Pirate Ship

Updated over a week ago

When you ship UPS on Pirate Ship, you get access to deep discounts* on domestic and international shipping, including services such as:

  • UPS® Ground;

  • UPS 2nd Day Air®; and

  • UPS Next Day Air® service

  • Some Surcharges Included: These rates include Fuel Surcharges and Residential Surcharges for all services and Delivery Area Surcharges for Domestic Services.

*Discounts off UPS daily rates. Rates are limited to shipping from the U.S. only. Rates and any applicable discounts are subject to change at any time without notice.

Your shipment may incur additional UPS surcharges

  • When UPS Surcharges Apply: UPS may charge additional surcharges if your shipment is different than you said it would be, which will appear as adjustments to that shipment.

List of UPS Surcharges

Here is a list of all the surcharges you may see when shipping with UPS:

Additional Handling - Length + Girth

Applied when the length (longest side) plus girth (2x height + 2x width) of a package is more than 105 inches.

Additional Handling - Longest Side

Applied when the longest side of the package exceeds 48 inches.

Additional Handling - Second Long Side

Applied when the second-longest side of the package exceeds 30 inches.

Additional Handling - Packaging

Applied when items are in a soft-sided pack (such as a poly bag or bubble mailer) that exceeds 18 inches along its longest side, 14 inches along its second-longest side, or 6 inches in height; also applies when UPS deems your package an Irregular Package based on the contents of your shipment, the way it's packaged, or the shape of the packaging.

Additional Handling - Weight

Applies to domestic packages exceeding 50 pounds, and to international packages exceeding 55 pounds.

Additional Handling - Other

UPS may apply this surcharge if the shipment's packaging meets one of the following criteria:

  • The items aren't fully encased in a corrugated cardboard shipping container (including tires).

  • The outer shipping containers aren't made of corrugated cardboard including (but not limited to) canvas, leather, metal, wood, hard plastic, soft plastic (think plastic bag), or extended polystyrene foam (think styrofoam).

  • The outer shipping containers are covered in shrink wrap or stretch wrap.

  • The package is bound with metal, plastic, or cloth banding.

  • A package contains wheels, casters, handles, or straps.

  • The outer surface area is loosely wrapped or where the contents protrude outside the container surface.

  • The package is "irregular" or cylindrical-like, including but not limited to buckets, barrels, cans, drums, mailing tubes, or pails.

  • UPS routes the package through their irregular package sortation process, including but not limited to packages 1 inch or less in height.

  • The package requires special handling, as UPS determines in its sole discretion.

Additional Tariff Lines

May apply to international packages when the line items on a Commercial Invoice exceed a preset number.

Address Correction Surcharge

If you enter an incorrect or an incomplete address when buying your label, UPS has to try to figure out how to correct the address and deliver your shipment to the correct destination, and charges for that extra work.

Admin Fees

Landed cost calculator fee.

Adult Signature Required

The cost of adding Adult Signature Confirmation service to a package.

Agri Processing Fee

Import commodities regulated by the Food Inspection Agency are subjected to additional processing fees.

Billing Adjustment

Applies as a credit when UPS discovers you paid more to ship your package than what you should have.

Brokerage Fees

Fees that UPS applies for clearing packages through foreign countries' customs departments.

Brokerage GST

UPS applies a 5% federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) to all Canadian imported shipments valued at greater than the de minimis.

Ca British Columbia PST

A Provincial Sales Tax (PST) that applies to shipments going to Canada's British Columbia province.

Ca Customs HST

Harmonization Sales Tax (HST) applies to shipments destined for certain provinces in Canada. HST is a Canada-bound shipment's Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) combined into a single charge.

Customs GST

A Goods and Service Tax (GST) that applies to a shipment when a foreign country's customs department processes it.

Declared Value

Declarations of value from $100.01 to $300.00 are subject to a charge of $3.45. Declarations of value
over $300.00 incur a charge for each $100.00 (or portion of $100.00) of the total value declared, including
the first $100.00. For example, a declaration of $950.00 value incurs a charge of $11.50 (10 times $1.15).

Delivery Area Surcharge - Congested Area

UPS applies this surcharge to packages going to ZIP codes they deem congested, such as a tall skyscraper that takes them a very long time to ride the elevator up while they get a traffic ticket on the curb outside, though this is a rare case.

Delivery Area Surcharge - Rural

UPS imposes this surcharge on ZIP codes they consider "rural," meaning it takes their carriers a long time to drive there and make the delivery.

Delivery Area Surcharge - Super Rural

UPS applies the Super Rural Delivery Area Surcharge to packages going to ZIP codes they deem "extra rural," such as a farm without any neighbors for miles. This surcharge also applies to UPS pickups from those same ZIP codes.

Delivery Area Surcharge Extended (Commercial)

Applies to shipments going to certain destinations that are commercial addresses. To determine if UPS considers a particular destination as an Extended Area, visit ups.com/rates.

Delivery Confirmation Signature

A fee for adding Signature Confirmation service to a package.

Delivery Confirmation Signature - Commercial

A fee for adding Signature Confirmation service to a package destined for a commercial address.

Delivery Intercept

Applies to a shipment that UPS intercepts and reroutes on your behalf, either returning the package back to you or delivering the package to the original address on a future date.

Disbursement Fee

This fee varies by country and currency, and applies when UPS advances taxes and duties to customs on behalf of the paying party. UPS bills whichever is greater: either a minimum or percentage of the package value.

Dutiable Permit

Brokerage related fee.

Duty Amount

Applies when UPS advances a specific amount of customs duties in order to expedite customs clearance for certain packages.

Duty and Tax Forwarding Surcharge

Applied whenever the shipper requests that the duties & taxes on a package be billed to themselves or a third party

Early Surcharge

In addition to the regular shipping costs associated with your UPS Next Day Air® Early shipment, UPS will impose a surcharge for each shipment.

Entry Prep Fee

A type of broker fee that UPS charges for shipments sent via UPS Standard to Canada

Excise Tax

Excise taxes are taxes required on specific goods or services like fuel, tobacco, and alcohol. Part of landed cost.

Extended Area Surcharge

Applies to shipments going to certain destinations UPS deems to be in extended areas. To determine if UPS considers a particular destination as an Extended Area, download the Extended Area Surcharge List at ups.com/rates.

Fuel Surcharge

This surcharge fluctuates based on current fuel prices and may impact certain shipments.

Future Day Pickup - Web Request

A surcharge UPS applies to packages that shippers schedule pickups for in advance.

Guaranteed Service Refund

Applied when UPS credits the full cost of shipments they deliver after the guaranteed timeframe.

Inspection Fees

These fees vary based on the country and the shipment, and UPS may apply them to packages that undergo further inspection in a country's customs department.

Large Package Surcharge

This applies to packages that weigh over 90 pounds (or have a dimensional weight that is over 90 pounds); or packages where the length plus girth (2x width + 2x height) exceeds 130 inches; or to packages where the longest side (aka length) of the package exceeds 96 inches.

Large Package Surcharge Comm - Length

For packages going to commercial addresses over 90 pounds, the package's length plus girth exceeds 130 inches, or the longest side (aka length) of the package exceeds 96 inches.

Large Package Surcharge Residential - Length + Girth

For packages going to residential addresses over 90 pounds, the package's length plus girth exceeds 130 inches, or the longest side (aka length) of the package exceeds 96 inches.

Missing PLD Fee

Applied when the package you gave UPS has a label that is over 100 days old, has been refunded already, or has been previously used (typically comes in tandem with "Unexpected Label Use" surcharges).

Non-Standard Fee – Length Fee > 22"

For UPS® Ground Saver only, this is applied if any side of your package exceeds 22 inches but is less than or equal to 30 inches.

Non-Standard Fee – Length Fee > 30"

For UPS® Ground Saver only, applied if any length of your package exceeds 30 inches.

Non-Standard Fee – Cube Fee > 2 Cubic Feet

For UPS® Ground Saver only, this is applied to packages that are greater than 2 cubic feet in volume.

Over Maximum Length

UPS applies this surcharge to any package that exceeds 108" in length, or 165" in length plus girth. Pirate Ship will never let you purchase postage for anything bigger than what UPS allows 😜 So, as long as you're accurate with the weight and dimensions you enter when making your label, you shouldn't see this charge.

Over Maximum Weight

UPS applies this surcharge to any package that exceeds 150 pounds. Pirate Ship will never let you purchase postage for anything bigger than what UPS allows 😜 So, as long as you're accurate with the weight and dimensions you enter when making your label, you shouldn't see this charge.

Peak Surcharge - Commercial

A surcharge that UPS applies to packages going to commercial addresses during peak holiday season.

Peak Surcharge - Residential

A surcharge that UPS applies to packages going to residential addresses during peak holiday season.

Pickup Area Surcharge - Extended

Applied to packages UPS picks up from addresses they deem to be in extended areas. To determine if UPS considers a particular location as an Extended Area, visit ups.com/rates.

PST Manitoba

Provincial Sales Tax that applies to shipments destined for Canada's province Manitoba.

PST Quebec

Provincial Sales Tax that applies to shipments destined for Canada's province Quebec.

QST

Quebec Sales Tax (QST) is Quebec's unique provincial tax rate, and applies to shipments destined for Quebec.

Remote Area Surcharge

Applies to packages destined to/from Alaska or Hawaii. Also applies to pickup requests in Alaska or Hawaii. This surcharge may also apply to some international shipments.

Remote Area Surcharge - Extended

UPS applies this surcharge to areas they deem extended in both Alaska and Hawaii, which UPS already considers remote. This surcharge may also apply to some international shipments. To determine if UPS considers a particular location as an Extended Area, visit ups.com/rates.

Reroute - Web Request

Applied when UPS reroutes the package based on a request made on their website.

Reschedule Delivery

Applied when UPS reschedules a package's delivery based on a request they received over the phone.

Residential Adjustment

A correction made when a shipment delivery was designated as commercial but is in fact actually residential.

Residential Delivery Surcharge

This applies to every package that UPS delivers to a residential address.

Return to Sender - Phone Request

UPS returned the package back to the shipper based on a request they received over the phone.

Return to Sender - Web Request

UPS returned the package back to the shipper based on a request made on their website.

Revalidation - Service Fee

A brokerage-related fee when shipments held by the FDA are released and need to be revalidated.

Saturday Delivery

Applied when UPS delivers a package on Saturday, which is usually designated by the shipper when purchasing certain services

Saturday Processing Fee

Applied when UPS accepts a package into their network on Saturdays (not necessarily when labels are purchased on Saturdays)

Security Fee

UPS applies this fee for costs associated with enhanced security requirements when delivering certain packages.

Shipping Charge Correction

A surcharge UPS applies to your shipment to give it the correct amount of postage cost. This fee is the additional cost on top of what you paid for your label.

Signature Confirmation

A small surcharge that applies to some shipments where Signature Confirmation was purchased.

Storage Fee

Applies when UPS holds or stores a package based on the shipper's or recipient's request

Tradegate Charge

A fee UPS applies for shipments going to Australia valued over AUD $1000. This fee increases when the value of the goods is over AUD $10,000.

Undeliverable Return

Applies when UPS is unable to deliver a returned package back to your physical address.

Unexpected Label Use - Refund

A fee UPS charges when you use a refunded label. The fee will be for the full amount of the label.

Unexpected Label Use - Duplicate

A fee UPS charges when you use a duplicate label. The fee will be for the amount the new package you shipped with the same label cost. If you use a label more than twice, you will continue to see more costs added. Never use a label more than once!

Value Added Tax

Applied when UPS assumes Value-Added Tax (or VAT) for certain international shipments.

Zone Adjustment

UPS delivered the package to a different zone than was designated on your label, or you dropped off your package at a different UPS location from what you specified when purchasing the label.

Reach out to us if you have any questions

Any questions about UPS surcharges, Cap'n? Click the blue chat button to hoist the flag and chat with our Support Crew 🏴‍☠️

You can also email us at support@pirateship.com - we ARRrrr always happy to get 😃

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