Lithium battery shipping limits (49 CFR 173.185)
Watt-hour and lithium-content thresholds, quantity limits and packaging conditions for shipping lithium cells and batteries under US hazardous materials regulations. Deliberately NOT a compatibility table — this is regulatory prose with numeric triggers, and it tests whether the pipeline handles a non-tabular asset.
Records15
Sources1
Verified2026-08-03
Review by2027-01-30
LicencePublic domain (US Government, eCFR)
The data
| Provision | Applies to | Threshold | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| (c)(1)(i) | a package containing lithium cells or batteries, or lithium cells or batteries packed with, or contained in, equipment | 20 Wh | The Watt-hour (Wh) rating may not exceed 20 Wh for a lithium ion cell |
| (6) | cell or battery prepared for transport | 35 kg | may have a mass exceeding 35 kg gross weight when transported by cargo-only aircraft |
| (5) | each lithium ion battery | 0 Wh | each lithium ion battery must be marked with the Watt-hour rating on the outside case. |
| (b)(3)(vii) | each package | 30 kg | Each package must not exceed 30 kg (66 pounds) gross weight |
| (5) | Lithium batteries, including lithium batteries contained in equipment | 12 kg (26.5 pounds) | may be packed in strong outer packagings, in protective enclosures (for example, in fully enclosed or wooden slatted crates), or on pallets or other handling devices, instead of packages meeting the UN performance packaging requirements |
| (c)(3)(i) | lithium battery mark | The package must display the lithium battery mark. | |
| (c)(4)(i) | lithium cells or batteries packed with, or contained in, equipment | 5 kg | The total net quantity (mass) of the lithium cells or batteries in the completed package must not exceed 5 kg. |
| (b)(3)(i) | lithium ion battery | 100 Wh | The Watt-hour (Wh) rating may not exceed 100 Wh |
| (b)(3)(i) | lithium ion cell | 20 Wh | The Watt-hour (Wh) rating may not exceed 20 Wh |
| (b)(3)(ii) | lithium metal battery | 2 g | The lithium content may not exceed 2 g |
| (b)(3)(ii) | lithium metal cell | 1 g | The lithium content may not exceed 1 g |
| (c)(5)(ii) | packages | 3 meters | Each package must be capable of withstanding, without damage to the cells or batteries contained therein and without any reduction of effectiveness, a force applied to the top surface equivalent to the total weight of identical packages stacked to a height of 3 meters (including the test sample) for a duration of 24 hours. |
| (c)(5)(i) | packages prepared in accordance with the size limits in paragraph (c)(1) | 2.5 kg lithium metal cells or batteries, or 10 kg lithium ion cells or batteries | A package containing no more than 2.5 kg lithium metal cells or batteries, or 10 kg lithium ion cells or batteries, is not subject to the UN performance packaging requirements in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section, when the package displays both the lithium battery mark in paragraph (c)(3)(i) and the Class 9 Lithium Battery label specified in § 172.447 of this subchapter. |
| (c)(4)(iv) | persons who prepare a package for transport containing lithium cells or batteries, packed with, or contained in, equipment | Each person must receive instruction on these conditions and limitations, corresponding to their functions. | |
| (c)(4)(iii) | shipments with packages required to display the paragraph (c)(3)(i) lithium battery mark | Each shipment must include an indication on the air waybill of compliance with this paragraph (c)(4) (or the applicable ICAO Technical Instructions Packing Instruction). |
Where this came from
Every record above links the page it was taken from and quotes the sentence that states it. These are the 1 source this dataset was assembled from.
- ecfr.govhttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/section-173.185
Machine-readable
- data.jsonThe whole dataset — every record with its source URL and source quote.
- Open Knowledge Format bundleOne file per record, frontmatter plus the quoted span, exactly as it is held here.
- How this is made and checkedWhat "verified against source" does and does not mean.