Are you posting safely?

‘Dangerous goods’ are articles or substances which are capable of posing a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Existing regulations prohibit sending nearly all dangerous goods in the mail. Prohibited items (such as explosives and corrosive liquids) must never be sent in the post. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Department for Transport (DfT) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have agreed new rules with Jersey Post Group for sending small quantities of specific consumer items in the mail. The change means that customers will be able to post toiletry and medicinal aerosols, nail varnishes, perfumes and aftershaves to UK addresses. They also mean customers can continue to post alcohol up to 70 per cent ABV and electronic items sent with or containing lithium batteries within the UK. The updated set of rules will limit the risk posed by those items when sent in the post. Customers posting such items will need to comply with volume, quantity, packaging and labelling requirements.

Please refer to our guide on dangerous goods and the relevant terms and conditions before packaging or posting any items to ensure you meet minimum safety requirements. Please note that specific country restrictions may also apply which you should check before posting any item outside the UK, IOM or other Channel Islands. It is your responsibility to check the list of prohibited and restricted items and any applicable packaging, volume, quantity and labelling requirements that apply prior to posting any item. This list of prohibited and restricted items reflects our general terms and conditions.

European regulations require a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to be provided for many products, either before or at the time of first delivery. Section 14 of the EU format SDS indicates that a product is classified as dangerous goods by the presence of a four digit ‘UN’ number. Unless specifically permitted (as shown in the A-Z list) dangerous goods are forbidden in mail.

Some everyday household items bear consumer warning markings which may or may not indicate they are classified as dangerous goods. Products bearing the following consumer warning markings ARE classified as dangerous goods:

Note: A product bearing the corrosive marking (depicted far right above) is NOT classified as dangerous goods if the signal word and hazard statement ‘Danger - causes serious eye damage’ applies. Unless specifically permitted (as shown in the A-Z list) dangerous goods are forbidden in mail.