MIT Shipping Policy

Includes items that are biological, chemical, or radioactive in nature that may or may not be hazardous or contain hazardous materials, otherwise known as “dangerous goods.” Research materials can include materials such as powders, peptides, rock samples, battery-operated devices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, laptops), and sodium and lithium batteries.

Includes general correspondence and tangible items.

• General correspondence includes non-technical documents, such as admissions or immigration documents, acceptance packets, certificates, contracts and billing invoices, as well as paper promotional materials, such as flyers, pamphlets and brochures.
   
• Tangible items include items such as mugs, hats, shirts, pens, and other MIT swag, as well as technical data or documents that contain controlled technical information, such as manuals, blueprints, software, engineering specifications, and proprietary documents. Note: technical documents may result from research or not be related to research.

Non-research materials bound for international destinations, as well as research materials regardless of destination, may be subject to more than one regulation and have oversight by different federal agencies and/or international compliance organizations. Depending on the article(s) being shipped, the applicable regulations may include:  

• Export Administration Regulations (EAR)
• International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)
• International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations
• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
• Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations
• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations
• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations

These regulations and agencies primarily aim to minimize the risk of transportation-related incidents and ensure public safety. They also are in place to prevent the transfer of potentially dangerous technology or information to foreign entities.

Under no circumstances should eShipGlobal be used to ship or return any package originating from outside the United States.  MIT’s Export Control Officers (ECO) review Export Control Regulations to ensure compliance for packages originating in the continental United States. ECO will not be familiar with the applicable export control laws of the country where the shipment originates. Likewise, the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) Officers are not certified to classify, pack, label and provide required documentation for a research material shipment originating from a foreign country.

Research materials are only allowed to be shipped through eShipGlobal from the main/Cambridge campus, Bates, and Haystack Laboratory. EHS Campus staff must physically be present to ship research materials from Bates and Haystack.  

When research materials need to be shipped from locations other than main/Cambridge campus, Bates and Haystack Laboratory, MIT’s eShipGlobal system may not be used. 

If shipping from another location within the continental U.S., the sponsor or collaborator at the host organization should follow their organization's policies. If there are no policies in place at the host organization or no host organization is involved, then to ship: 

• Chemicals, radioactive materials, or Category A biological materials, you will be required to hire a shipping vendor certified to ship dangerous goods, to assist with the shipment.
• Category B, exempt animal specimens, and genetically modified organisms (e.g., when shipping samples collected from a field site):
  • If the shipper has not completed MIT's required biological material training, they will be required to hire a shipping vendor certified to ship dangerous goods to assist with the shipment.
  • If the shipper has completed MIT's required biological material training, they must contact EHS (bioship@mit.edu) to obtain approval in advance of shipping the item themselves.

Battery-operated devices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, laptops) and lithium/sodium batteries are class 9 hazardous (research) materials. At this time, these batteries and battery-operated devices are NOT to be entered directly into eShipGlobal by shippers in the MIT community. Shippers must complete this form which will be sent to EHS once the user clicks submit. EHS will determine the correct way to ship the item(s) and provide instructions to the shipper.

Although not required, it is highly recommended to use eShipGlobal to ship domestic packages that are not research materials to help ensure proper classification of shipments and overall compliance. MIT policy allows non-research material shipments to be shipped through eShipGlobal from/to anywhere in the continental US, including Main Campus, Bates, Haystack Laboratory, and remote work locations.

If a shipment cannot be processed through eShipGlobal, you may ship directly through a carrier. Examples of these types of shipments include but are not limited to:

• Freight shipments (>150 pounds, packed in a crate or pallet/Freight Forwarders, certain extremely hazardous chemicals)
• FedEx, UPS and DHL do not service the location you are shipping to
• Shipments to a PO box (PO boxes are only accessible by USPS)
• Shipments by sea (large items generally can’t be shipped by air or ground)
• Some radioactive shipments as determined by EHS Radiation Protection
• Shipment originates from outside the continental U.S. (Note: U.S. territories (e.g., Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands) are considered international locations for purposes of this shipping policy.)

If you suspect your package may contain materials that are biological, chemical, or radioactive in nature, please contact EHS  (chemship@mit.edu).

Direct-to-carrier restrictions

MIT policy prohibits: 

• Personal shipments (shipments must be for business purposes only)
• Interoffice shipping (from one DLCI to another)

How to ship

When shipping direct-to-carrier, it is best to ship through one of MIT’s preferred carriers: 

• FedEx and UPS for shipments that weigh 150 pounds or less
• UPS Supply Chain Solutions for freight shipments (>150 pounds)

Shipping through a preferred carrier allows you to receive negotiated rates / discounts on your shipment.

If a preferred carrier is not available, you may need to ship directly through another carrier, such as USPS, when shipping packages to PO boxes, or a specialty carrier, like World Courier, Carmichael, or Meadows Wye. You can identify shipping companies through MIT’s Supplier Search tool (Touchstone required) by searching on the “shipping” or “freight” commodity. Mail Services can also help you determine the right carrier for your shipping needs, assist with or coordinate package pickup, and provide other shipping guidance and support.

If shipping from an international destination to MIT, or between two locations outside the U.S., contact MIT’s preferred customs brokers and preferred carriers for further assistance, due to the complex and heavily regulated nature of such shipments

MIT policy prohibits using eShipGlobal:  

• For personal shipments (shipments must be for business purposes only) 
• For interoffice shipping (from one DLCI to another) 
• To ship packages from Lincoln Laboratory 
• For shipments originating from international locations 

To ensure compliance with applicable regulations, all international shipments must be approved by MIT’s Export Control Office (ECO).

The Environment, Health and Safety Office (EHS) is the MIT-approved shipper of research materials because they have staff that are certified to ship these materials. All chemicals (including sodium and lithium batteries), radioactive materials and Category A biological materials must be approved and prepared for shipment by EHS, while the lower category biological and non-regulated materials noted below can be shipped by trained MIT shippers outside of EHS. 

• Category B, exempt animal specimens, and genetically modified organisms and microorganisms (GMO/GMMO): MIT community members who successfully complete the Shipping Biohazardous Materials (EHS00250w) online course in Atlas are allowed to ship these types of biological materials on their own, without EHS approval.

• Non-regulated biological materials with or without dry ice: MIT community members who successfully complete an online course in Atlas (either Shipping Biohazardous Materials - EHS00250w or Shipping Dry Ice/Non-regulated Materials - EHS00256w) are allowed to ship these materials on their own, without additional EHS approval. The latter course is mandatory for staff who prepare non-hazardous samples for shipment with dry ice unless they have taken the Shipping Biohazardous Materials course.

• A trained shipper must be retrained every two years.

See more on training below.

• If your non-research shipment is bound for an international destination, it must be approved by MIT's Export Control Office because they are subject to the Export Administration Regulations, or possibly the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations. Restrictions may apply to certain technical information that cannot be released or transferred to foreign countries. Restricted technical information may be included in tangible items such as manuals, blueprints, software, and engineering specifications. While it is possible that other tangible items and general correspondence (non-technical documents) may not be restricted, ECO must confirm that the destination country, person(s) or entity receiving the shipment is not restricted. In addition, packages that contain controlled data or documents destined for an international location may require a license. Please reach out to eship_eco@mit.edu for assistance if needed. 

   

• If shipping to a destination in the continental United States, there are no export control requirements, but certain federal laws may still apply; it is important to classify these materials correctly.
   
• Please note that powders, peptides, rock samples, materials/compounds created in a lab, battery-operated devices (e.g., cell phones, tablets, laptops), and sodium and lithium batteries MUST NOT be shipped as non-research materials. 

   

• If you are not sure how to classify your shipment, please reach out to Mail Services (mailsvc@mit.edu) or if you suspect your shipment may contain research materials, contact EHS (chemship@mit.edu).

   

Required Training

Recommended Training

• Exporting goods, services, or money to embargoed countries without the necessary federal approval.
• Shipping a package to sanctioned persons or organizations.
• Exporting a controlled item without a required government license. 
• Failure to pack, document, or label a shipment containing hazardous materials according to regulations.

In 2009, MIT was fined $125,000 for shipping 33 devices with lithium batteries without labeling them as hazardous materials, in violation of FAA regulations. The box caught fire at a FedEx Processing Center 90 minutes before it was to be loaded on a plane for transport.