Quick answer: can you ship batteries from China?
Yes. Lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries leave China every day as Class 9 dangerous goods, by air and by sea. What is genuinely banned is narrow: standalone batteries cannot ride on passenger aircraft, and damaged, defective, or recalled cells cannot move without special approval. Everything else — the UN number, the UN 38.3 test summary, packing, and state of charge — is regulated work, not prohibition. The filter that actually stops shipments is document readiness, not the law.
What "banned" usually turns out to mean
Most of the "batteries are banned" talk comes from three real rules being repeated without their scope. Here is what each one actually says:
What you may have heard | What the rule actually says | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
"Lithium batteries can't fly" | Standalone batteries (UN 3480, UN 3090) are forbidden as cargo on passenger aircraft. They fly routinely on cargo aircraft under a Cargo Aircraft Only label. Batteries packed with or inside equipment fly on passenger aircraft within per-package limits. | Air only |
"Damaged or recalled batteries can't ship" | Correct, close to absolutely: damaged, defective, or recalled cells are forbidden in ordinary transport and move only under a competent-authority approval path. | All modes |
"Sea is the only way" | Not a ban at all. Sea freight under the IMDG Code accepts the widest range of battery profiles, but air freight still moves large volumes of compliant cargo. | Planning, not law |
Nothing in China's export rules bans compliant consumer or industrial lithium batteries. The export declaration treats them as dangerous goods cargo — an extra paperwork layer, not a wall.
The short list of what is actually banned
Standalone lithium-ion (UN 3480) and lithium-metal (UN 3090) batteries on passenger aircraft. This has been in force for years and is why standalone batteries carry the Cargo Aircraft Only label. They still fly — on freighters.
Damaged, defective, or recalled (DDR) batteries in ordinary transport. IMDG special provision A183 and the matching IATA provisions require competent-authority approval even to move them for disposal or repair. If a buyer wants to return swollen packs to China, that is a special project, not a booking.
Cells and packs that have never passed UN 38.3. Not banned by name — worse: the transport regulations require the test, so a factory that cannot produce the UN 38.3 test summary has nothing shippable, by any mode, to any destination.
Misdeclared cargo. Batteries offered as generic cargo to dodge the Class 9 process are the one category regulators actively seize and fine. The rules punish hiding the battery, not shipping it.
What is difficult but completely routine
These are the things that make batteries "hard" — all of them are process, and all of them are solvable before pickup:
Standalone batteries by air are fully regulated. The light-touch Section II path for standalone batteries was removed in 2022, so UN 3480 ships under Section IA (up to 35 kg per package) or IB (up to 10 kg), at 30% state of charge or below, with Class 9 and Cargo Aircraft Only labels. Our UN number guide maps the sections to your exact battery.
The document pair decides acceptance. UN 38.3 test summary plus an SDS that matches the battery's chemistry and watt-hour rating. The documents to prepare before asking for an air rate are the same ones the airline will ask for.
Packaging is specified, not optional. UN-spec cartons, the Class 9 model 9A label or the lithium battery mark with the UN number at 12 mm — the label requirements guide has the size rules that get cartons rejected when ignored.
Acceptance varies by carrier. Airlines and shipping lines apply their own battery policies on top of the regulations, and those policies change. A forwarder with a dangerous-goods desk gets current-policy answers before the booking, not after the rejection.
Power banks trip people up. They are standalone batteries (UN 3480), not "batteries with equipment", because they exist to power other devices. The e-bike article covers the same surprise for why couriers say no to bike batteries.
Where shipments actually fail
Almost no battery shipment is rejected "because batteries are banned." It fails at acceptance, for one of these:
The factory cannot produce a UN 38.3 test summary for the exact model being shipped.
The declared UN number or packing relationship is wrong for what is in the carton.
Multiple SKUs with different documents are mixed in one box or one booking.
The carton is not UN specification packaging, or the mark is the wrong size.
The booking was placed on a passenger-aircraft product, which cannot take standalone batteries at any price.
Every one of these is catchable at document pre-check, which is the whole point of reviewing the battery profile before pickup rather than at the terminal.
Mode by mode: what moves, and the catch
Mode | What it moves well | The catch |
|---|---|---|
Air, cargo aircraft only | Standalone, packed-with, and contained-in batteries across size bands; 3–8 days to the US, similar to Europe | 30% SoC cap on standalone, package weight limits, airline acceptance, DG surcharge |
Sea, IMDG | The widest acceptance, including larger packs; by far the cheapest per kg at volume | Weeks in transit; still fully documented — sea buys flexibility, not an exemption |
Express courier | Small shipments of batteries packed with or inside equipment | Per-piece limits and carrier battery programs; standalone batteries generally refused |
Rail | Operator-specific acceptance | Most battery cargo moves by air or sea; treat rail as a lane-by-lane question |
Five questions that tell you if you can ship
Chemistry: lithium-ion (including lithium-polymer) or lithium-metal?
Size: watt-hour rating of the cells and the pack?
Relationship: standalone, packed with equipment, or contained in equipment?
Paper: does a UN 38.3 test summary exist for this exact model, with an SDS to match?
Partner: who is approving the battery profile with the airline or shipping line?
Answer all five and the "can you ship batteries from China" question resolves into a booking with conditions. The battery shipping service page describes how we run that review, and the freight FAQ covers the common follow-ups.
FAQ
Can I ship power banks from China?
Yes. Power banks are classified as standalone lithium-ion batteries (UN 3480), so by air they move on cargo aircraft at or below 30% state of charge. Declaring them as "batteries packed with equipment" because they charge phones is a misdeclaration.
Are lithium batteries banned on passenger planes?
Standalone lithium-ion and lithium-metal batteries are forbidden as cargo on passenger aircraft. Batteries packed with or contained in equipment still fly on passenger aircraft within per-package limits.
Do I need UN 38.3 even for sea freight?
Yes. The test requirement comes from the transport regulations for dangerous goods, not from any single airline, and carriers for both modes ask for the test summary during acceptance.
My supplier says the factory has no UN 38.3. Now what?
Either the factory commissions the test and issues the summary, or you source the cells from a manufacturer that already has one. There is no document workaround — this is the one gap that stops the shipment completely.
Sources
IATA, Lithium Battery Shipping Guidance — packing instructions, state-of-charge and passenger-aircraft rules.
49 CFR 173.185 (eCFR) — the US lithium battery regulation.
PHMSA, Lithium Batteries — US enforcement and guidance.
UN Manual of Tests and Criteria (UNECE) — the UN 38.3 test itself.
FAA, Hazardous Materials — air-side safety context.
If a supplier has told you batteries cannot leave China, it is usually their paperwork talking. Send the battery profile — chemistry, watt-hours, packing relationship, and destination — and the acceptance answer comes back within 24 hours.