How much Portable electronic devices with installed battery can I bring into United States?
Allowed
You can bring Portable electronic devices with installed battery into United States without a special limit.
What you need to know
- No stated quantity
- Channels: Carried with the traveler
On the plane
International baseline
Only if the device is completely switched off (not sleep or hibernation mode) when its battery exceeds the checked-baggage micro-threshold.
Airline differences
Important
This allowance applies per person, not per family or group.
Official sources
- What Can I Bring? Complete List Transportation Security Administration
Questions about Portable electronic devices with installed battery in United States
- Do I have to declare portable electronic devices with installed battery at United States customs?
- No — within the allowance it passes without a declaration.
- What happens if I do not declare portable electronic devices with installed battery in United States?
- Under 19 CFR 148.102, if you declare the excess yourself: a flat-rate charge is applied to the excess; the normal duty becomes payable on the excess. Under 19 CFR 148.18, if the goods are found without being declared: the goods are confiscated; an administrative fine is imposed. Under 19 U.S.C. 1497: the goods are confiscated; an administrative fine is imposed.
- Can I post or ship portable electronic devices with installed battery to United States instead of carrying it?
- Not under this allowance. It covers goods a traveller carries; a parcel is an import and is assessed under the postal rules instead. Baggage sent before or after you travels under the same allowance.
- Can I take portable electronic devices with installed battery out of United States?
- United States publishes no separate rule for taking portable electronic devices with installed battery out; the destination's rules are what will apply.
- Can I carry portable electronic devices with installed battery in the cabin or in checked baggage?
- In the cabin: Allowed with conditions. In checked baggage: Allowed with conditions. The carriage limit is 0.3000 g lithium / 2.7000 Wh. This comes from International baseline, and an individual airline may be stricter. Customs and aviation are separate rulebooks: what an airline lets you carry is not what a border lets you bring in.
- Does the United States limit for portable electronic devices with installed battery apply per person or per family?
- Per person. Each traveller carries their own allowance and it cannot be pooled with anyone else's.
- Where does this rule come from?
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection states it in What Can I Bring? Complete List. CarryRules last confirmed that sentence at the source on 2026-09-19. The sentence it rests on reads: “Devices containing lithium metal or lithium ion batteries should be carried in carry-on baggage. Most other consumer devices containing batteries are allowed in carry-on and checked baggage.”
- How does United States compare with other countries on portable electronic devices with installed battery?
- Of the 20 countries covered here, 0 prohibit portable electronic devices with installed battery, 3 limit it and 17 let it through. United States is among the more permissive.
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — What Can I Bring? Complete List · verified 2026-09-19
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — 19 CFR Part 148 — Personal Declarations and Exemptions · verified 2026-09-20
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — 19 CFR 145.31 Importations not over $800 in value · verified 2026-09-20
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, 2025-2026 Edition, Addendum No. 1 · verified 2026-09-16
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — What Can I Bring? Complete List · verified 2026-09-19
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection — What Can I Bring? Complete List · verified 2026-09-19