Germany's own USPS listing takes a boxed suitcase up to 70 lb, 60 inches on the longest side, and 108 inches of length plus girth combined — room for anything short of a steamer trunk. Two lines matter more than the tape measure: lithium cells and batteries are barred outright rather than routed onto a separate service, and the address on the label cannot be a DHL Packstation locker, a Paketshop counter, or a Postfach box. Figures below are read from USPS's individual country listing for Germany on 2026-08-21.
Size clears with margin. What actually stops a suitcase here is the address written on it.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. What SMKlog's checkout prices is a domestic US parcel — the leg from a home to a shipping point, or a suitcase headed somewhere inside the country instead of overseas. 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 | SmartPost | $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
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.
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.
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.
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.
No. Priority Mail International is bought at a post office counter or through USPS's own postage tools. SMKlog's checkout prices the domestic US leg — our 28 x 19 x 12 in suitcase quoted $40.05 to $70.76 from Berkeley Heights, NJ to Chicago, IL on 2026-08-21 — which is a benchmark, not a fare for the transatlantic mile.
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.