IATA Lithium Battery Shipping in 2026: Section II Limits, State Variations, and What Is Changing

Why Lithium Batteries Are the Hazmat Commodity That Will Bite You

More air freight is rejected at acceptance for lithium battery violations than for any other UN class. That is not because the rules are unusually hard. It is because the rules are layered: the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations sit on top of ICAO Technical Instructions, and then individual states and individual operators add variations on top of both. A shipment that is perfectly compliant on the base IATA rules can be rejected at a specific airport because of a state variation that the shipper did not check.

If you ship lithium batteries through Miami International or any other U.S. gateway, here is what you need to have nailed for 2026.

The Four UN Numbers You Will See

Lithium battery shipments fall under four UN numbers depending on chemistry and configuration. UN3090 covers lithium metal batteries shipped on their own. UN3091 covers lithium metal batteries packed with or contained in equipment. UN3480 covers lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries shipped on their own. UN3481 covers lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries packed with or contained in equipment.

The chemistry matters because lithium metal is more energetic and harder to extinguish in a thermal runaway event, which is why UN3090 has the tightest passenger aircraft restrictions. Lithium metal cells over 1 gram of lithium and lithium ion cells over 20 Wh cannot fly on passenger aircraft in Section II quantities.

Section II Is Where Most Shippers Live

Section II of Packing Instructions 965 through 970 covers small cells and batteries below specific watt-hour or lithium content thresholds. Section II shipments do not require a Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods, but they still require a lithium battery handling label, a marking with the UN number, a phone number for additional information, and packaging that has passed the 1.2 meter drop test.

The Section II thresholds you need to memorize: for lithium ion cells, 20 Wh per cell and 100 Wh per battery is the ceiling. For lithium metal cells, 1 gram of lithium per cell and 2 grams per battery is the ceiling. Above those numbers, you are in Section IA or IB, which requires a full DGD, a fully trained shipper, and Class 9 hazard labels.

The package quantity limits in Section II are also worth knowing. Stand-alone UN3480 shipments by passenger aircraft are no longer permitted at all. Stand-alone UN3480 by cargo aircraft only is restricted to 2.5 kg of cells or batteries per package. UN3481 contained in equipment has more generous limits depending on the device.

State and Operator Variations Will Catch You

This is the part that turns a textbook-correct shipment into a rejection at the cargo counter.

The United States adds USG-02 and USG-03 variations that restrict damaged or defective lithium batteries beyond the IATA baseline. The U.S. also requires a specific phone number format on the lithium battery mark for shipments originating in the U.S. Canada adds CAG variations that affect lithium ion devices over 100 Wh. The U.K. and several E.U. states add operator-specific restrictions through the IATA OPS list.

On the operator side, the major integrators each publish their own variations that can be stricter than the state-level rules. FedEx, UPS, DHL, and the passenger airline cargo divisions each maintain a public lithium battery acceptance policy that you should check before booking. A shipment that is fine on Delta Cargo may not be accepted by American Cargo on the same lane.

The fast rule: if your shipment goes through more than one carrier, you have to clear the strictest variation, not the IATA baseline.

What Is Changing in the 2026 DGR

The latest edition of the IATA DGR for 2026 brings three changes that lithium battery shippers should plan around.

State of charge restrictions on UN3480 shipments by cargo aircraft only are now codified in Special Provision A331 with clearer documentation requirements. The 30 percent state of charge cap remains, but the proof-of-charge process is more explicit.

Damaged, defective, or recalled lithium battery packaging requirements under Packing Instruction 376 have been tightened. The performance test for the outer packaging now requires a specific thermal exposure profile in addition to the existing drop and stack tests.

Lithium battery overpack labeling has been clarified to remove the ambiguity that allowed some shippers to mark only the outer overpack and skip the inner package marks. In 2026, both layers need to be marked.

How Repacking Saves Shipments at Acceptance

A lot of lithium battery shipments arrive at the cargo terminal with marginal packaging, missing marks, or the wrong UN number on the airway bill. A hazmat-certified 3PL with on-site repacking can intercept the shipment, repackage it to compliant specs, swap the documentation, and tender it the same day. The alternative is a 24 to 72 hour delay while the shipper sends new packaging from origin.

If you are routing lithium batteries through Miami, having a local IATA-trained repack partner near the airport is the difference between a missed connection and a recovered shipment.

Go Hazmat Handles IATA Lithium Battery Shipments in South Florida

Go Hazmat, the dangerous goods division of Go Freight, is IATA and IMDG certified with on-site repacking, lithium battery documentation, and direct tendering to MIA cargo carriers. We handle UN3090, UN3091, UN3480, and UN3481 shipments under Section II and Section IA/IB, including DGD preparation, state of charge documentation, and operator-variation routing.

Call (786) 445-0150 or email rates@go-freight.ai for a hazmat quote or to set up a same-day lithium battery shipment.