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What you can't ship internationally (and what needs permits)

Before any destination rule, the mail network itself stops the most common seller mistakes: in international mail, standalone lithium batteries and power banks are prohibited (only batteries installed in a device ship, with limits), and all aerosols and flammable liquids — perfume and nail polish included — are prohibited outright (USPS Pub 52; express couriers publish similar retail bans). Beyond that, each destination draws its own lines: 'prohibited' means never (counterfeits everywhere, meat/dairy parcels into the EU, pepper spray into the UK, used mattresses into Canada), while 'restricted' means allowed with permits or conditions (most Australian 'prohibited' goods, Japanese cosmetics above 24 pieces, food and plant products almost everywhere). Check your product against the destination sections below — every line cites the official source.

Cross-cutting: batteries, aerosols, flammables

If your product contains a lithium battery, the shape of your business changes: installed-in-device parcels can mail internationally within limits (≤100 Wh, limited count per consignment); anything with standalone or 'packed with' batteries needs a courier contract with dangerous-goods service, not a post office. If your product is a fragrance, nail polish, aerosol, or anything flammable, international mail is simply not available to you — plan on ground-plus-courier arrangements per destination or local fulfillment.

Destination quick lines sellers actually hit

United States: CBP distinguishes prohibited (forbidden by law) from restricted (needs licenses/permits) and its list catches ecommerce sellers via absinthe, certain food, plants, and counterfeit-adjacent goods. United Kingdom: offensive weapons including flick knives and pepper spray are banned outright; firearms, food, and CITES species are permit territory. EU: meat and dairy in parcels are prohibited by regulation (limited exceptions like infant formula), a rule that regularly burns snack-box sellers. Canada: used mattresses and hate/obscene material are prohibited; food, plants, and animal products run through CFIA restrictions. Australia: the strictest mail regime here — most food, plant material, seeds, straw packing, tobacco, replica firearms, and even currency are mail-prohibited, and knives need certification; many 'prohibited' goods are importable with written permission, which is a real path but not a checkout-speed one. Japan: counterfeits are statutorily prohibited (a resale-market trap), and cosmetics cap at 24 pieces / medicines at 2 months' supply without an import license — a hard ceiling for beauty sellers.

The pattern to internalize: 'restricted' is a compliance-gate status, not a no — but permits take weeks and belong in your market-entry plan, not your shipping-label workflow. When your product family appears in any list above, verify against the cited official source for your exact item before listing, and price the permit path or pick another market.

Common questions

My product shipped fine last month. Doesn't that mean it's allowed?
No — enforcement is sampled. A prohibited item that clears three times and gets seized on the fourth still costs you the goods, possible penalties, and carrier-account risk.
Do these lists cover everything?
No — they're the officially verified, seller-relevant highlights for six destinations. Your product's exact status depends on its composition and the destination's full tariff/permit schedules; the cited sources are the place to confirm.

Official sources behind these numbers

  • USPS international mail (and APO/FPO/DPO): standalone lithium batteries are prohibited. Pub 52 Packaging Instruction 9E: 'Lithium metal and lithium-ion cells and batteries not packed in equipment (i.e., batteries packed with equipment or batteries sent separately from equipment) are prohibited.' This bans loose batteries AND batteries packed alongside (but not installed in) a device. USPS Postal Explorer (Publication 52, Packaging Instruction 9E) · verified 2026-07-22
  • USPS international mail: lithium batteries INSTALLED in the equipment they operate (UN3091/UN3481) are mailable, with limits: max 4 lithium-ion cells or 2 lithium-ion batteries per package; cells max 20 Wh, batteries max 100 Wh (lithium metal: 1.0 g per cell / 2.0 g aggregate); and a consignment is limited to a maximum of two mailpieces for all international and APO/FPO/DPO mailings. USPS Postal Explorer (Publication 52, Packaging Instruction 9E) · verified 2026-07-22
  • USPS international mail: all gases (Hazard Class 2), including aerosols, are prohibited. Pub 52 section 342: 'International Mail: All gases are prohibited.' Domestically, flammable/toxic gas aerosols are barred from air; only certain aerosol paint products qualify for domestic surface as Limited Quantity. USPS Postal Explorer (Publication 52, section 342) · verified 2026-07-22
  • USPS international mail: flammable liquids (Hazard Class 3) are prohibited. Pub 52 section 343: 'International Mail: Flammable liquids are prohibited.' Also prohibited via domestic air; only surface Limited Quantity domestically. Perfume and nail polish are typical flammable liquids, so they cannot go in USPS international mail. USPS Postal Explorer (Publication 52, section 343) · verified 2026-07-22
  • DHL Express (UK retail service) lists as items you cannot send: 'aerosols, perfumes and aftershaves', 'nail polish', 'power banks', loose batteries of any type, rechargeable wireless earbuds (e.g. AirPods), damaged/defective batteries, e-cigarettes/vape devices, plus cash, activated/unactivated credit-debit cards, counterfeit goods, firearms/ammunition/explosives, bladed items, live animals, flowers and plants. DHL Express UK · verified 2026-07-22
  • CBP: 'Prohibited means the item is forbidden by law to enter the United States. Examples of prohibited items are dangerous toys, cars that don't protect their occupants in a crash, bush meat, or illegal substances like absinthe and Rohypnol.' U.S. Customs and Border Protection · verified 2026-07-22
  • CBP: 'Restricted means that special licenses or permits are required from a federal agency before the item is allowed to enter the United States. Examples of restricted items include firearms, certain fruits and vegetables, animal products, animal by products, and some animals.' U.S. Customs and Border Protection · verified 2026-07-22
  • Banned from entering the UK: controlled drugs; offensive weapons, for example flick knives; self-defence sprays, for example pepper spray and CS gas. GOV.UK (HM Government) · verified 2026-07-22
  • Restricted for UK entry (special licence/conditions required): firearms, explosives and ammunition; food and plant products that are not pest/disease-free, not for personal consumption, or not grown in the EU; and CITES-protected items including certain foods, beauty products, exotic leather, furs, wooden instruments, and some medicines. Goods suspected of infringing intellectual property rights (counterfeits) are also listed and liable to seizure. GOV.UK (HM Government) · verified 2026-07-22
  • Personal imports/parcels of meat, milk and their products from outside the EU are prohibited: travellers/consignments 'are not allowed to bring in meat, milk or their products, unless they are coming with less than 10 kilograms of these products from the Faeroe Islands or Greenland' (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122). European Commission DG SANTE · verified 2026-07-22
  • CBSA: 'Certain goods are not allowed to be imported into Canada. This includes the obvious such as child pornography and hate propaganda, as well as less obvious items such as used mattresses and some used automobiles.' (Prohibited importations detailed in Memoranda Series D9.) Canada Border Services Agency · verified 2026-07-22
  • Food, plants, animals and related products are restricted or prohibited entry into Canada because they can harbour invasive species, foreign animal diseases and plant pests; all such products must be declared and many require CFIA permits/inspection. Canada Border Services Agency · verified 2026-07-22
  • ABF: 'You can import or export most prohibited goods with written permission if you meet certain conditions and requirements. Some goods are under absolute prohibition. This means you must not import or export the goods in any circumstance.' Importing prohibited goods without permission risks seizure and penalties up to 2,500 penalty units or 10 years imprisonment, or both. Australian Border Force · verified 2026-07-22
  • USPS country conditions for Australia — prohibited in mail: 'Most food, plant, and animal products, including the use of products such as straw and other plant material as packing materials'; fruit cartons (used or new); untreated wood; and 'Tobacco products, including cigarettes and loose-leaf tobacco. Exception: Cigars.' USPS Postal Explorer (IMM Individual Country Listing — Australia) · verified 2026-07-22
  • USPS country conditions for Australia — restricted in mail: knives/blades require written Police Certification (B709B or B709X form) from the Australian Police Firearms Registry; seeds and plants require phytosanitary certificates and Australian import permits; meat and dairy require permission from Australian quarantine authorities; medicines require permission of the Australian Director-General of Health. USPS Postal Explorer (IMM Individual Country Listing — Australia) · verified 2026-07-22
  • Japan Customs prohibited articles also include: 'counterfeit, altered, or imitation coins, paper money, bank notes, or securities, and forged credit cards'; books/drawings/other articles that may harm public safety or morals (obscene or immoral materials, e.g. pornography); child pornography; and 'articles which infringe upon intellectual property rights'. Japan Customs · verified 2026-07-22
  • Japan quantity restrictions on importing medicine and cosmetics without further procedure: 'for pharmaceutical products: amount for use for a period of 2 months; quasi-drugs: amount for use for a period of 2 months; cosmetics: 24 applications' (per item). Larger quantities require procedures under pharmaceutical/medical-device law. Japan Customs · verified 2026-07-22

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