LetterAgent

Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.

Status: LetterAgent is currently in private testing ahead of public launch. Everything on this page describes the service as it works today.

Home > Guides > Shipping paint

Can I ship paint?

Not by ordinary mail, no. Canada Post classifies paint as a Class 3 flammable liquid, which is non-mailable matter in every service, latex included. The realistic routes are a ground courier that accepts declared dangerous goods under TDG rules, freight for volume, or buying the paint locally. Empty, clean, dry cans are a different story.

LetterAgent can't help with the paint itself: our labels are Canada-only Xpresspost with a five-kilogram limit, and carriers refuse flammable items under any label. Everything below is general guidance.

Why is paint banned from the mail?

The classification is about chemistry, not brand. Most paints contain solvents or co-solvents with flash points low enough to count as flammable liquids, and Canada Post's dangerous-goods rules bar flammable liquids from all services without exception. The common misconception is that only oil-based paint counts: many latex and acrylic paints carry enough solvent to land in the same class, and the carrier decides by the product's safety data sheet, not by what the label says. A leaking can in a mail sack is a fire and contamination risk for every other piece of mail around it, so the ban is absolute.

How do businesses ship paint legally?

The options that actually work:

Declared dangerous goods by ground courier. Couriers that run a hazmat program accept paint as declared Class 3 freight, packed in the original sealed cans inside a strong outer box with absorbent material. You declare it, they handle it under Transport Canada TDG rules, and you pay the dangerous-goods surcharge.
Freight for volume. Paint manufacturers and distributors move it on pallets through freight carriers whose networks are built for dangerous goods. This is the route for cases of cans, not one gallon.
Buy it locally. For most consumer needs, this is the real answer. Paint is heavy, the hazmat surcharge on a single can often costs more than the can itself, and the destination almost certainly stocks the same product.

What you have	How it ships
Sealed cans of liquid paint	Ground courier as declared dangerous goods, or freight
Paint samples and colour chips	Normal parcel; dried chips are not a liquid
Empty cans, cleaned and dried, lids off	Normal parcel; no liquid, no vapour
Paint in aerosol spray cans	Banned from mail; declared hazmat by ground, like other aerosols

What about empty cans and dried paint?

The ban covers the liquid. A can that has been fully cleaned and dried, shipped with the lid off so it is visibly empty, is not a flammable liquid and travels as an ordinary parcel. Fully dried paint on a surface (a painted board, a colour sample) is also fine. The grey zone is a can with a quarter inch of paint left in the bottom: carriers treat it as liquid paint, so dry it out completely or leave it at the hazardous-waste depot. If the question "is this really empty" occurs to you, the answer is no.

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Ready to ship it? Get a shipping label with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and get your label.

LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.

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