Revised USPS Hazmat Packaging Standards for Mail

Posted on 1/28/2025 by Lion Technology Inc.

New Rules for Hazmat Mailers Take Immediate Effect

Effective January 27, 2025, the US Postal Service has revised its standards for mailing hazmat/dangerous goods to require "rigid" outer packaging of a certain strength for most regulated materials. USPS announced the changes to Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail, in a Final Rule.

Other revisions in the Final Rule include:

Revising the requirements for mailing lithium batteries.
Removing quantity restrictions for nonregulated toxic materials like pesticides and insecticides, provided that the new packaging requirements are followed.
Removing the requirement to include a phone number on the lithium battery mark.

The Postal Service cites a concerning increase in hazmat mail incidents between 2020 and 2022 as a key influence for new, more stringent mailability rules. A boom in eCommerce shipping, USPS believes, led to more incidents involving hazardous materials released during transportation and/or removed from the mail system.

Changes made in 2023, USPS says, already helped lower the incident rate by 20%.

New Packaging Strength Requirement (All Hazmat)

Moving forward, mailers of hazardous materials must use rigid outer packaging that meets minimum strength requirements based on “edge crush” and “burst test” performance. USPS defines “rigid” to mean:

“Unable to bend or be forced out of shape, not flexible. Rigid outer packaging is generally interpreted to mean a fiberboard (cardboard) box or outer packaging of equivalent strength, durability, and rigidity.”

Revised USPS Hazmat Packaging Standards for Mail

Revised Rules for Lithium Batteries by Mail

For shippers of lithium batteries contained-in-equipment by mail, the rule allows the use of padded or poly bags as outer packaging, provided the equipment containing the batteries is placed in a secondary container (i.e., the original manufacturer’s box) that can withstand a 1.2-meter drop test.

Read the USPS Final Rule in the January 27, 2025 Federal Register.

Tags: hazmat, hazmat shipping, USPS

Find a Post

Search for:

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Excellent class, super instructor, very easy to follow. No rushing through material. Would like to take his class again.

Lawrence Patterson

EH&S Facility Maintenance & Security Manager

Very good. I have always appreciated the way Lion Tech develops, presents and provides training and materials.

John Troy

Environmental Specialist

More thorough than a class I attended last year through another company.

Troy Yonkers

HSES Representative

Well designed and thorough program. Excellent summary of requirements with references. Inclusion of regulations in hard copy form, as well as full electronic with state pertinent regulations included is a great bonus!

Oscar Fisher

EHS Manager

This is the best RCRA training I've experienced! I will be visiting Lion training again.

Cynthia L. Logsdon

Principal Environmental Engineer

I can't say enough how pleased I was with this course! Everything finally makes sense.

Kim Graham

Lab Manager

The instructor was very engaging and helped less experienced people understand the concepts.

Steve Gall

Safety Leader

The instructor was very knowledgeable and provided pertinent information above and beyond the questions that were asked.

Johnny Barton

Logistics Coordinator

The instructor had knowledge of regulations and understanding of real-world situations. The presentation style was engaging and fostered a positive atmosphere for information sharing.

Linda Arlen

Safety & Environmental Compliance Officer

The instructor was very very informative, helpful, understandable and pleasant. This course answered many questions I had, being new to this industry.

Frances Mona

Shipping Manager

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

What to do before, during, and after a RCRA hazardous waste inspection to defend your site from rising State and Federal penalties.

Download

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.