🚫 FedEx Prohibited Items & Dangerous Goods
What FedEx will not ship, what needs an approved account, and how the rules tighten by destination country
How FedEx splits the rules. FedEx refuses anything prohibited by law, keeps its own list of items it will not carry to any destination, and treats dangerous goods (DG) separately, on specific services with hazmat documentation. An item can be legal to own and still not be shippable. The lists below summarize the common cases. Confirm against FedEx global shipping restrictions, which also leads to the country-by-country lists, before you ship.
Items FedEx Prohibits Outright
FedEx says these are refused to any destination regardless of service, apart from narrow published exceptions:
People, animals, valuables
- Money: coins, cash, currency, paper money and negotiable instruments equivalent to cash
- Human corpses, organs or body parts, human and animal embryos, cremated or disinterred remains
- Live animals, including insects and pets, except under the Service Guide's Live Animals section
- Animal carcasses
- Lottery tickets and gambling devices where prohibited by law
- Pornographic or obscene material
Weapons, drugs, wildlife, waste
- Firearms, with limited exceptions between the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and ghost guns or other firearms without a serial number
- Anything prohibited by law, such as illegal narcotics
- Wildlife products needing U.S. Fish and Wildlife clearance, unless arranged in advance
- Hazardous waste
- Items that look like a bomb, grenade or weapon
- Counterfeit goods
The global page points to the Service Guide and Conditions of Carriage for the binding list. Wording can differ by origin, so a shipper in the UK should read the FedEx UK prohibited items page rather than the U.S. one. The core list is similar.
Dangerous Goods: the Nine Hazard Classes
"FedEx dangerous goods" means one of the nine IATA/DOT hazard classes. These can ship, but only from an approved shipper on a service that accepts the class. FedEx does publish a destination table for DG, but a served country is not automatically open for your item. Our guide to the FedEx dangerous goods country list shows where to look and how to check a specific lane before you book.
| Class | Examples | Typical FedEx treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 1: Explosives | Fireworks, flares, ammunition, airbag inflators | Only Division 1.4, to a few countries |
| 2: Gases | Aerosols, propane, compressed gas | Approved shipper with declaration |
| 3: Flammable liquids | Perfume, paint, nail polish, alcohol over 24% ABV | Approved shipper. Limited-quantity packaging possible. |
| 4: Flammable solids | Matches, magnesium | Approved shipper with declaration |
| 5: Oxidizers | Pool chemicals, peroxides | Approved shipper with declaration |
| 6: Toxic / infectious | Pesticides, diagnostic specimens | Strictly controlled |
| 7: Radioactive | Some medical and industrial sources | Preapproval outside the U.S. |
| 8: Corrosives | Acids, wet batteries, drain cleaner | Approved shipper with declaration |
| 9: Miscellaneous | Lithium batteries, dry ice, magnets, vehicles | Special marks and labels |
Lithium Batteries: the Most Common Surprise
Lithium batteries (Class 9) trip up more shipments than almost anything else. The rules turn on whether the battery is loose or installed:
- Installed in the device (laptop, phone, camera): accepted under Section II within the cell and battery limits.
- Packed with equipment (spare in the same box): accepted under Section II within packing limits.
- Standalone batteries and power banks: FedEx no longer accepts UN3480 or UN3090 as Section II. They must go fully regulated as Section IA or IB, which rules out most one-off senders.
- Damaged, swollen or recalled batteries: refused by air.
Restricted: Ships Only With an Account or Paperwork
Alcoholic beverages
Only between approved, licensed shippers and consignees under agreement. Not for private individuals.
Perfume & cologne
Alcohol-based fragrance is a Class 3 flammable liquid (UN1266), and needs an approved DG shipper for international air.
Dry ice
Class 9, UN1845. Needs the UN marking and net quantity on the package, and the destination must accept it.
Biological samples
Category A and B substances need certified packaging and trained shippers.
Prescription medicine
Between licensed entities with documentation. Controlled substances are far more restricted.
Jewelry
Accepted, but declared value is normally capped at $1,000. A separate jewelry program allows more for enrolled shippers.
Tobacco and vapes
FedEx's declared-value page names tobacco among prohibited items. Ask FedEx about any licensed business exception.
Used electronics
Accepted to most countries under battery rules, but blocked or inspected more closely by several, such as China and India.
Perishables
Need the right service, packaging and a destination that allows them. Delay risk is yours.
Is It Banned Because of the Country?
The destination, not just FedEx, decides what arrives. A package FedEx accepts in the U.S. can still be seized at the border. Common country-level blocks include used clothing, drones, satellite phones, political or religious material, gambling items and certain medicines. Our country shipping guides list the main restrictions for each destination.
Are goods to or from Ukraine prohibited on FedEx? We found no FedEx rule that bans Ukraine as a whole. Two separate limits apply: U.S. sanctions cover the occupied regions (Crimea and the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics), and service to parts of Ukraine can change with conditions. Check the destination's entry on the FedEx country list and confirm service for the exact postal code. OFAC has the current sanctions rules.
Shipping to or from the UK? See the FedEx UK page linked above and the UK country guide. To compare with other carriers item by item, see the carrier comparison table.
💡 If FedEx won't take it
- Check whether DHL, UPS or USPS allows it. Restricted lists differ.
- A ground service to Canada or Mexico, or a limited-quantity shipment from an approved shipper, is sometimes an option where air is not.
- Never misdeclare contents to dodge a restriction. Parcels are screened, and insurance will not pay on prohibited goods.