Usually yes, on the ground. A phone, laptop or any device with its lithium battery installed ships on domestic ground services once the box carries a UN3481 mark. A power bank or spare lithium-ion battery has a stricter path: ground only, rated 100 Wh or below, total package 5 lb or less, UN3480 mark applied. Damaged or recalled cells do not ship at all.
Type a phone or a power bank into the calculator and watch it return ground services only. That gating is the rule working.
We submitted a used iPhone 13 on the Newark, NJ 07102 to Atlanta, GA 30303 lane. The checkout classified it as an installed lithium battery, attached the UN3481 requirement, and offered exactly three services, every one of them ground.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Quoted transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Ground Advantage | $10.39 | 6-7 business days |
| UPS | Ground | $10.67 | 3-4 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $20.73 | 3-4 business days |
A 10,000 mAh power bank run on the same lane the same day produced the identical three ground rows under its own UN3480 rules. Battery cargo prices like any small box; what changes is which services you are allowed to see.
The regulations trust a battery most when it sits inside the device it powers. That is why a cordless drill with its pack clicked in rides the easier UN3481 path, while the identical spare pack boxed alone drops to the tighter UN3480 rules. If you can install it before shipping, do.
USPS Publication 52 packaging instruction 9D, read at pe.usps.com on 2026-07-27, caps mailable lithium-ion cells at 20 Wh, batteries at 100 Wh, holds standalone batteries to surface transport, and limits a battery-only mailpiece to 5 pounds. Our checkout enforces the same ceilings before payment.
When a battery item reaches checkout, a yellow panel asks you to confirm the battery situation and that the required lithium mark will be on the box. Tick it and the flow continues on its own. The full mark details live on our lithium label guide.
Not through our self-service checkout. Both battery paths are held to ground services, and USPS Publication 52 lists standalone lithium-ion batteries as surface-only in the mail. Air lanes for batteries belong to trained, carrier-certified hazmat shippers.
Damaged, defective, swollen, leaking or recalled cells in any form, and loose lithium-metal batteries. No carrier self-service lane exists for those, ours included.
Yes. A power bank ships as a standalone lithium-ion battery: domestic ground, battery rated 100 Wh or less, package at 5 lb or under, terminals protected, and the UN3480 lithium battery mark with its Surface Mail Only text on the box.
Their packs run far past the 100 Wh self-service ceiling, which makes them fully regulated Class 9 cargo. When we quoted a hoverboard, no instant rates came back; those shipments go to manual review and a carrier-approved hazmat lane.