Many of our everyday items are now considered dangerous goods under transportation legislation as they may pose risks when they are flown.
Under current legislation, customers are responsible for checking whether or not an item being sent is prohibited or restricted. They must also ensure that they label a package correctly and include a sender address. Failure to comply with these regulations may result in items being destroyed or disposed of.
For a full list of international and domestic restricted and prohibited items please see our 'Prohibitions and Restrictions in UK and International Post Guide' which provides detailed information about the items that cannot be posted as well as highlighting the areas where there may be exceptions.
For further information, please also visit Isle of Man Government's list.
A number of countries and international organisations, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, impose certain restrictions, also known as sanctions, on what you can send to certain individuals, organisations or countries.
Sanctions can take many forms but are generally aimed at preventing certain goods, services, finance and knowledge being supplied to particular recipients.
It is your responsibility to check whether the item you wish to post breaks any sanctions rules. If you break the sanctions rules, we can deal with your postal items in a number of ways including disposing of them. You may also face investigation by the relevant authorities.
A dual-use item is defined by goods, software or technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.
The consolidated list of strategic military and dual-use items that require export authorisation can be found on the gov.uk website.