Shipping hazardous materials (HazMat) via USPS through Pitney Bowes in Ordoro is supported. This lets you stay compliant with USPS rules while managing shipping labels directly in your workflow.
HazMat shipments must be accurately declared and labeled to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. This guide walks through how to add a HazMat declaration in Ordoro, how to choose the right HazMat type, and what to expect on the label.
Topics
- How to Ship HazMat with USPS
- What is “Contains Electronics”?
- HazMat Types and Descriptions
- What to Expect on the Label
- Additional Requirements for HazMat Shipments
How to Ship HazMat with USPS
- Choose the order you want to ship from the Orders tab.
- Choose USPS as the Carrier.
- Click Additional Options to expand the section to view the HazMat fields.
- Find the section Hazardous Materials Declarations. Click Add a declaration.
- Add HazMat Details
- For general hazardous items:
- Select a Type from the dropdown
- See below for the Type options
- For used or damaged electronics with lithium batteries:
- Check Contains Electronics. See below for more details.
- Leave the Type field blank
- Click Add to save.
- For general hazardous items:
- Click Get Rates, then Create Label to generate your HazMat-compliant label. See below for how HazMat labels should appear.
What is “Contains Electronics”?
The Contains Electronics checkbox applies if you’re shipping:
- Used, damaged, or defective electronic devices
- Devices that contain or are packaged with lithium batteries
- Items classified as Class 9 – Lithium Battery – Returns Package
These packages are restricted to ground shipping only.
Important: Do not select a HazMat Type when “Contains Electronics” is checked. The two options are not compatible and will result in a label error.
HazMat Types and Descriptions
When you check “Hazardous Materials,” you must select a HazMat Type from the dropdown. Each option maps to an official USPS classification.
For more information and guidance, refer to: USPS Publication 52 – Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail
| Value | Description and Examples |
|---|---|
| Air Eligible Ethanol 810 | Air-eligible corrosives like authorized fragrance |
| Class 1 Toy Propellant or Safety Fuse 811 | Ground only toy propellants and safety fuses |
| Class 3 812 | Ground only flammable liquids like hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and ethanol base products |
| Class 7 Radioactive Materials 813 | Ground only items like smoke detectors and gun sights |
| Class 8 Air Eligible Corrosive Materials 814 | Air-eligible items like certain cleaning or tree/weed killing compounds |
| Class 8 Sealed Lead Acid Battery 815 | Nonspillable wet batteries |
| Class 9 Dry Ice 819 | Limited to 5 lbs if shipped via Air |
| Class 9 Lithium Battery Marked Ground Only 816 | Ground only new or spare lithium batteries (UN3480 or UN3090) |
| Class 9 Lithium Battery Unmarked 820 | Air-eligible lithium batteries inside new electronic devices (no marking) |
| Class 9 Lithium Battery with New Device 818 | Air-eligible Lithium batteries packaged with new electronics (UN3481 or UN3091) |
| Class 9 Magnetized Materials 821 | Air-eligible oxidizers like hydrogen peroxide (8%-20% concentration) |
| Consumer Commodity 829 | Air-eligible ID8000 Consumer Commodity (non-flammable aerosols, flammable combustible liquids, toxic substance, miscellaneous hazardous materials) |
| Div 4.1 Mailable Flammable Solids 822 | Ground only mailable flammable solids like strike-on-box matches, book matches |
| Div 5.1 Hydrogen Peroxide 8 to 20 Percent 823 | Air eligible oxidizers like hydrogen peroxide (8%-20% concentration) |
| Div 5.2 Organic Peroxides 824 | Air-eligible organic peroxides |
| Div 6.1 Toxic Materials 825 | Air-eligible toxic materials package (with an LD50 of 50 mg/kg or less) – (pesticides, herbicides, etc.) |
| Div 6.2 Biological Materials 826 | Air-eligible biological materials (e.g., lab test kits, authorized COVID test kit returns) |
| Excepted Quantity Provision 827 | Air-eligible ID8000 Consumer Commodity (non-flammable aerosols, flammable combustible liquids, toxic substances, miscellaneous hazardous materials) |
| Ground Only Hazardous Materials 828 | Ground Only Hazardous Materials (for items that are not listed, but are restricted to surface only) |
| Lighters 830 | Ground only shipments of authorized lighters |
| Limited Quantity Ground Only 831 | Ground only limited quantity packages – Aerosols, spray disinfectants, spray paint, hair spray, propane, butane, cleaning products, etc. – fragrances, nail polish, nail polish remover, solvents, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, ethanol base products, etc. – other limited quantity surface materials, (cosmetics, cleaning products, paints, etc.) |
| Small Quantity Provision 832 | Ground only – small amount of the categories listed here, 338 Small Quantity | Postal Explorer |
What to Expect on the Label
For HazMat shipments, the USPS Pitney Bowes label will include:
- A “H” icon in the top-left corner
- An IMpb barcode (Intelligent Mail Package Barcode)
- A note that says “Hazmat – Surface Transportation Only” for any ground-only HazMat type
Additional Requirements for HazMat Shipments
Ordoro only supports HazMat shipping to domestic destinations. We do not support HazMat items to international or military addresses.
In addition to submitting the HazMat information through Ordoro, you should be aware of any special packaging or form requirements from USPS. Please see the USPS Packaging Instructions for Mailable Hazardous Materials for details.
For more information and guidance, refer to: USPS Publication 52 – Hazardous, Restricted, and Perishable Mail.