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Banned/Restricted Items

Two lists. The first we cannot carry under any circumstances. The second we will carry, but only with paperwork agreed before booking.

Never accepted

Prohibited outright, on every service and every lane. A consignment found to contain any of these is held, reported where the law requires it, and returned at the consignor's cost.

  • Currency, bank drafts, bearer instruments and negotiable securities
  • Gold, silver, bullion, precious metals and loose precious or semi-precious stones
  • Firearms, ammunition, weapon parts and replica weapons
  • Explosives, fireworks, detonators and blasting agents
  • Narcotics, psychotropic substances and drug precursors
  • Radioactive material and fissile substances
  • Live animals, birds, fish and insects
  • Human remains, ashes, body parts, organs, blood and tissue
  • Counterfeit goods and material infringing a trademark or copyright
  • Obscene, seditious or otherwise unlawful material
  • Wildlife products, ivory, animal skins and protected plant species
  • Loose lithium cells and damaged or recalled batteries of any chemistry

Accepted on prior approval

Tell us before you book. Approval is per lane, because what a carrier will move through one state it may refuse in another.

CategoryWhat we needConstraint
Dangerous goods (DG)MSDS, UN classification and a signed DG declarationSurface only, limited quantities, no air lane
Lithium batteries in equipmentUN 38.3 test summary and state-of-charge declarationInstalled in the device; loose cells are prohibited
Aerosols, paints and solventsMSDS and flashpoint declarationSurface only; flashpoint above 60 °C
AlcoholExcise permit for both origin and destination stateRefused entirely for dry states
Tobacco productsLicence copy and state entry permitCommercial quantities only, no retail-to-consumer
PharmaceuticalsDrug licence copy; cold-chain plan if temperature-controlledNamed lanes only
PerishablesShelf-life declaration and packaging specExpress lanes only, no transit halt
High-value electronicsInvoice and serial-number list; carrier risk (FOV) mandatoryDeclared value cap per carton applies
Machinery containing fuel or oilDrain-and-purge certificateTanks must be empty and vented
Sealed documents and tendersSealed-envelope declarationExpress with signature on delivery
Approval is granted per consignment, not as a standing arrangement — a repeat lane still needs the declaration each time.

What happens if something slips through

Undeclared prohibited goods void all cover

If a consignment is found to contain a prohibited item, carrier liability and FOV cover lapse in full, including for the other cartons in the same consignment. The consignor also carries any fine levied at a checkpost.

We open cartons only where the law requires it

Routine consignments are not opened. Cartons are inspected when a checkpost officer directs it, when a scan or X-ray flags an anomaly, or when a declaration and the carton weight are plainly inconsistent.

Ask first — it is quicker than a refusal at the dock

A commodity check takes minutes on the phone. A consignment turned away at collection costs you the day.

Check a commodity

Send the commodity, the HSN code if you have it, and the origin and destination states.

Banned/Restricted Items · Shippbie