Hemp businesses utilizing the U.S. Postal Service or private mail carriers, such as FedEx, UPS or DHL, to ship their raw material or finished products will likely have to abide by new rules starting Dec. 11.
Although Congress passed legislation in early September to provide hemp industry stakeholders a four-week reprieve from a forthcoming ban on certain hemp-derived products – delaying the implementation date to Dec. 11 – only one major mail carrier has adjusted its policies to account for the new federal posture: UPS.
According to the company’s website, “if you’re shipping raw hemp, you’ll need to open a dedicated account and provide us with licenses and a signed UPS agreement,” and “hemp in plant form is accepted for transportation only for pre-approved shippers as a contractual service.”
In addition, according to the carrier’s updated terms and conditions, shipments containing raw hemp must, effective Dec. 11, 2026, “contain the certificate of analysis/test results demonstrating the product contains a total THC concentration” (including THCA) of not more than 0.3% on a dry-weight basis, falling in line with the new federal standard.
UPS’s old policy language included the 2018 Farm Bill’s “delta-9 THC” language rather than total THC, according to hemp beverage attorney Michelle Bodian.
“UPS is the first carrier to update its terms and conditions to account for the potential change in the definition of ‘hemp’ set to take effect on [Dec. 11],” Bodian wrote Oct. 19 on LinkedIn. “So far, USPS and FedEx have not followed suit.”
While the USPS and private mail carriers ban shipments that don’t comply with federal law, UPS is the first carrier to update its policies to include the “total THC” language to align with legislation passed by Congress.
The UPS policies also stipulate that raw hemp and hemp derivatives must comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws before the carrier accepts them for transportation, and that shippers are responsible for maintaining all necessary licenses, registrations, government approvals and authority required to sell and ship hemp.
UPS referenced, as an example, New York’s state law governing cannabinoid hemp potency limits, which cap products at 1 milligram of THC per serving and 10 milligrams per package, with a maximum of 100 milligrams of total cannabinoids per serving and 3,000 per package.
While the carrier accepts certain hemp-derivative shipments, it prohibits any synthetic or lab-made cannabinoid compound or derivative, as well as derivatives intended for consumption through an aerosolized solution, including all vaping products.
UPS has similar requirements for other regulated goods, such as alcohol, tobacco/nicotine and firearms. Cannabis, which remains federally scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, remains prohibited under the company’s shipping policies.
“UPS will not accept shipments of hemp or hemp derivatives from any location that sells marijuana or marijuana products,” according to its policies. “UPS reserves the right to dispose of any shipment containing marijuana, hemp or hemp products tendered for shipment which shippers are prohibited from shipping, which UPS is not authorized to accept, which UPS states that it will not accept, or which UPS has a right to refuse.”
