{"id":7544,"date":"2020-11-13T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T14:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.thecompliancecenter.com\/?p=7544"},"modified":"2025-09-05T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T13:12:15","slug":"usps-simplifies-mailing-ethanol-based-products-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecompliancecenter.com\/ca\/help-center\/articles\/usps-simplifies-mailing-ethanol-based-products-air\/","title":{"rendered":"USPS Simplifies Mailing Ethanol-Based Products by Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was originally published in July 2017 and has been updated in November 2020 for accuracy.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Consumer Products<\/h2>\n

It seemed such a simple task at the time. A company decided to expand their consumer product line to include perfumes. They expected to send orders to customers, as they did their other products, by airmail. Yet, when setting up the shipment, an unexpected roadblock appeared. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) told them that the perfume was a hazardous material.<\/span><\/p>\n

How can a common consumer product like perfume be hazardous for transportation? Most perfumes have an alcohol base, designed to evaporate quickly, leaving the scent behind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this means that such perfumes are flammable liquids for transportation and are subject to Department of Transportation (DOT) as well as USPS restrictions for both ground and air transport.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, the decision to go into perfumes created some major headaches for the company. But they recently got some good news. If the perfume is based on ethanol, one of the most common alcohols, the company will get a break \u2013 USPS has reduced the requirements for this one solvent. Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, can be found in many consumer products, ranging from perfumes to hairspray to bath oil. By reducing the requirements for shipment of these products, shippers will enjoy reduced costs and complexity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Airmailing Hazardous Materials<\/h4>\n

If you wish to airmail hazardous materials in the United States, your first step should be to consult USPS Publication 52 – Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail<\/a><\/span>. This document provides instructions and restrictions for hazardous materials, as well as restricted articles such as firearms and perishable items such as food, plants and live animals.\u00a0It seems\u00a0people mail some quite unusual products \u2013 it\u2019s rather surprising that \u201clive scorpions\u201d are mailable, although the guide notes \u201conly under limited circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Publication 52 addresses airmail for most flammable liquids as follows in section 343.3(a):<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“For air transportation, parcels containing mailable Class 3 materials must bear the DOT square-on-point marking. The top and bottom portions of the square-on-point and the border forming the square-on-point must be black, and the center must be white or of a suitable contrasting background. The symbol \u201cY\u201d must be black, located in the center of the square-on-point, and clearly visible. Mailpieces must also be marked with the proper shipping name \u201cConsumer Commodity\u201d and identification number “ID8000.” “Each mailpiece must also bear an approved DOT Class 9 hazardous material warning label … A properly completed shipper\u2019s declaration for dangerous goods prepared in triplicate must be affixed to the outside of the mailpiece.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, ethanol-based flammable liquids, as well as solids impregnated with ethanol (such as cotton pads used as alcohol wipes) are also subject to section 343.27. This requires that the airmailed package be marked with the words \u201cContains Air-Eligible Ethyl Alcohol \u2013 Authorization (#)\u201d in 14 point type. In addition, the package must display the mailer\u2019s company name and address.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where does one obtain the Authorization Number? That\u2019s assigned by the USPS on request.<\/p>\n

Publication 52 says:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMailers must submit a letter of request to the manager, Product Classification\u2026. The request must include a list of each specific product to be mailed under the authorization, an MSDS for each product, the office of mailing, and expected frequency and quantity of mailings.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To simplify the shipment of these materials, USPS has now removed the requirement for the shipping name, ID number and hazard class label. The package must simply display the \u201cContains Air-Eligible Ethyl Alcohol\u201d mark, the Authorization Number, and the company name and address.<\/span><\/p>\n

To make the job even easier, alcohol solutions shipped under these provisions no longer require the shipper to affix a Shipper\u2019s Declaration for Dangerous Goods to the outside of the package.<\/span><\/p>\n

Packing Instructions<\/h4>\n

Of course, when shipping hazardous materials by air, the shipper must follow specific packing instructions.<\/p>\n

Publication 52 instructs:<\/strong><\/p>\n