UN 38.3 Lithium Battery Transport Testing
Accredited UN 38.3 testing that qualifies a lithium cell or battery type for shipment, covering all eight tests of the series.
- Required Before You Can Ship lithium cells or batteries.
- T.1 to T.8 In House for cells and smaller battery packs.
- UN 38.3 Is On Our Accredited Scope, certificate 5179.01.
- A Test Summary Is a Shippable Document, and we tell you what it needs.
Accredited environmental testing
ISO/IEC 17025
A2LA #5179.01
Controlled Goods Program
CGP registered
*No-obligation assessment. We’ll respond within 24 hours.
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What is UN 38.3?
UN 38.3 is the transport classification test series in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria. It qualifies a lithium cell or battery type for shipment under UN 3090, UN 3091, UN 3480 and UN 3481, per special provisions 188 and 230 of the Model Regulations. Without it, the cells cannot legally move by air, sea or road. Megalab is accredited by A2LA to ISO/IEC 17025 for UN 38.3, under certificate 5179.01.
UN 38.3 is not a product safety certification
This is the most common and most expensive misunderstanding in the whole subject, so it is worth being direct about it.
UN 38.3 answers one question: can this cell type be transported safely. It says nothing about whether the product the cell goes into is safe to sell. Product safety for cells and batteries is a different standard entirely, typically IEC 62133, UL 2054 or UL 1642, and a customer who needs one of those needs a separate programme. The UN manual cites IEC 61960, 62133 and 62660-1 only as guidance for determining rated capacity, not as substitutes.
If you are not sure which you need, tell us what you are trying to do. Shipping cells means UN 38.3. Selling a product containing them usually means both.
Which tests does my cell or battery need?
The seventh revised edition made this explicit, and it depends on the article rather than applying the whole series to everything.
- Cell: T.1 to T.6 and T.8.
- Non-rechargeable battery: T.1 to T.5.
- Rechargeable battery: T.1 to T.5 and T.7.
- Component cell not transported separately: T.6 and T.8 only.
- Cell or battery integral to equipment and shipped only when installed: may be tested installed in the equipment.
T.1 altitude simulation, T.2 thermal test, T.3 vibration and T.4 shock are the four environmental tests, and they run here on our altitude chambers, temperature chambers and electrodynamic shaker. T.5 through T.8, the external short circuit, impact and crush, overcharge and forced discharge tests, also run in house for cells and smaller battery packs, and larger packs are managed within the same programme. Every battery enquiry goes through an engineering pre-qualification review before we price it, because cell chemistry, state of charge and sample count all change what the programme looks like.
What counts as a new type, and therefore a new programme
A cell or battery differing from an already-tested type by any of the following needs re-testing.
- Primary cells: a change greater than 0.1 g or 20 % by mass, whichever is greater, to the cathode, anode or electrolyte.
- Rechargeable cells: a change in nominal energy in watt hours greater than 20 %, or an increase in nominal voltage greater than 20 %.
- Any change that would lead to failure of any of the tests.
If you are unsure whether a design change triggers a new programme, send us both specifications and we will tell you before you commit to a full re-test.
The Test Summary is a document you have to hand over
Section 38.3.5 of the manual requires a UN 38.3 Test Summary to be made available for cells and batteries manufactured from roughly 2020 onward. It is a defined document with required contents, and it travels with the product through the supply chain rather than sitting in your quality file.
Customers frequently discover they need the summary rather than just a pass report, often when a freight forwarder asks for it. We produce it as part of the programme. Which edition of the manual applies is set by the transport rules in force when the cells are made or shipped, so tell us the manufacturing date and destination at enquiry.
Accredited by A2LA to ISO/IEC 17025 under certificates 5179.01 and 5179.02. See our accreditations.
What we need to quote your UN 38.3 programme
- Cell or battery chemistry, nominal voltage and nominal energy in watt hours
- Whether the article is a cell, a battery, a component cell, or a battery integral to equipment
- Whether it is rechargeable or primary
- Physical dimensions, weight and how many samples you can supply
- Whether the cells have been tested before, and what changed if so
- Destination markets and expected shipping mode, and whether you need the Test Summary as a deliverable
Frequently asked questions
A transport classification test series that qualifies a lithium cell or battery type for shipment under the UN Model Regulations. Without it the cells cannot legally be transported.
No. It qualifies transport only. Product safety for cells and batteries is a separate standard, usually IEC 62133, UL 2054 or UL 1642.
All eight. T.1 altitude, T.2 thermal, T.3 vibration and T.4 shock run on our own altitude chambers, temperature chambers and electrodynamic shaker, and T.5 to T.8 run in house for cells and smaller battery packs. Larger packs are managed within the same programme. UN 38.3 is named on our accredited scope.
If the change exceeds the thresholds in the manual, yes. For primary cells that is more than 0.1 g or 20 % by mass of cathode, anode or electrolyte; for rechargeables, more than 20 % change in nominal energy or an increase over 20 % in nominal voltage.
A defined document required for cells and batteries made from roughly 2020 onward, which has to be made available through the supply chain. We produce it as part of the programme.