How to Determine Shipping Girth on Boxes

Most shipping services charge extra to deliver unusually large packages. For example, United Parcel Service (UPS) imposes an Over Maximum Limits charge on packages with over 165 inches in combined length and girth. The United States Postal Service (USPS) also charges in certain cases based on such criteria. If you want to ship your package via the most economical service, it's important that you can accurately measure your package size.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape

Instructions

1. Place the box on a table, right side up.

2. Measure the width. This is the shortest side of the package. UPS and USPS specify to round to the nearest inch. (Other shippers could specify differently.) For example, round 10.75 inches up to 11 inches and round 10.25 inches down to 10 inches.

3. Multiply the width by two. In the above example, if we measure 11 inches, then 11 x 2 = 22 inches.

4. Measure the height. This is the second-shortest dimension. Round to the nearest inch. For example, round 18.25 inches to 18 inches.

5. Multiply the height by two. For our example, 18 x 2 = 36 inches.

6. Add the results of Steps 3 and 5 to obtain the package's girth. In our example, 22 + 36 = 58 inches.

Tips & Warnings

• The criterion used by both UPS and USPS is length plus girth.

• If you have an irregularly shaped package, imagine that the item is in a regular, rectangular box when you take your measurements. Take the width and height measurements at the widest and highest points, respectively.

References

• UPS: Weight and Size
• USPS Size Requirements

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish