Amazon FBA Hazmat Just Got Easier to Ship: Partnered Carrier Now Open to All Dangerous Goods

Published May 2026  ·  SellerEssentials.com  ·  For approved FBA Dangerous Goods sellers

A Long Time Coming: How Hazmat Arrived in FBA

Hazmat selling through FBA didn’t appear overnight. Amazon’s approach has been methodical — running small beta tests beginning around 2012, gradually building the classification infrastructure, then opening the program to the broader seller community through a formal application and waitlist process. For those approved in those early years, managing inbound hazmat shipments meant working outside Amazon’s standard workflow: sourcing your own hazmat-approved carriers, coordinating documentation separately, and navigating a process that didn’t have the benefit of Amazon’s negotiated rates or simplified tracking.

The April 30, 2026 expansion changes that. For the first time, all FBA-eligible dangerous goods can be shipped to fulfillment centers through Amazon’s Partnered Carrier program — the same discounted, simplified workflow that standard FBA sellers have used for years. Previously, only certain lithium battery products had access to this program. Now, every approved hazmat seller can use it.

Chart 1: The controlled expansion of hazmat selling in Amazon FBA, from early beta (2012) to the Partnered Carrier expansion (April 2026).

The FBA Dangerous Goods Program: Are You In?

Before any of this applies to you, your account must be enrolled in Amazon’s FBA Dangerous Goods program. This is a separate enrollment from your standard FBA account, and it controls which types of dangerous goods you’re approved to send to fulfillment centers.

How to apply

1	Go to Manage Dangerous Goods Classification in Seller Central
2	Select “FBA Dangerous Goods program”
3	Click Next, then click “Apply to the FBA Dangerous Goods program”
4	Wait for notification — Amazon will contact you when space in the program becomes available

Step One Before You Ship Anything: ASIN Classification

The Partnered Carrier program is available for FBA-eligible dangerous goods only — and eligibility requires that each ASIN be properly classified first. If an ASIN hasn’t been through Amazon’s classification review, it cannot use the new shipping workflow regardless of your program enrollment status.

Classification is handled through the Manage Dangerous Goods Classification tool in Seller Central. The review takes 2 business days from submission (Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays). Weekend and holiday submissions are queued for the next business day.

Chart 2: The nine dangerous goods classes and their FBA eligibility status. Prohibited classes cannot be sold through FBA under any circumstances.

What you’ll need to submit

Depending on your product, Amazon will require either a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) or an exemption sheet. The SDS is a 16-section document prepared by the manufacturer describing a product’s chemical properties, hazards, and handling requirements. An exemption sheet is used for battery products and for products confirmed to contain no harmful chemicals.

Chart 3: SDS or exemption sheet — follow the path based on your product type.

SDS requirements to be aware of:

• Must be created or updated within the past five years
• Must include current GHS/CLP hazard identification
• Product name and brand on the SDS must match your Amazon listing exactly
• Must include all 16 standard sections
• For bundles or kits with multiple chemical products, an SDS is required for each item

What’s Actually New: Partnered Carrier for All Hazmat

Starting April 30, 2026, when you create a shipment in Seller Central via the Send to Amazon workflow, you’ll see the option to select Amazon Partnered Carrier for your hazmat inventory — the same way you would for any standard FBA shipment. You can include both dangerous and non-dangerous goods in the same shipment.

The practical benefits are straightforward: Amazon’s negotiated carrier rates are typically 25–40% below what sellers would arrange independently, the tracking and label generation is handled within Seller Central, and lost or damaged items are covered under Amazon’s FBA inventory reimbursement policy.

At a time when Amazon’s 3.5% FBA fuel surcharge is adding to outbound fulfillment costs, reducing your inbound shipping expenses through the Partnered Carrier program becomes even more valuable.

The three-step shipment process

1	Go to sellercentral.amazon.com/fba/sendtoamazon and choose your inventory. You can select both dangerous and non-dangerous goods in the same shipment.
2	Select Amazon Partnered Carrier for your shipping mode (parcel or freight).
3	Continue through the Send to Amazon workflow as normal. Labels and tracking are generated within Seller Central.

Which Shipping Mode Is Right for You?

Most approved hazmat sellers shipping beauty products, electronics, cleaning supplies, or automotive products will use small parcel via UPS — the simplest and most common mode. Individual boxes are labeled and handed off to UPS. No dock required, no pallet required. If you’re shipping more volume, LTL and FTL options are available through the same workflow.

Chart 4: Partnered Carrier shipping modes for hazmat — format, size limits, and best use cases.

A note on 48 contiguous states only: the Partnered Carrier program does not cover Hawaii or Alaska. Sellers shipping from those locations must continue to use their own carrier arrangements for inbound FBA shipments.

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Battery Weight & Specification Reference

For sellers listing battery-containing products, accurate battery weight and watt-hour information is required during Amazon’s classification process. The chart below covers the most common consumer battery types and sizes. Enter the total weight of all batteries included with the product — not the weight of the device itself. Watt-hours (Wh) are now required for all lithium battery products.

Chart 5: Battery weight and specification reference for Amazon hazmat classification forms. Wh = Voltage (V) × Capacity (Ah).

*Battery weight is included in this chart based on prior Amazon exemption sheet requirements; the current Amazon Battery Exemption Sheet does not include a weight field, but the data remains useful documentation for sellers.

For lithium batteries, Amazon also requires a UN 38.3 test summary at ASIN setup — a document confirming the battery has passed standardized safety tests. Required since January 1, 2020. Your manufacturer or supplier is required to provide this upon request.

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The Bottom Line

For approved FBA Dangerous Goods sellers, the April 30 expansion is a genuine quality-of-life improvement. Coordinating your own hazmat-approved carrier arrangements has been a friction point since the program’s early days. That friction is now optional. The rates are better, the workflow is simpler, and the tracking is inside the same system you already use for everything else.

The prerequisite hasn’t changed: your ASINs must be properly classified, your documentation must be current, and your account must be enrolled in the FBA Dangerous Goods program. Get those in order and the new workflow is straightforward.

Sources: Amazon Seller Central (G201119120, G201003400, G201003401), Amazon Partnered Carrier FAQ, Amazon Dangerous Goods required documentation. Data current as of April 30, 2026.