Reference
What cannot go on the truck
Items movers, rental trucks and containers refuse or restrict, whose list names each one, why, and what to do with it instead. Filter by kind.
No single list says what may ride on a moving truck. A mover's list, a rental company's contract, a container company's terms, federal hazardous materials law and state plant quarantines each cover part of it, and they do not agree item for item. This page puts the lists we read side by side. Each row names whose list includes the item, why, and what to do with it instead. Sort the things that cannot go while you build your inventory, and pack the carry-with-you items as described in Moving day.
Caution
Do not pack fuel, propane, aerosols, paint and solvents, pool chemicals, fireworks or ammunition in anything going on a mover's truck, a rental truck or a container. The federal booklet movers hand out says federal law forbids shipping hazardous materials in household goods without telling your mover, and U-Haul's, Budget's and U-Pack's terms bar them from the cargo area. Empty and air out the fuel tanks on lawn mowers, camping stoves and lanterns before loading: U-Haul's instructions say an almost empty container is as dangerous as a full one. The penalty statute for knowing or willful violations of the hazardous materials law provides for fines and up to 5 years in prison (49 U.S.C. 5124).
The tags group the rows: hazardous (fuels, chemicals, explosives, batteries, compressed gas), plants and pests (plants, firewood and outdoor items that can carry insects), carry with you (things to keep in your own car or bag), perishable, and ask first (the answer depends on the company or the state). Where the lists disagree, the row says so.
| Item or group | Whose list names it | Why | What to do instead | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Propane, gasoline and other fuels (including fuel left in mowers, stoves and lanterns) | California's booklet (butane, propane, gasoline), U-Pack, North American, U-Haul, Budget. | Flammable. U-Haul: a nearly empty container is as dangerous as a full one. | Use up or give away fuel. Empty and air out small-engine and stove tanks (U-Haul); U-Pack accepts mowers only with every fluid drained. Ask your propane supplier or the local household hazardous waste program about cylinders. For a cylinder in your own car we found only a Canadian industry source: upright, valve on top, in a ventilated passenger area or a trunk propped open, not in a closed vehicle. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; U-Pack do-not-ship list; North American, non-transportable items; U-Haul truck user instructions; Budget rental terms; Canadian Propane Association |
| Aerosols (spray paint, cleaners, engine starting fluid) | California's booklet, U-Pack. | Pressurized containers, often with flammable contents. | Use up or give away, or take them to a household hazardous waste collection. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; U-Pack do-not-ship list; EPA, household hazardous waste |
| Paint, solvents and household chemicals (paint and remover, thinner, stains, lighter fluid, motor oil, antifreeze, drain cleaner, bleach, garden sprays) | California's booklet, U-Pack, North American, U-Haul. The lists disagree on small items: U-Pack and North American name nail polish remover; California's list does not. | Flammable, corrosive or poisonous. | Use up, give away sealed containers, or take them to household hazardous waste collection. EPA says never to mix them or store them in food containers. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; U-Pack do-not-ship list; North American, non-transportable items; EPA, household hazardous waste |
| Pool chemicals | California's booklet. U-Pack names acids and bleach; North American names oxidizers and corrosives. | Corrosive or reactive. | Use up, give away sealed containers, or take them to household hazardous waste collection. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; North American, non-transportable items; EPA, household hazardous waste |
| Ammunition, fireworks and flares | California's booklet (small arms ammunition, fireworks, signal flares), U-Pack (ammunition, fireworks, black powder, flares), North American (explosives, fireworks). | Explosive. | Ask the mover about ammunition before packing day, in writing. Ask the local household hazardous waste program how it takes fireworks and flares. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; U-Pack do-not-ship list; North American, non-transportable items |
| Car and household batteries | California's booklet ("batteries (wet or dry)"), U-Pack (batteries with acid). The lists disagree: California's names every battery, wet or dry; U-Pack names batteries with acid; North American names lithium batteries. | U-Pack's list covers poisonous, flammable and corrosive items; a car battery holds acid. | Take spent batteries to household hazardous waste collection. Ask the mover whether it takes the dry cells inside clocks, remotes and toys, or remove them. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; U-Pack do-not-ship list; EPA, household hazardous waste |
| Lithium batteries, loose and installed (phones, laptops, tool packs, e-bikes, power banks) | North American ("Lithium Batteries"); PHMSA. North American's page does not say whether it means batteries inside devices. | PHMSA regulates them as a hazardous material in transport in commerce, and says damaged, defective or recalled batteries carry a greater fire risk. In a commercial shipment PHMSA treats a battery installed in a vehicle such as an e-bike differently from a loose one. | Carry phones, laptops, tool packs and power banks with you. Ask the mover in writing about an e-bike, scooter or tool with an installed battery. Recycle damaged or spent ones: PHMSA and EPA say not in household trash or recycling bins. | North American, non-transportable items; PHMSA, Transporting Lithium Batteries; PHMSA interpretation 21-0037; EPA, electronics recycling |
| Fire extinguishers, scuba tanks and other gas cylinders | California's booklet (fire extinguishers, scuba tanks), North American (compressed gases, oxygen bottles), U-Pack (welding gases). | Compressed gas. In a 2011 letter PHMSA described a mover refusing two scuba cylinders because it could not tell what they held. | Ask the mover. PHMSA's letter says a private person carrying a cylinder for personal use is outside the federal hazardous materials regulations; a rental truck's contract still bars hazardous materials from its cargo area. Ask the cylinder's supplier how to carry it in your own car. | California tariff, Item 470 booklet; North American, non-transportable items; PHMSA interpretation 11-0203 |
| Perishable food (frozen and refrigerated food, food in glass jars) | U-Pack (perishable items), North American (not recommended), Washington's tariff (the carrier is not responsible for perishables). Under the federal rule a mover need not take responsibility for perishables packed without its knowledge. | It spoils in a closed truck or a container that waits, and it can damage the goods around it. | Eat down the freezer and pantry in the last weeks. Move For Hunger's network movers deliver unopened non-perishable food to a food bank at no added cost; ask whether yours takes part. Carry a cooler with the first day's food. | U-Pack do-not-ship list; North American, non-transportable items; Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 90; 49 CFR 375.203; Move For Hunger |
| Plants | Washington's tariff (the carrier is not responsible for live plants); California's agriculture department (rules for house plants entering California); APHIS (plants with soil from imported fire ant quarantine areas). The lists differ in kind: a mover's list is about liability, the agencies' about pests. | Insects and diseases travel in plants and soil. | Carry plants in your car, or give them away. Check the destination state's agriculture department before you go. California says house plants should be grown indoors in sterile commercial potting mix, strongly discourages bringing citrus, pine, and fruit and nut trees, and asks movers to list house plants first on the inventory and load them near the doors. APHIS exempts plants kept indoors in a home from the fire ant rule. | Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 90; CDFA, house plants into California; CDFA, border stations FAQ; APHIS, fire ant regulated articles; 7 CFR 301.81-2 |
| Firewood | APHIS (October 1, 2026); the federal spongy moth rule names firewood as an outdoor household article; California's border stations may reject it; Don't Move Firewood. | Spongy moth, Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer travel in it, APHIS says. Several states limit how untreated firewood moves. | Burn it or give it away before you go. APHIS: buy firewood where you burn it and do not take leftover firewood home. | APHIS, Buy Firewood Where You Burn It (2026); 7 CFR 301.45-1 (definitions); Don't Move Firewood FAQ |
| Outdoor household articles from a spongy moth quarantine area (grills, bicycles, outdoor furniture and toys, garden tools, tents, trailers, sheds, anything stored outside) | The federal rule, 7 CFR 301.45-4; APHIS; U-Pack (its insect inspection form). Pennsylvania runs its own spotted lanternfly quarantine, a state example. | Spongy moth egg masses ride on outdoor items. Moving such an item from a quarantined area into one that is not quarantined requires a certificate or a signed self-inspection. | If you leave a quarantined area for one that is not, inspect everything stored outside, scrape off egg masses, and sign PPQ Form 377 (or hire a qualified certified applicator). Keep the signed checklist in the vehicle carrying the goods, and give the driver a copy if someone else drives. APHIS's list of quarantined areas was last updated April 15, 2026. | 7 CFR 301.45-4; APHIS, spongy moth; APHIS, quarantine areas (April 15, 2026); PPQ Form 377; U-Pack do-not-ship list; Pennsylvania, spotted lanternfly quarantine |
| Documents, medicines and valuables (deeds, wills, passports, cash, jewelry, prescriptions you need this week, the moving paperwork) | North American (carry deeds, wills, negotiable papers, jewelry and moving documents; prescription drugs needed right away), California's booklet (keep jewelry, money and vital documents separate), Washington's tariff (the carrier is not responsible for coins, currency, valuable papers or jewelry). | Hard or impossible to replace, and some carriers exclude them. Under the federal rule an item worth more than $100 a pound that you do not declare in writing can be limited to $100 a pound. | Carry them in a bag that stays with you. Declare in writing anything worth more than $100 a pound that does go on the truck. | North American, non-transportable items; California tariff, Item 470 booklet; Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 90; 49 CFR 375.203 |
| Pets | Budget (no animal in the cargo section), American Humane (no pet in the storage compartment of a moving van), Washington's tariff (the carrier is not responsible for pets). | The rental contract bars animals from the cargo section, and American Humane names a moving van's storage compartment as a place not to carry a pet. | Carry pets in the passenger area of a car, in a crate or carrier. See Children, pets and older relatives. | Budget rental terms; American Humane, moving with your pet; Washington Tariff 15-C, Item 90 |
| Firearms | U-Pack lists firearms. California's booklet lists small arms ammunition but not firearms. The lists disagree. | Carriers set their own rules, and state laws on owning and carrying firearms differ. | Ask the mover or carrier in writing whether it takes firearms and how. Check the laws of each state you leave, cross and enter; this manual does not cover them. | U-Pack do-not-ship list; California tariff, Item 470 booklet |
Where it goes instead
- Household hazardous waste. Paint, cleaners, oils, batteries and pesticides are household hazardous waste. EPA says states and local governments run the collection, through permanent drop-off sites or collection days, and points to Earth911 to find one (EPA, household hazardous waste). Collection days can be weeks apart: put the date on the move calendar.
- Lithium batteries and electronics. EPA points to certified electronics recyclers and to maker and retailer take-back programs (EPA, electronics recycling).
- Food. Unopened, non-perishable food can go to a food bank, through a mover in Move For Hunger's network or on your own (Move For Hunger).
- Carry-with-you items. Mark them "Carry myself" in the decision column of the inventory, so they do not end up in a numbered box.
Limits
These are the lists we read on 2026-11-02. Lists change and differ by company; your mover's, rental company's or container company's current list and your contract decide what it will carry. Quarantine rules are federal and state and change too: check APHIS's list of spongy moth quarantine areas (last updated April 15, 2026) and the destination state's agriculture department close to moving day. This page is not legal advice about hazardous materials or firearms.