No Posting of Dangerous Articles

Guidance on Posting

Posting of dangerous articles or articles that could not be ascertained as non-dangerous is not acceptable. Mail items of this nature will be returned to senders without any postage refund. Posting dangerous articles may also render the sender liable to prosecution. Sender intending to repost a returned mail item again shall ensure that it does not contain the aforesaid articles and shall pay its full postage.

What are dangerous articles?

Lithium battery

Common products containing lithium / unidentifiable batteries

Pressurised containers (aerosols)

Common flammable liquid/product

Common Issues found in Mail Security Inspection

All mail items must pass the security check before despatching to other destinations. It is observed that some articles which are not dangerous, such as ordinary battery, circuit board, shaped hard disc, etc, are difficult to be differentiated from dangerous articles as their shapes or materials bear close resemblance to dangerous articles during x-ray screening. Hongkong Post may arrange these items to be opened for further examination.

Lithium battery is nowadays the most common dangerous article found in mail item.

• Please do not post lithium battery.
• Please take away any removable lithium battery contained in the equipment before posting.
• Please do not attempt to post lithium battery wrapped in tin foil or by covering up the original lithium battery indication. It will not pass the security screening.
• In order to reduce the chance of mail items not containing lithium batteries being rejected in the x-ray screening and opened for further examination, please accompany the product specification or manufacturer document to indicate the type of battery when indication is not given on the battery or equipment that contains it.

Lithium battery wrapped in tin foil or covered up the original lithium battery indication

Posting Liquid

The other most common article that could hardly be ascertained as non-dangerous is liquid. We shall return all mail items containing unidentified liquid. Senders are hence recommended not to post any item that contains liquid. If it has to be posted, the liquid must be contained in its original packing with composition and ingredients clearly indicated to facilitate security check. In addition, supporting document such as Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) should also be provided.

Proper Packaging

Packaging with sufficient protection which can be easily resealed should be used to facilitate inspection by our staff and resealing of mail items after inspection. Hongkong Post is not liable for any damage of article in the mail processing as well as the examination process.

Proper Packaging

Security Inspection Procedures for Outbound Mail and Item Returning Procedures

For details of the Label and Special Code, please click here

Security Inspection Procedures for Outbound Mail and Item Returning Procedures

Please refer to the flow chart for details.

Note to Bulk Air Mail Service & Direct Agent Bag Service Mailers

Bulk Air Mail Service and Direct Agent Bag Service mailers shall pay attention to the above matters and shall not post any mail items containing articles with close resemblance to dangerous articles (including lithium battery and flammable liquid). Since mail sent via these services would be processed on bag level, Hongkong Post would not open any mail bags during mail processing. If any bag is found to contain items which could not be ascertained as non-dangerous when x-rayed, the whole mail bag would be returned to the sender. For enquiries, please call our 24-hour general enquiry hotline 2921 2222.