332 Limited Quantity

A limited quantity of a hazardous material is the maximum amount of a specific hazardous material exempted from DOT labeling or packaging requirements in 49 CFR. To be eligible to ship under the DOT Limited Quantity provision, a hazardous material must list an exception in column 8A of the Hazardous Materials Table in 49 CFR 172.101. Not every hazardous material is eligible to be shipped as a limited quantity.

Under Postal Service requirements, only certain hazard classes and divisions may be eligible to ship as a Limited Quantity. A material meeting the eligibility criteria for shipment as a Limited Quantity material is mailable via ground (surface) and in some instances air transportation, only if it can be further reclassified as a Consumer Commodity material. It is the responsibility of the mailer to know the correct DOT hazard class of a hazardous material before mailing (see 323). When assistance is needed to determine eligibility for mailing, the mailer may request a ruling from the PCSC as outlined in 215.