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Battery-powered vehicle & equipment classifier

Pick the right UN entry — UN3171 vs UN3536 vs UN3556–3558.

What is being shipped

Item type

Battery chemistry

Battery Wh (Li-ion / Na-ion)g Li (Li-metal only)

Conditions

Battery installed and secured against movementBattery terminals protected against short-circuitVehicle also carries combustible fuelDamaged / defective batteryHybrid — vehicle contains more than one battery chemistry

Ship as

UN 3556

Vehicle, lithium ion battery powered — Class 9.

This is a wheeled, self-propelled vehicle running on lithium-ion — it takes its own UN entry, not the "in equipment" or "installed in a container" entries. Batteries stay installed and secured; you don't ship the batteries separately under UN3480 / UN3481.

Class 9SP A214 (air)No Section II relief

Why this UN, not the others

Not UN3171Li-ion vehicles moved off UN3171 in 2019
Not UN3481A vehicle is not "equipment"
Not UN3536Battery doesn't power a cargo transport unit
Not UN3557 / UN3558Chemistry is Li-ion, not Li-metal or Na-ion

Rules that apply

49 CFR §173.220Vehicles powered by lithium batteries must have the battery installed, secured, and protected against short-circuit and accidental activation.
IATA Special Provision A214A vehicle with an aggregate lithium content over the SP A214 threshold requires competent-authority approval prior to air transport.
49 CFR §173.220(c)(3)Lithium batteries in the vehicle must be of a type that has passed UN Manual of Tests and Criteria 38.3.

Sources

49 CFR §173.220 · §172.101 HMT (UN3171 / UN3536 / UN3556 / UN3557 / UN3558) · IATA DGR SP A87 / A88 / A214 · UN Manual of Tests and Criteria 38.3