Understanding UN38.3 — the Lithium Battery Transport Test

Why every lithium shipment needs UN38.3 and what the certificate covers.

UN38.3 is the UN manual of tests and criteria section 38.3 for lithium cells: altitude simulation, thermal cycling, vibration, shock, external short circuit, impact and overcharge tests.

Cells must pass all tests before carriage — the certificate is required for air transport and widely requested for sea freight of lithium batteries.

We supply UN38.3 test reports with every lithium coin cell shipment; the documents cover the exact cell model and batch shipped.

The EU Battery Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 adds declaration duties — our EU battery information portal keeps the per-model declarations available to buyers.