Effective November 15, 2012, the Postal Service™ is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM®) sections 135.6 and 136.1 to remove the current prohibition against mailing lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries internationally, or to or from any Army Post Office™ (APO), Fleet Post Office (FPO),or Diplomatic Post Office (DPO) location.
Consistent with the final rule published in the Federal Register, the Postal Service announced that effective November 15, 2012, certain limited quantities of lithium metal or lithium-ion batteries that are installed in the equipment they are intended to operate can be mailed internationally, or to or from APO, FPO, or DPO locations when not restricted or prohibited by the destination country or APO, FPO, or DPO location. The final rule is available in its entirety at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR.
Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM)
1 International Mail Services
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130 Mailability
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135 Mailable Dangerous Goods
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[Insert new 135.6 to read as follows:]
135.6 Batteries
135.61 General
Only lithium cells and batteries under 135.62 and 135.63 that are properly installed in the equipment they are intended to operate may be sent internationally or to APO, FPO, or DPO locations when not restricted or prohibited by the destination country or APO, FPO, or DPO location. For specific country restrictions, see the applicable Individual Country Listing. For specific APO, FPO, or DPO restrictions, see the information for the destination ZIP Code in the article titled “Overseas Military/Diplomatic Mail” published in each issue of the Postal Bulletin.
Lithium batteries packed with equipment and lithium batteries sent separate from equipment are prohibited. Damaged or recalled batteries are prohibited and may not be mailed internationally under any circumstances.
135.62 Primary Lithium (Non-Rechargeable) Cells and Batteries
Small consumer-type primary lithium cells and batteries (lithium metal or lithium alloy) like those used to power cameras and flashlights are mailable in a single shipment with the following restrictions:
a. The batteries must be installed in the equipment being shipped.
b. Each shipment may contain a maximum of only four lithium cells or two lithium batteries.
c. The lithium content must not exceed 1 gram (g) per cell.
d. The total aggregate lithium content must not exceed 2 g per battery.
e. The batteries installed in the equipment must be protected from damage and short circuit.
f. The equipment must be equipped with an effective means of preventing it from being turned on or activated.
g. The equipment must be contained in a strong sealed package and cushioned to prevent movement or damage.
135.63 Secondary Lithium-ion (Rechargeable) Cells and Batteries
Small consumer-type lithium-ion cells and batteries like those used to power cell phones and laptop computers are mailable in a single shipment with the following restrictions:
a. The batteries must be installed in the equipment being shipped.
b. Each shipment may contain a maximum of only four lithium-ion cells or two lithium-ion batteries.
c. The lithium content must not exceed 20 Watt-hour rating (Wh) per cell.
d. The total aggregate lithium content must not exceed 100 Wh per battery.
e. Each battery must bear the Wh marking on the battery to determine if it is within the limits defined in 123.63c and 123.63d.
f. The batteries installed in the equipment must be protected from damage and short circuit.
g. The equipment must be equipped with an effective means of preventing it from being turned on or activated.
h. The equipment must be contained in a strong sealed package and cushioned to prevent movement or damage.
136 Nonmailable Goods
136.1 Dangerous Goods
*** Some examples of dangerous goods include the following:
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[Delete item “i” in its entirety.]
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We will incorporate these revisions into the next monthly update of the online IMM, which is available via Postal Explorer® at http://pe.usps.com.
— Product Classification,
Pricing, 11-15-12
