Lithium batteries by truck: UN3480, UN3481 and what ground transport actually requires

Notes from the yard — published September 3, 2026 by the dispatch desk at Long Road Transportation.

Two numbers, one difference

Lithium-ion shipments arrive under one of two UN numbers, and the distinction is purely about what is in the box.

UN3480 is standalone lithium-ion batteries — cells and packs shipped on their own. UN3481 is lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment or contained in equipment: the power tool with its battery in the carton, the e-bike, the laptop.

Lithium metal batteries carry their own numbers — UN3090 standalone, UN3091 with or in equipment — and they are not interchangeable with the ion numbers on the paperwork.

The 30 percent rule is an air rule

This is the most common misunderstanding we get on the phone. The state-of-charge cap — not more than 30 percent of rated design capacity — is an air transport requirement. It has applied to standalone UN3480 since 2016, and from 1 January 2026 it also covers UN3481 batteries above 2.7 Wh moving by air.

Ground transport under 49 CFR is a different regime. Lithium cells and batteries by road are governed by §173.185, and unlike air there are no equivalent per-package quantity limits tied to watt-hour rating. PHMSA provides reduced requirements for highway movement.

That does not mean anything goes. Packaging, marking and the Class 9 label still apply, and a container that arrives from an ocean carrier already marked to air standards does not get re-marked because it is now on a chassis.

What has to be on the load

• The lithium battery mark and the Class 9 hazard label on the packages, matching the UN number on the paperwork.
• Shipping papers with the proper shipping name, UN number, hazard class and packing group, and emergency response information the driver can hand over.
• A driver with a hazardous materials endorsement when the load is placarded.
• Damaged, defective or recalled cells, which are a separate case entirely and cannot ride as ordinary UN3480.

One dated detail worth flagging to shippers: the lithium battery mark is in transition. The deadline for moving to the current format runs to 31 December 2026, and from 1 January 2027 the format without the telephone number is the one to use. Cartons printed in bulk this year are worth checking.

Getting a battery container off the terminal

A placarded box does not leave a gate on goodwill. The terminal wants the paperwork to match the container, the driver has to be endorsed, and the appointment has to be booked for a truck that can legally take it. When any of the three is missing, the box sits and the free time keeps running.

We keep endorsed drivers on the Seattle and Tacoma terminals daily, and battery freight that cannot be delivered immediately goes into our own yard at 1531 Portland Avenue East rather than staying on the pier. The rest of our hazmat work — fuel, gases, corrosives — runs off the same fleet.

Questions we get asked

What is the difference between UN3480 and UN3481?

UN3480 is lithium-ion batteries shipped on their own. UN3481 is lithium-ion batteries packed with equipment or already installed in equipment.

Does the 30 percent state-of-charge limit apply to trucking?

No. It is an air transport requirement. Ground movement in the United States follows 49 CFR §173.185, which does not impose the same charge-state and per-package quantity limits.

Does a lithium battery load need a hazmat driver?

When the shipment is placarded, yes — the driver needs a hazardous materials endorsement, and the shipping papers with emergency response information have to travel with the load.

Read next

• Hazmat placards: Table 1, Table 2 and the 1,001-pound rule
• In-bond freight: IT, T&E and IE, and who carries the liability

Long Road Transportation is an asset-based carrier operating its own trucks, chassis and heavy-haul equipment out of Kent and Tacoma, Washington. USDOT 3388302, MC 113242, SCAC LRDP.