Division 4.2 — Spontaneously combustible
Substances liable to spontaneous heating or ignition in contact with air.
Carrier acceptance
The published default for this class. A UN-specific rule can override it — lithium batteries and dry ice are both Class 9 and are treated quite differently.
| Carrier | Ground | Air | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | contract required | prohibited | Spontaneously combustible material is not accepted by air. |
| FedEx | contract required | prohibited | Not accepted by air. |
| USPS | prohibited | prohibited | Spontaneously combustible material is non-mailable. |
| Amazon FBA | prohibited | prohibited | Spontaneously combustible material is not accepted. |
Carrier positions encode each carrier's published default as of the ruleset date. Tariffs change more often than regulations, and a contracted shipper may hold different terms — confirm against the carrier's current guide before the first shipment of a new item.
Encoded entries (1)
| UN | Proper shipping name | Class | PG | Labels | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UN1361 | Carbon, animal or vegetable origin | 4.2 | none | SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUSTIBLE | pax limited·cargo permitted |
Classify a specific product in this class
The class alone does not give you a shipping paper. Send the actual product to POST /api/classify and you get the UN number, the proper shipping name, the packing group and every carrier position for that specific item.
Questions
- What is Division 4.2 — Spontaneously combustible?
- Substances liable to spontaneous heating or ignition in contact with air.
- Does Division 4.2 — Spontaneously combustible have a packing group?
- No. Entries in this class carry no packing group; the class or division alone determines the packaging and labelling requirements. Assigning a packing group here is a common error on shipping papers.
- Can I ship Division 4.2 — Spontaneously combustible by air?
- UPS: prohibited; FedEx: prohibited; USPS: prohibited; Amazon FBA: prohibited. These are published carrier defaults, not regulatory limits — a contracted shipper may hold different terms, and the regulation may permit what the carrier declines.