The information on this website is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. However, we are not a legal consultancy, and laws and regulations change over time. So please take this information as a guide and do your own research. We do not accept liability for any incorrect or incomplete information on our websites.
Dangerous goods can be transported by means of road transport, plane, rail, ship (either in canals or over sea and oceans). All these modes of transports have their own rules, though in many cases they are partialy alike. In most cases the ADR rules (for road transport) are the most relevant. For that reason we start there.
Shipping of alcohol and other hazardous products, including many perfumes, are subject to the ADR treaty. As usual Wikipedia provides excellent background information. No need for us to write down an alike story.
Perfume and alike products are subject to the ADR treaty in case they are made with flamable solvents, like ethanol. Only in case the concentration of ethanol is very low (or: better, in case the flashpoint of the perfume is high enough) they are not subject to ADR. Most perfumes made with non flamable solvents are not subject to ADR. The so called 'UN-number' for perfume (with a flamable solvent) is 1266.
In general it is best to assume a perfume or room fragrance to be subject to ADR when it is made with ethanol or isopropyl alcohol. In case it is made with vegetable oil, water or alike products it probably is not subject to ADR.
To fulfill all demands of ADR is quite some work. For starters you need a certified ADR safety adviser. The good news however is that this safety adviser is well aware of all the rules of ADR, so everything else you need to do you can leave in her capable hands. Still, in short, you need to pack the hazardous materials in certain ways, in suitable packaging, need to add certain documents and add labels to packaging. The driver of the truck, car or bike that transports the perfume is also certified and the vehicle has to fulfill certain demands as well.
For most smaller perfumers there is an easier to fulfill solution. Small amounts can be shipped following the LQ or EQ regime of the ADR. This means that less of the ADR rules apply. It may even be possible that you do not need a certified ADR safety adviser (depends on country). Drawback is that you have to find out yourself what rules apply and what not.
Unless you ship all your fragrance yourself or do no ship it at all, you need the services of a shipper who is capable of shipping according to the ADR rules. Make sure to select one who can ship to all your customers: all countries you want to, private and business customers (if applicable). Investing in one shipper is smart, having an alternative available is even smarter.
In case you only ship within the ADR countries area and only by road, ADR is all you have to keep in mind. However, in case you want to ship by plane or ship to other continents, you have to deal with other rules as well.
For air transport the IATA DGR (Dangerous Goods Regulations) apply. The rules are not that different from ADR in many respects, however in this case you need a certified safety advisor, even when you only ship LQ or EQ parcels. There is one additional option for extreme small amounts like samples: minimis quantities. These are packed in amounts of 1 ml or 1 g at most, which may be fine for samples.
For transport over sea the IMDG rules apply: again about the same as ADR.