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UPS®: Prohibited Items

Here are some items that UPS won't allow you to ship, no matter what

Updated over 3 months ago

There are some items you're not able to ship with UPS—no exceptions!

UPS list of prohibited items

The items that UPS prohibits include but aren't limited to:

  • Vape products within, to, or from the U.S including devices, liquids, and gels

  • Shipments prohibited by law

  • Bank bills, notes, or currency

  • Common fireworks

  • Hazardous waste or hazardous waste service

  • Human remains, fetal remains, human body parts, human embryos, or components thereof

  • Ivory

  • Marijuana, including seeds, and marijuana intended for medicinal use

  • Postage stamps

  • Shark fins

  • Tobacco

UPS also prohibits:

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, or which require special facilities, safety precautions or permits.

To learn more about what UPS prohibits, visit the UPS website.

Items prohibited with UPS on Pirate Ship

Due to our contract with UPS, there are also several items that you can't purchase labels for on Pirate Ship.

These are items you technically can send with UPS outside of our contract with them, but doing so on Pirate Ship will void any liability coverage and may get your account restricted 🙈

  • Prohibited items with UPS on Pirate Ship: The items that fall into this category are as follows:

    • Anything on the Hazardous or Dangerous Goods list from UPS, including but not limited to products requiring Limited Quantity labels

    • Aerosols

    • Alcohol, including beer, wine, and spirits

    • Ammo/ammunition

    • Compressed or Decompressed Oxygen

    • Dry Ice*

    • Guns or firearms of any kind & any firearm parts/accessories besides a scope (see the UPS website for additional details)

    • Hemp & CBD products

    • Isopropyl alcohol

    • Live animals

    • Perfume

    • Plants

    • Prescription drugs

    • Uranium Ore

  • Create a UPS account to send an above item: If you need to send one of the above items, we recommend creating an account with UPS and contacting them in regards to any special handling your shipment may require 👍

*Shipping dry ice with UPS

Dry ice is okay to send with UPS on Pirate Ship only for domestic shipments within the United States in the following situations:

  • UPS® Ground: There are no regulations for dry ice, but the total weight of the package must be under 150 lbs

  • Air shipments (non-medical): Packages sent via UPS air services only contain up to 5.5 lbs of dry ice, and they must be marked with the following info on the outside of the box:

    • The words “Dry Ice” or “Carbon Dioxide, Solid”

    • The weight of the dry ice

    • The item being cooled (ex. Seaweed, Ice Cream, Food)

  • Air shipments (medical): Medical packages sent with UPS air services can only contain up to 5.5 lbs of dry ice, and packages must be marked with the following info on the outside of the box:

    • The words “Dry Ice” or “Carbon Dioxide, Solid”

    • A medical statement (for example, “For medical purposes” or “For diagnostic purposes”)

    • The net weight of the dry ice

  • You can't send dry ice internationally with UPS: Again, you cannot send dry ice with UPS to any international destinations outside of the United States. Attempting to purchase a label for an international UPS shipment that contains hazardous materials will return an error message 😅

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