Size clears with margin. What actually stops a suitcase here is the address written on it.
The size line, worked against a real box
USPS measures length plus girth as the longest side added to twice each of the other two. Germany's Priority Mail International listing sets that total at 108 inches, with a 70 lb scale ceiling and a 60 inch cap on any single side, read on 2026-08-21. The suitcase we boxed and quoted for the domestic leg further down this page clears every line with room left over.
| Measurement | This suitcase | Germany's limit |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 22 lb | 70 lb |
| Longest side | 28 in | 60 in |
| Length + girth | 90 in | 108 in |
Eighteen inches of headroom on length plus girth and forty-eight pounds of headroom on the scale. A smaller carry-on, boxed to roughly 22 x 14 x 9 in, clears by even more — about 40 inches under the length-plus-girth line — which is why size is rarely the reason a suitcase gets turned back on this lane.
What Germany refuses, batteries first
The listing's prohibited items, read 2026-08-21, split into three groups, and the first one catches more packed suitcases than any other rule on this page.
No separate path for batteries
Lithium cells and batteries are barred outright, including anything that contains them, rather than being routed onto a different service the way some other country listings handle them. A laptop, a spare phone battery or a power bank has to come out of the case before it ships, not just travel boxed on its own.
Arms, remains and a short list of odds
Weapons, firearm parts, ammunition and imitation arms are refused alongside human and cremated remains, radioactive material, live animals and plants, absinthe, melatonin, and pulverized coca beans. One line reads narrower than it sounds: playing cards are barred unless the deck is complete.
Valuables, on the express product specifically
Coins, banknotes, currency, platinum, gold, silver, precious stones, jewelry and watches are named as prohibited on the express version of the international product. A wedding ring or a bundle of cash packed in an ordinary suitcase box does not travel on that listing.
The address a suitcase can't carry
Every other country listing this site has read cares about what is inside the box. Germany's also cares about where the label points, read 2026-08-21: mail cannot be addressed directly to a DHL Packstation locker, a Paketshop service point, or a Postfach post office box. The listing states that German customs can reject and return anything sent that way, which makes this the one line worth checking before a suitcase is packed, not after it is taped shut.
What SMKlog actually prices
Priority Mail International is a USPS product, bought at a post office counter or through USPS's own postage tools, so this page reads the rule rather than selling that label. SMKlog's checkout now prices the Germany crossing itself — a courier label to a German street address, sold online with the customs declaration completed at checkout — alongside any domestic US parcel, the leg from a home to a shipping point. We boxed a 26-inch hardside checked suitcase to 28 x 19 x 12 in at 22 lb and quoted it live from Berkeley Heights, NJ to Chicago, IL on 2026-08-21.
| Carrier | Service | Price | Estimated transit |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Ground | $40.05 | 4-5 business days |
| FedEx | Ground Economy | $54.34 | 5-6 business days |
| UPS | Ground Saver | $62.47 | about 4 business days |
| UPS | 3 Day Select | $63.88 | 4-5 business days |
| FedEx | Ground | $70.76 | 4-5 business days |
UPS Ground came in cheapest by a wide margin over the next option. This is a domestic price only, a benchmark for what a boxed suitcase costs to move inside the country before it ever reaches a post office counter for the international leg. The general customs and duty picture for Germany, including what a recipient owes at the door, is covered on this site's broader guide to shipping a package to Germany, linked below.
Price a suitcase inside the US Read the general Germany guide
Where these numbers come from
- USPS, Individual Country Listing for Germany — the 70 lb weight ceiling, the 60 inch length and 108 inch length-plus-girth limits, the lithium battery and weapons prohibitions, the Packstation, Paketshop and Postfach address rule, and the express-product valuables list. Read 2026-08-21.
- Prices: our own capture of a 28 x 19 x 12 in suitcase against production on 2026-08-21, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 to Chicago, IL 60601.
USPS revises these country listings without announcing it, so treat the figures above as one dated reading rather than something that updates itself. Check the Packstation rule again close to a ship date if months have passed since 2026-08-21.
Common questions
How much can a suitcase mailed to Germany weigh?
Up to 70 lb under Priority Mail International's ceiling for Germany, with a 60 inch cap on the longest side and 108 inches of length plus girth combined. Our own 28 x 19 x 12 in boxed suitcase, 22 lb, clears all three lines with room left over. Figures read from USPS's individual country listing for Germany on 2026-08-21.
Can a laptop or power bank travel inside a suitcase mailed to Germany?
No. Germany's listing bars lithium cells and batteries outright, including anything that contains them, rather than routing them onto a separate service the way some other country listings do. Take any device with a battery out of the case before it ships.
Can a suitcase mailed to Germany be addressed to a Packstation or Postfach?
No. USPS's listing states mail cannot be addressed directly to a DHL Packstation locker, a Paketshop service point, or a Postfach post office box, and that German customs can reject and return mail sent that way. It needs an ordinary street address.
Does SMKlog price the mail to Germany itself?
The USPS mail product, no: Priority Mail International is bought at a post office counter or through USPS's own postage tools. But SMKlog now sells the Germany lane itself online — courier rates to a German address price live at checkout, with the customs declaration completed before payment. Our captured domestic benchmark, a 28 x 19 x 12 in suitcase quoted $40.05 to $70.76 from Berkeley Heights, NJ to Chicago, IL on 2026-08-21, is the US-leg yardstick, not a fare for the transatlantic mile.
What else does Germany's listing refuse besides batteries?
Arms and weapons including imitation ones, human or cremated remains, radioactive material, live animals and plants, absinthe, melatonin, pulverized coca beans, and playing cards unless the deck is complete. Coins, currency, precious metals, jewelry and watches are barred from the express version of the international product specifically.