Can I Ship Mouthwash With USPS?

Learn why the U.S. Postal Service allows you to ship mouthwash despite it containing small amounts of alcohol
ship mouthwash with usps
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Mouthwash may make your breath smell squeaky clean, but it’s a tricky item when it comes to shipping it. Mouthwash contains small amounts of alcohol, and since USPS doesn’t allow you to ship alcohol, many shippers wonder if they can ship mouthwash with USPS. The good news is that USPS allows shipments containing mouthwash because the amount of alcohol it contains is so small…and you can use any USPS service you like to send it!

You Can Ship Mouthwash With USPS Even Though It Contains Alcohol

As we said above, you can’t ship alcohol with USPS at all; the only way to send alcohol is to go through UPS or FedEx, and you need to be a licensed alcohol shipper to do so. However, mouthwash is an exception, which you can see in Section 422 of the USPS Postal Explorer.

USPS allows shippers to send mouthwash through its network because it contains alcoholic content of less than 0.5%, and is therefore not classified as an “intoxicating liquor.” Based on the Postal Explorer, other examples of liquid products containing less than 0.5% alcoholic content that may be mailable are cold remedies and cooking wine.

Mouthwash Isn’t a Hazardous Material, So You Can Use Any Service You Like

Even though it contains small amounts of alcohol, most mouthwash brands are not flammable, combustible, or dangerous when they come into contact with skin. As such, it isn’t considered a hazardous material that requires special shipping procedures, which means that you can use any USPS service you like*. Such services include USPS Ground Advantage (the Postal Service’s most affordable shipping service that travels via ground transportation), Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express.

*Note: You can use any USPS shipping service other than Media Mail, which is only available for sending vinyl records, books, sheet music, educational reference charts, and other media-related items. Read more about Media Mail and when you can use it.

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