5 Surprising Things You Should Never Put in the Mail, USPS Says
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The function of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is so essential to everyday life that we learn how to send letters and check the mailbox from a very young age. Of course, the process of putting something in the mail can become more complicated as we get older—especially when you’re sending more than a few important documents or a postcard. But while it might be easy to guess which items are off-limits for postage due to safety reasons, a few others might not be so obvious. Read on for the surprising things you should never put in the mail, according to the USPS.
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Sending a loved one their favorite bourbon or a bottle of bubbly to celebrate a birthday or special event might seem like an excellent present option. However, according to the USPS’s shipping restrictions list , it’s against the rules to send any beer, liquor, or wine through the mail. In fact, any intoxicating liquors “having 0.5 percent or more alcoholic content are nonmailable.”
And it’s not just what’s inside the package that can tie up your delivery. The agency also warns that anyone who repurposes a box with logos and labels from an alcoholic beverage company on it should cover or remove them before sending it out so it won’t be flagged.
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Nail polish can be one of the easiest ways to add a nice flash to your look. Unfortunately, the product itself can quite literally cause a flash due to how flammable its ingredients are. Because of this, the agency restricts many of the bottles from being carried through the mail system, with some items limited to just ground shipping.
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Finding the perfect perfume can be a long process that involves searching high and low for just the right match—even when traveling or on the road. However, if the item is made using alcohol, you won’t be allowed to drop your new bottle in the mail to ship it home if you’re out of the country.
Even domestically, USPS still has restrictions on what you can send. Any fragrances containing alcohol as an ingredient can only ship by ground transportation and require special labeling on any packaging.
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Post-pandemic life has a few notable changes, including hand sanitizer becoming a new daily staple for many people. But if you’re putting together a care package for a friend or family member, you might want to think twice before dropping it into the box.
According to the USPS, “most hand sanitizers, including wipes, contain alcohol and are flammable in nature and are therefore handled and shipped as hazardous matter (HAZMAT) in the U.S.” That means they can only be mailed domestically via ground transportation using specific shipping options.
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It’s not terribly common to see mercury still used in items. But in a press release on June 29, USPS reminded customers that the toxic metallic liquid was off-limits for the mail, including antique items such as thermometers, barometers, blood pressure monitors, and similar devices.
“Improper, undeclared, or prohibited hazmat (hazardous material) shipping can have serious consequences for everyone involved,” the agency wrote. And as a hazardous item, USPS warns that anyone who knowingly ships a dangerous product is subject to potential fines and even criminal penalties.
See a Sticker on Your Mailbox? Don’t Touch It, USPS Says
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Your mailbox serves a very simple purpose: receiving mail and leaving outgoing mail for a carrier to pick up. Still, some of us enjoy sprucing up our mailboxes, adding personal flair, color, or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox stand out. But if you notice a paw print sticker on your mailbox that you didn’t add, don’t start peeling it off just yet—it’s likely part of a program run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to help keep carriers safe. Read on to find out what these stickers mean and why you shouldn’t remove them.
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In 2023, more than 5,800 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs while delivering mail, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to a USPS press release.
Larger cities had the highest numbers of attacks, with Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cleveland claiming the top five spots.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder . “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
To her point, the USPS writes that “all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive.” In fact, many of the attacks that letter carriers report are by dogs whose owners told them, “My dog won’t bite.”
Such an attack can result in consequences for the homeowner, too. According to data from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555, the USPS states.
“When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee,” they explain.
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To combat dog bites, the Postal Service shared tips on how pet owners can “support safe mail delivery.” These include keeping dogs inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.
“Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child,” they state.
Mail carriers also follow protocol to keep them aware of areas where dogs might be present, and they’re equipped with scanners to remind them of possible dog hazards, as well as dog warning cards that are added during mail sorting.
In 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS Program . First introduced in Pennsylvania, the program uses mailbox stickers to keep carriers safe.
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The PAWS Program uses color-coded stickers affixed to mailboxes to inform mail carriers about dogs in the area. An orange sticker with a black paw print tells carriers that there is a dog at this home, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them there is a dog at the next house.
Citizens are informed ahead of time that the stickers may appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the Postal Service wrote, “Carriers will soon be placing a paw sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or dogs live in the area —yellow indicates dog nearby/orange indicates dog at residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that they should proceed with caution, especially when delivering packages to the door.”
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Removing these stickers may do more harm than good, as your mail service can be halted if your carrier feels unsafe. Not only does this affect the home of the dog owner, but it also applies to the entire neighborhood, the USPS said in a previous press release . Service isn’t restored in these instances “until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.”
At the end of the day, these stickers are put in place to “reduce the risk of dog bites and attacks that occur while delivering mail,” which is just another reason you should leave the sticker on your mailbox.
“We all love our dogs,” Kimberly Tilley , acting postmaster for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. “We love our animals, but we … have to take responsibility to protect the carrier and the people around us as well from our animals.”
Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatic for carriers. “Once a carrier has been bit, it sets some fear in them long term for the rest of their life,” she told the outlet.
However, although these stickers are strongly recommended, if you object to having a sticker placed on your mailbox, you can opt out , Kyle Stevens , Southwest Carrier Annex station manager in South Dakota, told KELO in 2021. To do so, the first step would be to contact your local post office.
This story has been updated to include additional entries, fact-checking, and copy-editing.
