Shipping ammunition is legal for private individuals in the United States, but only through UPS or FedEx Ground, never through the U.S. Postal Service, and only when the package is properly packed, labeled, and declared to the carrier as hazardous material. Get any of those pieces wrong and a single package can trigger civil penalties above $100,000 along with possible criminal charges.
Which Carriers Will Accept Ammunition
The U.S. Postal Service treats ammunition as a prohibited item. Cartridges for pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns, along with primers, blank cartridges, and propellant powder, cannot be mailed domestically or internationally.1United States Postal Inspection Service. Prohibited, Restricted, and Non-Mailable Items Anyone who knowingly mails ammunition faces civil penalties from $250 to $100,000 per violation, plus cleanup costs and possible criminal prosecution.2USPS. Shipping Restrictions and HAZMAT – What Can You Send in the Mail Don’t do it.
UPS accepts limited-quantity ammunition via UPS Ground within the 48 contiguous states, plus intra-Oahu and intra-Alaska routes. The package cannot exceed 66 pounds. Drop-off is restricted: you have to use a UPS Scheduled Pickup Account or take the package to a UPS Customer Center, which is a counter at a UPS operational facility. UPS Stores, UPS Access Points, third-party retailers, and drop boxes will not accept it.3UPS. How To Ship Ammunition Limited-quantity ground shipments don’t require formal shipping papers, and there is no hazmat surcharge.
FedEx accepts limited-quantity ammunition via FedEx Ground within the 48 contiguous states, and it doesn’t serve Alaska or Hawaii for ammunition. The weight ceiling is 70 pounds. Before your first shipment, you have to be approved for hazardous materials shipping through FedEx, which starts by contacting an account executive or customer service. FedEx will only pick up ammunition packages from your location; FedEx Office locations, Ship Centers, drop boxes, and any unstaffed FedEx location are off-limits.
What Qualifies as a Limited Quantity Shipment
The simplified rules private shippers rely on only apply to small arms ammunition that meets specific limits. Rifle or pistol cartridges cannot exceed 12.7 mm, which is .50 caliber, and shotgun shells cannot exceed 8 gauge. The rounds must have inert projectiles or be blank ammunition, or be standard commercial ammunition for rifles, pistols, or shotguns. Ammunition with explosive, incendiary, or tear gas projectiles doesn’t qualify.4eCFR. 49 CFR 173.63 – Packaging Exceptions
Anything outside those limits, including military ordnance, large-caliber rounds, and specialty projectiles, has to move as fully regulated hazardous material under a commercial hazmat contract with the carrier. That is not a route most private shippers will take.
Packing the Box
DOT rules require ammunition to sit in inside boxes, snug partitions, or metal clips inside a strong outer container so the rounds cannot shift or contact each other in transit.4eCFR. 49 CFR 173.63 – Packaging Exceptions Factory boxes already meet this standard. Loose rounds thrown into a shipping box do not, with one narrow exception: .22 caliber rimfire cartridges and blank cartridges for tools may be packed loose in a strong outer container.
The outer container needs to be sturdy and securely closed. Reinforced cardboard, a hard plastic case, or a metal ammo can all work. Never pack ammunition in the same box as a firearm; UPS states this explicitly.3UPS. How To Ship Ammunition
Labels and Marks
Ground shipments of limited-quantity ammunition skip the full hazmat labeling regime. No explosive hazard labels, no placards, no formal dangerous goods declaration.4eCFR. 49 CFR 173.63 – Packaging Exceptions What you do need is the limited quantity mark: a square set on its point (a diamond) with the top and bottom filled in black, applied on at least one side or one end of the outer package.5eCFR. 49 CFR 172.315 – Limited Quantities
Do not write “ammunition” or otherwise identify the contents on the outside of the box. Both UPS and FedEx prohibit external labeling of the contents, and federal law bars carriers from requiring any exterior label that identifies a package as containing a firearm. The intent is to reduce theft in transit.
Telling the Carrier What’s Inside
Federal firearms law requires you to give the carrier written notice that your package contains ammunition when the recipient is not a licensed dealer. Skipping that notice is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. § 922(e).6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Both UPS and FedEx require shippers to declare ammunition as hazardous material at the time of shipment, which satisfies the written notice requirement in normal use.
You don’t need a Federal Firearms License to ship ammunition you already own. FFL requirements apply to people in the business of manufacturing or importing ammunition. Selling or shipping ammunition from a personal collection to another individual is generally lawful under federal law, which is a different rule from firearms shipments between non-licensees.
Who Can Legally Receive the Package
Ammunition cannot be sold or shipped to anyone under 18, and handgun ammunition specifically cannot go to anyone under 21 when a licensed dealer is involved.7Justice.gov. Quick Reference to Federal Firearms Laws Carriers enforce this through adult signature requirements at delivery.
Federal law also bars several categories of people from receiving ammunition, including anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison, fugitives, unlawful users of controlled substances, people adjudicated mentally defective, most people unlawfully present in the United States, those dishonorably discharged, people subject to certain domestic violence restraining orders, and anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Shipping to someone you know falls into any of these categories is a federal offense.
State Rules on Top of Federal Law
A handful of states add requirements. Some require ammunition deliveries to route through a licensed dealer rather than to the buyer’s door. Some require the recipient to hold a state-issued permit or ID to purchase or possess ammunition. A few require point-of-sale background checks, which means the sale has to go through a vendor equipped to run them. Check the laws in both the shipping and receiving states before you send anything. If a carrier can’t complete delivery because the recipient doesn’t meet local requirements, the package usually returns to the sender at the sender’s expense.
What Violations Cost
DOT hazardous materials violations, which include mislabeling a package, using improper packaging, or shipping by an unauthorized method, carry a civil penalty of up to $102,348 per violation. If the violation causes death, serious injury, or substantial property destruction, the maximum rises to $238,809, and each day of a continuing violation counts as a separate offense.8eCFR. 49 CFR 107.329 – Maximum Penalties
Mailing ammunition through USPS carries civil penalties from $250 to $100,000 per violation, plus cleanup costs, damages, and potential criminal charges.2USPS. Shipping Restrictions and HAZMAT – What Can You Send in the Mail Failing to give a carrier written notice under 18 U.S.C. § 922(e) is a separate federal crime, and shipping to a prohibited person adds further federal charges.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts These penalties stack. One badly handled shipment can produce DOT fines and criminal prosecution at the same time.
Sending Ammunition Outside the United States
International shipping is a different regime and much more restrictive. Ammunition sits on the U.S. Munitions List under Category III, which puts exports under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations administered by the State Department. Exporting ammunition without a license from the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls is a federal crime under the Arms Export Control Act.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 USC 2778 – Control of Arms Exports and Imports
If you’re traveling abroad with ammunition for personal use, a license exception may apply, but you have to complete CBP Form 4457 (Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad) and present the ammunition to a Customs and Border Protection officer before leaving. You show the same form and any unused ammunition to CBP when you return.10U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Prohibited and Restricted Items The form only covers your reentry to the United States. It does not authorize you to bring ammunition into the destination country, and the import laws there are your responsibility.