Prohibited items
The carriage by post of substances and items classified as dangerous goods or prohibited by law is forbidden and you will find examples of these items on this page. In addition, there are country-specific restrictions on the contents of mail, which you can check under Country information.
| Class 1: Explosives |
e.g. detonators, fuses, fireworks, flares and distress rockets, firearms cartridges, sparklers, explosive streamers |
| Class 2: Gases |
e.g. aerosols (hair sprays, deodorants), helium, blowtorches, camping gas, cigarette lighters, fire extinguishers |
| Class 3: Flammable liquids |
e.g. acetone, petrol, methanol, spirit, thinner, turpentine, several disinfectants, paints, glues, nail varnish and perfumes |
| Class 4.1: Flammable solids, self-reactive substances and desensitized explosives |
e.g. matches |
| Class 4.2: Substances liable to spontaneous combustion |
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| Class 4.3: Substances which, in contact with water, emit flammable gas |
e.g. potassium, sodium |
| Class 5.1: Oxidising substances |
e.g. hydrogen peroxide (minimum 8%) |
| Class 5.2: Organic peroxides |
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| Class 6.1: Toxic substances |
e.g. cyanide, specific mercury compounds, specific pesticides |
| Class 6.2: Infectious substances |
e.g. samples containing pathogens, certain vaccines |
| Class 7: Radioactive materials |
e.g. plutonium, uranium |
| Class 8: Corrosive substances Acids and alkali |
e.g. sulphuric acid, acid batteries, mercury, several strong detergents |
| Class 9: Miscallaneous dangerous substances and articles |
e.g. asbestos, dry ice, devices containing dangerous goods, airbag modules, safety belt pre-tensioners, internal combustion engines fuelled by inflammable gas or liquid, lithium batteries, strong magnets |
Other bans and restrictions
The items listed below are either entirely prohibited or there are restrictions on their carriage.
- Money, securities, traveller’s cheques, platinum, gold or silver (wrought or unwrought), gemstones, jewellery and other valuables (only as insured postal items to those countries that permit them).
- Narcotics, e.g. LSD, morphine, cocaine, cannabis products, opium
- Ammunition, weapon replicas and replicas of deactivated explosives
- Counterfeit and pirated products
- Live animals. (Bees, leeches and silk-worms can be sent. In addition, flies of the family Drosophilidae for biomedical research can be exchanged in international letters between officially recognized institutions.)
- Items and substances, the possession or use of which is prohibited by law.
