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- Jul 11
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Macalegin Electronics
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Learn These Lithium Battery Regulations Shipping Phones
Struggles with Lithium battery Regulations
We have been in the wholesale mobile phone industry for many years. There have been numerous changes to how shipping companies handle electronics. The danger of Lithium-Ion Batteries causing fires has necessitated many lithium battery regulation changes to ensure safe handling and transit. If you do not follow the Lithium Battery Shipping Regulations, there can be problems getting the package delivered, or your shipping account could even be closed for an undisclosed amount of time!
Based on regulations starting in January 2019, we have built this post to educate and inform. The information in this post is what we have found through our own researching, we do not claim any liability. We recommended you going to your shipper’s website to find the most up-to-date regulations. We are not affiliated with IATA or any shipping companies. The purpose of this post is to give clarity and some kind of guidance to those who are shipping lithium batteries and are unsure of the regulations.
First, we have often found that even talking to “shipping experts”, there have been differences in what we were told was regulation and what the regulations actually were. Each shipping company has unique regulations so be sure to check you are following each one individually.
The second struggle was finding relevant and up-to-date regulations, so to make your life easier in the future, here are some good links with information regarding shipping regulations for Lithium-Ion Batteries
Sources for the information:
http://images.fedex.com/downloads/jp_english/packagingtips/lithium/lithiumbatteryFlowChart.pdf
https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/media/us_lithium_battery_regulations.pdf
https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dgr/Documents/lithium-battery-guidance-document-2017-en.pdf
https://www.iata.org/html_email/CAR1001654/lithium_batteries.pdf
Being able to find the right documentation is half the battle. Using the above links, we’ve compiled the following shipping regulations for shipping Lithium-Ion Batteries with, or in devices.
As a side note, we get our labels from LabelMaster (LB435T). They are the only place we’ve found that allows us to print a label custom label with an additional tab for the “PI number”.
Compiled, Easy-to-Read Regulations
The following regulations are listed in IATA DGR 59th Edition.
Written for shipping mobile phones, tablets and smartwatches.
- UN3481 – In compliance with PI 967, Section II
Shipping Lithium Batteries within a device. - UN3481 – In compliance with PI 966, Section II
Shipping Lithium Batteries packed with (not in) equipment
Note: This document does NOT cover shipping a package with only batteries as in many cases, this may require a dangerous goods certification as well as other specific labels.
The following Label must be placed on all packages shipped unless the package meets one of the following criteria.
- There are no batteries in the package (in or outside of the devices)
- No more than 2 batteries in devices are in the package – you can ship 1-2 phones in a package without needing to follow lithium battery regulations.
- The box size is smaller than the required label dimensions of 120 mm x 110 mm, in which case, a label with the dimensions of 105 mm x 74 mm may be used
Note: Must change the text under the red border to PI 966 when shipping with batteries not in a device. This text may be on the same label outside the red border, or on a separate label placed on the same side of the box near the Lithium Battery Label.
PI 967 – Shipping Lithium-Ion Batteries within a device
No Package may exceed 66 LBS
Batteries
-Battery must be ≤100 Wh (watthours) and ≤20 Wh per cell
-Battery vs Cell
-Most cell phone batteries are a battery with a single cell, however, laptop or tablet batteries generally have 2 or more cells.
-Look up the Wh of a battery or calculate Volts X Amps.
-Example: A Samsung Galaxy Note 5 battery is 3.85V (Nominal voltage of any standard cell phone battery) and is rated at 3000 mAh milliamp hours,
-Having converted mAh to Ah first multiply 3.85 x 3 giving you 11.55 Wh.
-Batteries may not be bloated or damaged
-Total package weight of all batteries may not exceed 5 kg
Packing
-All boxes must
-Have a waterproof lining or each device must have a waterproof lining
-Be of sturdy construction
-Have sufficient padding to protect batteries from getting damaged from a 1.2-meter fall
-Package all devices so that they cannot be turned on while they are being shipped
-Total package weight may not exceed 66 lbs.
-All packages with more than 2 devices must be labeled with a Lithium Battery Warning Label
Equipment
-All equipment must be powered off and remain off during transit.
PI 966 – Shipping additional Lithium Ion Batteries with a device
No Package may exceed 66 LBS
The number of batteries that may be included is limited to 2 extra batteries per device
The extra batteries must be for the devices packed. We may not include batteries that are not meant for the devices.
This means if a package has 2 iPhone 6S and 2 Galaxy S7 phones you may pack up to 8 extra batteries, but it can only be up to 4 iPhone 6S batteries and up to 4 Galaxy S7 batteries not including batteries already in the devices.
Batteries
-Battery must be ≤100 Wh (watthours) and ≤20 Wh per cell
-Battery vs Cell-Most cell phone batteries are a battery with a single cell, however, laptop or tablet batteries generally have 2 or more cells.
-Look up the Wh of a battery or calculate Volts X Amps.-Example: A Samsung Galaxy Note 5 battery is 3.85V (Nominal voltage of any standard cell phone battery) and is rated at 3000 mAh milliamp hours.
-Having converted mAh to Ah first multiply 3.85 x 3 giving you 11.55 Wh.
-Batteries may not be bloated or damaged
-Total package weight of all batteries may not exceed 5 kg
Packing
-Batteries outside of devices must
-be packed individually with inner packings that completely enclose the battery
-be protected to prevent short circuits – all terminal leads must be covered
-Have sufficient padding to protect against damage from a 1.2-meter fall
-All boxes must
-Have a waterproof lining or each device and battery must be individually waterproofed
-Be of sturdy construction
-Have sufficient padding to prevent shifting of contents during transit.
-Package all devices so that they cannot be turned on while they are being shipped.
-Total package weight may not exceed 66 lbs.
-All packages with batteries outside of devices must be labeled with a Lithium Battery Warning Label.
-Requires the same label as the example image with the difference of the text under the red border being changed to “Lithium-Ion Batteries In Compliance with Section II of PI 966”
Equipment
-All equipment must be powered off and remain off during transit
