# Hazmat & Restricted Products Certain products are classified as hazardous materials — hazmat — by Amazon. This includes things like aerosols, certain beauty products, cleaning supplies, batteries, and some electronics. These items require special handling and storage, which means you need specific approval before you can sell them through FBA. The approval comes through something called the **Amazon Hazmat Programme**. *** **Why this matters more than most sellers realise** Hazmat restrictions catch sellers out in a specific and frustrating way. You find a great lead — strong ROI, good sales, decent margins — and then you go to create your shipment and find out it's a hazmat product and you're not enrolled in the programme. You've already bought the stock and now you can't send it in. Apply for the programme before this happens to you. Even if you have no intention of selling hazmat products right now, getting enrolled early means you're ready when a profitable hazmat lead comes up — and they come up regularly in categories like beauty, household, and electronics. *** **How to apply** You can apply directly through Seller Central. Search for the Hazmat Programme or Dangerous Goods Programme in the help section and follow the application process from there. There's sometimes a waiting list, so the sooner you apply the better. It doesn't cost anything and there's no downside to being enrolled. *** **Sending hazmat shipments** Once you're approved and ready to send hazmat stock, there are a couple of important differences from standard shipments: * Hazmat units must be packed in a **separate box** from non-hazmat items — you can't mix them * You **cannot use Amazon's UPS Partnered Carrier rates** for hazmat shipments — these discounted rates only apply to standard goods * You'll need to book your hazmat shipment directly with UPS or another courier, which will cost more than the partnered rate Factor this into your profit calculations when analysing hazmat leads. The slightly higher shipping cost needs to be accounted for before you decide whether the margin works. *** **The bigger picture** Being enrolled in the hazmat programme opens up a meaningful chunk of profitable products that other sellers can't access. Beauty and household categories in particular have strong margins and consistent demand — and a lot of those products fall under hazmat. It's a small amount of admin upfront for a significant long term advantage. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://behind-the-buybox.gitbook.io/behind-the-buybox-docs/hazmat-and-restricted-products.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.