How to Ship Lithium Batteries: UN3480 and UN3481 Explained
The four digits after "UN" on a shipping label tell a carrier, an airline and a customs officer what is inside the box and which rulebook applies. Lithium ion batteries shipped as loose packs are UN3480. The same cells installed in a drill, or packed alongside the tool they power, are UN3481. That single distinction decides almost everything downstream: the packing instruction, the marks and labels on the case, the paperwork, and whether the consignment can travel on a passenger aircraft at all.
Under the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations, applied through the 67th edition of the DGR and the 2025-2026 edition of the ICAO Technical Instructions, lithium ion cells and batteries sit in Class 9, miscellaneous dangerous goods.
For anyone shipping power tool packs, 18650 cells or 9V rechargeables, the practical questions are narrow: which packing instruction applies, how much charge can be left in the pack, and what has to be printed on the carton. This guide works through the answers with the source documents open.
UN3480 and UN3481: the split that matters
IATA divides the two lithium ion entries along one line: is the battery by itself, or is it tied to a piece of equipment?
- UN3480, Lithium ion batteries covers cells and packs shipped on their own, meaning not contained in and not packed with equipment. The packing instruction is PI 965.
- UN3481, Lithium ion batteries contained in equipment covers packs installed inside a device, such as a battery seated in a drill. The instruction is PI 967.
- UN3481, Lithium ion batteries packed with equipment covers a pack shipped in the same box as the tool it powers but not installed inside it. That falls under PI 966.
Two details catch people out. A power bank is classified as a battery rather than as equipment containing a battery, so it travels as UN3480 or UN3090 by chemistry. And UN3481 is one UN number covering two different packing instructions whose limits do not match. If there is one line to slow down on, it is this one.
Chemistry splits separately. Lithium metal cells and packs take UN3090 and UN3091, and lithium metal batteries shipped by themselves under PI 968 are forbidden as cargo on passenger aircraft. The definitions are chemistry based rather than shape based, so it helps to know how NiMH, lithium ion and LiFePO4 chemistries differ before reading a shipping table.
What each packing instruction allows
The limits below come from the IATA classification flowcharts in the 2026 Battery Guidance Document. "Pax A/C" means passenger and cargo aircraft, "CAO" means cargo aircraft only.
| UN number and packing instruction | Section | Limit per package, passenger aircraft | Limit per package, cargo aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| UN3480, PI 965 | IA | Forbidden | 35 kg |
| UN3480, PI 965 | IB | Forbidden | 10 kg |
| UN3481, PI 966 (packed with equipment) | I | 5 kg | 35 kg |
| UN3481, PI 966 (packed with equipment) | II | 5 kg | 5 kg |
| UN3481, PI 967 (contained in equipment) | I | 5 kg | 35 kg |
| UN3481, PI 967 (contained in equipment) | II | 5 kg | 5 kg |
The headline: loose lithium ion packs, the whole of UN3480, cannot fly on a passenger aircraft as cargo. Every package prepared under PI 965 Section IA or IB must carry a Cargo Aircraft Only label alongside the lithium battery mark and the Class 9 label. For a small seller moving replacement packs, that usually means a freight consolidator or a ground service rather than a passenger airline hold.
Section II is the lighter-touch route and is available only where a pack is contained in or packed with equipment. It is also where a marking exemption lives: IATA guidance states that no battery mark is required for packages under section II of PI 967, PI 970 or PI 978 that contain only button cells installed in equipment, or for consignments of two packages or less where each package holds no more than four cells or two batteries installed in equipment.
The 30 percent state of charge rule
This is the requirement most likely to get a shipment turned away at the counter.
IATA guidance is explicit for packs shipped under PI 965: lithium ion batteries packed by themselves must be offered at a state of charge not exceeding 30 percent of rated capacity. A pack above 30 percent may only travel with the approval of the State of Origin and the State of Operator under Special Provision A331, and it cannot be offered on a passenger aircraft unless the relevant authorities approve it under Special Provision A201.
PI 966 Section II carries a parallel requirement. Cells and batteries above a 2.7 Wh Watt-hour rating must sit at a state of charge not exceeding 30 percent, and anything above that level has to move into Section I under State approval.
From 1 January 2026 the net widened. IATA guidance records that lithium ion batteries packed with equipment, along with vehicles powered by lithium ion or sodium ion batteries, must be offered for air transport at a reduced state of charge unless the relevant States approve otherwise. ICAO adopted that change into the 2025-2026 Technical Instructions, and the stated objective is to lower the risk of a cell entering thermal runaway. The relationship between charge level and heat events is the same mechanism behind what happens when a lithium battery is overcharged.
Watt-hour rating is defined as rated capacity in ampere hours multiplied by nominal voltage, so a pack rated 5.0 Ah at 18V nominal works out to roughly 90 Wh. State of charge is the percentage of that capacity still stored in the pack. For a private seller posting one or two packs, the rule boils down to this: do not ship packs straight off the charger. A pack reading full on a fuel gauge is far above 30 percent. That is the one I would check twice before it goes in the box.
Test summaries and paperwork
Every lithium cell and battery offered for transport must pass the tests in Subsection 38.3 of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, Part III. The manufacturer and each subsequent distributor of cells, batteries and battery-powered equipment made after 30 June 2003 must make the associated test summary available, and IATA notes this does not require a paper copy with every box. Hosting the summary online and pointing to it with a QR code or URL on the battery, its packaging or the transport documents satisfies the requirement.
The summary carries defined content: manufacturer name and contact details, test laboratory, a unique test report number, the test date, a physical description of the cell or battery with mass and Watt-hour rating, model numbers, the list of tests with pass or fail results, and the name of the responsible person.
For non-UN specification packaging, IATA added a requirement effective January 2025 covering PI 966 Section II, PI 967 Sections I and II, PI 969 Section II, and PI 970 Sections I and II. Packages that do not meet the UN packaging standard must survive a three-metre stack test. PI 965 Section IB packaging carries a related burden, with a 1.2 metre drop test and a three-metre stack test listed in the same flowcharts.
Packing a box that will not be refused
Work through these in order before any pack leaves the building.
- Identify the UN number first. A pack alone is UN3480. A pack in the same box as a tool is UN3481 under PI 966. A pack inside a tool is UN3481 under PI 967.
- Confirm the Watt-hour rating. Multiply rated amp hours by nominal voltage. The result fixes which section applies and whether the 2.7 Wh threshold bites.
- Set the state of charge to 30 percent or below for anything shipped as UN3480, and for PI 966 Section II packs above 2.7 Wh.
- Protect the terminals. IATA transport guidance notes that short circuit is a preventable failure solved with better packaging, and the standard fix is to bag each cell or pack individually so nothing can bridge the contacts.
- Use UN specification packaging where Section I or IB applies, and add drop and stack evidence where it does not.
- Apply the marks the section requires and skip the ones it exempts. Cargo Aircraft Only goes on every PI 965 Section IA and IB package.
- Keep the test summary reachable. A hosted copy with a QR code on the label counts.
FAQ
Is a power tool battery UN3480 or UN3481?
It depends on how it is boxed. A replacement pack on its own is UN3480 under PI 965. The same pack shipped in the same carton as the tool, but not installed, is UN3481 under PI 966. Installed inside the tool, it is UN3481 under PI 967.
Can lithium battery packs fly on a passenger aircraft?
Not as loose cargo. IATA prohibits all lithium ion cells and batteries shipped by themselves under UN3480 from cargo carriage on passenger aircraft, and every PI 965 Section IA and IB package must carry a Cargo Aircraft Only label.
How full can a pack be when it flies?
Packs shipped by themselves under PI 965 must be at a state of charge not exceeding 30 percent of rated capacity. Higher states require approval from the State of Origin and the State of Operator under Special Provision A331.
What changed in January 2026?
IATA guidance records that lithium ion batteries packed with equipment, and vehicles powered by lithium ion or sodium ion batteries, must be offered for air transport at a reduced state of charge unless the relevant States approve otherwise as an A331 exception.
Does every box need a paper test summary?
No. The manufacturer and subsequent distributors must make the summary available, and IATA accepts hosting it online with a QR code or URL on the battery, its packaging or the transport documents.
Sources
- IATA, Lithium Batteries program page
- IATA Battery Guidance Document 2026 (PDF)
- Battery University, BU-704a: Shipping Lithium-based Batteries by Air
- Battery University, BU-704: How to Transport Batteries
If you are sourcing packs to ship in the first place, the specialty battery collection shows what a Watt-hour figure looks like on a real product listing, and the same math decides what happens to a pack at the end of its working life.