Altor guide · 2026-10-16

Lithium battery test summary: the file the pouch does not carry

The carton is marked and the declaration is typed. Then someone asks for the lithium battery test summary, and what comes back is a one sentence email, a lab report for a different model, or nothing.

What the regulation actually requires

This is 49 CFR 173.185 from the eCFR full text for 13 October 2026, the latest amendment date on title 49. The section note itself runs through 10 April 2024.

Paragraph (a)(1) requires each lithium cell or battery to be of a type proven to meet Part III, subsection 38.3, of the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. Tested cells do not excuse an untested battery. A type that met Revision 3, Amendment 1, or a later revision applicable on the test date, may continue unless this subchapter says otherwise. A type tested only to Revision 3 does not, except cells and batteries made to that type before July 2003 when every other requirement is met.

Paragraph (a)(2) is the manufacturer's test record, created before offering, kept while that design is offered and for one year after, and shown to government on request. It is not the summary.

Paragraph (a)(3) is the lithium battery test summary. The manufacturer and each subsequent distributor must make one available for cells or batteries manufactured on or after 1 January 2008. Button cells installed in equipment, including circuit boards, are excepted from this summary duty only. They remain under the type test in (a)(1).

The summary identifies the manufacturer and the laboratory, each with contact details, plus a unique test report number and date. It states lithium ion or lithium metal, the mass, the watt hour rating or the lithium content, a physical description, and the model number of the cell, the battery, or the product that contains it. It lists each test and its pass or fail result, notes assembled battery testing where that applies, names the edition of the UN Manual used, and names a responsible person and title.

There is no set form. PHMSA's July 2024 test summary publication says a product sheet or a website can carry it, if every element in (a)(3) is present. The publication is guidance. PHMSA interpretation 22-0044, 13 October 2022, holds that the summary does not have to travel with the shipment, and that a pass statement missing those elements is not the summary for a subsequent distributor. A retailer of equipment powered by these cells is in that chain. Manufacturer information can evidence that the type was tested. It still is not the summary. PHMSA interpretation 23-0040, 17 August 2023, holds that the summary does not expire on a calendar. A design change that needs a new test needs a new summary.

Since 10 May 2024, paragraph (a)(5) puts the watt hour rating on the outside case of each lithium ion battery. That mark is not the summary.

The summary also does not pick the entry. On the local Table 3-1 extract, UN 3480, lithium ion batteries including lithium ion polymer batteries, is Class 9, forbidden on passenger aircraft, cargo packing instruction 965, cargo maximum blank. Leave that maximum blank. UN 3481 packed with equipment is packing instruction 966. Contained in equipment is 967. UN 3090, lithium metal batteries including lithium alloy batteries, is forbidden on passenger aircraft, cargo packing instruction 968, cargo maximum blank. UN 3091 packed with equipment is 969. Contained in equipment is 970. Excepted quantity on each row is E0, so excepted quantity is not authorized. The 2026 air conditions on these entries are at https://altor.consulting/lithium-2026.html.

IATA's public lithium battery fact sheet puts that same summary duty on manufacturers and subsequent distributors, including equipment that contains the cells, and leaves the signed declaration with the shipper.

Paragraph (d) is the motor vehicle exit for disposal or recycling. Paragraph (e) is low production and prototypes. Each applies only on the conditions written there. Paragraph (e) does not allow passenger aircraft, and cargo aircraft on that path still needs Associate Administrator approval. An ordinary order is neither exit.

The mistake

The thick lab report goes in the pouch and the declaration is treated as done. An email that only says the battery passed UN 38.3 is filed as the lithium battery test summary. The summary on hand names a different model from a spare in the same carton. Button cells on a board get used to skip the type test.

How to match the lithium battery test summary to the carton

List every model in the package, spare included. For each one made on or after 1 January 2008, other than button cells installed in equipment, be able to produce a summary with the laboratory name, the report number, the matching model, the watt hour rating or lithium content, and the manual edition. If one of those is missing, 173.185(a)(3) is not met.

Keep the (a)(2) report with the manufacturer, for a government request, while the design is offered and for one year after. Do not let it replace the summary or the declaration.

Write the entry the carton is, using the packing instruction for that configuration above. Do not invent a cargo maximum where the extract left one blank. A spare that is not installed is packed with equipment, not contained in it.

49 CFR 173.22 leaves classification with the person who offers. Sign under 172.204, and on air under 172.204(c)(3) and IATA DGR 8.1.6.12. If the model in the carton is not the model on the summary, fix the file before you sign.

Altor pre-checks a completed declaration line by line before tender and returns a written report, every finding cited, typically within one business day of payment. You keep the pen. The test summary stays in your file. altor.consulting

Catch the rejection before the carrier does

Send your completed declaration before you tender it. A line by line advisory report comes back within 24 hours, every finding cited. $95 flat, one click, and you keep the pen.

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