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For a short trip you might be tempted to add a perfume to the order, or a watch with a battery in it, and assume the parcel will simply travel. Sometimes it will. The point of this guide is not to tell you which items are allowed, because that answer changes by route, service and date — it is to show you where to look and what to write down.
Categories that need a check
- Fragrance, aftershave and any alcohol-based liquid.
- Other liquids and gels, including cosmetics and nail products.
- Aerosols and pressurised containers.
- Items containing lithium batteries, whether in a device or spare.
- Anything magnetic, flammable, or described as hazardous by a carrier.
- Goods that a destination restricts outright, regardless of carrier.
Note that "the carrier accepted it" and "the destination allows it" are two separate checks. A parcel can pass one and fail the other.
Fragrance and liquids
Alcohol-based fragrance is the clearest example of an item that is normal in a shop and restricted in a parcel. Carriers publish their own rules on volume, packaging and whether the service accepts the item at all, and those rules differ between air and road services. There is no single number that applies everywhere, so record the limit you were shown, for the service you chose, on the date you looked.
Packaging requirements usually matter as much as the item itself: a sealed bottle inside a leak-proof bag, with absorbent material, is often described separately from the bottle alone. Copy the wording rather than summarising it.
Batteries and devices
Batteries add a second layer of rules, because installed batteries and spare batteries are usually treated differently, and some services refuse one but accept the other. If you are buying a watch or an accessory with a battery, find out whether the battery is installed, whether it can be removed, and what the chosen service says about it.
Where the rules actually live
Two places, and both should be checked: the carrier's own restricted-goods page for the service you intend to use, and the destination authority's published guidance on what may be imported. For the United Kingdom, the government's published guidance at gov.uk is the place to start for customs and import questions; for other destinations, use the equivalent official source.
Write down the page, the service, and the date. Do not rely on a general statement that a category is "usually fine", including from this site. This guide deliberately contains no universal list of permitted items, because no such list would stay accurate.
A restriction record
The rows below are invented examples showing the structure of the record.
| Item | Category | Packaging noted | Route checked | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fragrance, 50 ml (example) | Alcohol-based liquid | Sealed bag, absorbent wrap | Carrier page, 22 Oct 2026 | Check service rules |
| Watch, battery installed (example) | Battery in device | Original case | Carrier page, 22 Oct 2026 | Confirm with seller |
| Spare battery (example) | Loose battery | — | Not checked | Do not order yet |
| Leather boots (example) | General goods | Boxed | Carrier page | No special rule found |
Record only what you verified
"No special rule found" is a legitimate entry, as long as you say where you looked. "Allowed" is not, unless you have a page that says so for your route and service. The difference matters when a parcel is held: one note tells you what you checked, the other tells you what you hoped.
If an item cannot be verified before you travel, leave it out of this order. A fragrance bought at the destination is a better outcome than a parcel stuck in a depot. For the practical side of packing the rest of the order, see choosing packing options; for the cost side, estimating shipping from a quote; and for the delivery address, checking delivery details.