Prohibited Goods

The following items will NOT be accepted for carriage by DHL. This list includes items which are prohibited for carriage by any law, regulation or statute of any federal, state or local government of any country from, to or through which the items may be carried. For international carriage there may be additional prohibited items specified by the country of destination. DHL may at its sole discretion refuse to carry other items not listed below.

 

  • Bullion (of any precious metal) (Usually, but not limited to gold or silver in mass e.g. gold bars or ingots)
  • Cash (current legal tender – bank notes, currency notes and coins)
  • Complete firearms, ammunition, explosives / explosive devices including inert explosives and test pieces, air guns, replica and imitation firearms
  • Human remains or ashes in any form
  • Hunting (animal) trophies, animal parts such as ivory and sharks fin, animal remains or ashes, or animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption, prohibited for movement by the CITES Convention and/or local law
  • Illegal goods, such as counterfeit goods and narcotics
  • Live animals (including but not limited to mammals, reptiles, fish, invertebrates, amphibians, birds, insects, larvae and pupae)
  • Loose lithium metal batteries under IATA PI968 section II
  • Loose precious and semi-precious stones (cut or un-cut, polished or un-polished)
  • Pornography (whether in printed, film or digital format)
  • All lithium metal batteries – Lithium metal batteries are generally non-rechargeable and contain metallic lithium

The following items will NOT be accepted for carriage unless otherwise agreed to by DHL. To obtain such agreement a business case will need to be conducted by DHL and the items approved for carriage will be recorded in writing with the Customer. The customer may need to have an account with DHL.

 

  • Toy guns, firearm parts, Tasers, and replica ammunition
  • Antiques and works of art with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000
  • Banderols / Tax stickers (Usually used on cigarettes or alcohol to indicate that duties and/or taxes have been paid) with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000
  • Commemorative Coins and Medals with an individual value or total shipment value of €2,000 or more are restricted for carriage
  • Cigarettes, Cigars, Tobacco products, and *electronic cigarettes with a shipment value in excess of EUR 500,000.
  • Dangerous / hazardous goods including but not limited to perfumes, aftershaves, aerosols, flammable substances, dry ice, biological substances, UN classified dangerous goods and any goods specified as such under International Air Transport Association regulations (“IATA”), the Agreement on Dangerous Goods by Road (“ADR”) or International Maritime Dangerous Goods (“IMDG”) regulations. Applicable to all shipments valued in excess of EUR 500,000
  • Financial and monetary commodities – examples include but are not limited to activated SIM cards for mobile telephones, blank or activated credit or cash dispenser cards, blank checks, gift cards, event tickets, lottery tickets, money or postal orders, pre-paid phone cards, tickets (blank stock), traveller’s cheques, vouchers/tokens, unused stamps etc.. Applicable to all shipments valued in excess of EUR 500,000
  • Jewellery and watches and with individual values in excess of EUR 5,000 and consignments in excess of EUR 100,000 are restricted for carriage.
  • Laptop computers – No more than 2 laptop computers per package. Each package may not contain more than 1 lithium ion battery per laptop which must be contained within the laptop. No more than two packages per consignment. The shipment must not exceed £5,000 per waybill
  • Lithium batteries:
  • Loose lithium ion batteries – Lithium ion batteries do not contain metallic lithium and are rechargeable. These include power banks, USB chargers etc.
  • Medicinal Cannabis – Cannabis for medicinal purposes from bona fide pharmaceutical manufacturers with appropriate licences and where lawful to ship which must be in tablet or liquid form may be carried with approval from DHL for account holders. The value of one shipment must not exceed €10,000.
  • Small electronic items, including mobile phones, containing lithium ion batteries – each package may not contain more than 2 batteries which must be contained within the electronic device. No more than two packages per consignment.

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