FedEx Oversize Dimensions: Limits and Size Rules

FedEx oversize dimensions start at more than 96 inches on the longest side or more than 130 inches in combined length and girth. Since January 12, 2026, a package also counts as oversize if its volume exceeds 17,280 cubic inches or its actual weight exceeds 110 pounds, and any oversize package is billed at a minimum of 90 pounds plus an Oversize Charge.

Above the oversize band sits a hard ceiling. FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery don’t accept packages over 108 inches long, 165 inches in length plus girth, or 150 pounds, and FedEx Express caps packages at 150 pounds, 119 inches long and 165 inches in length plus girth. This guide lays out each limit, how to measure, and how to keep a large box out of the oversize category.

What Are the FedEx Oversize Dimensions?

The 2026 FedEx Service Guide applies the Oversize Charge to U.S. packages that meet any one of four criteria:

1. Length: longer than 96 inches on its longest side.
2. Length plus girth: more than 130 inches, where length plus girth is the length plus two times the height plus two times the width.
3. Cubic volume: more than 17,280 cubic inches (length times width times height), effective January 12, 2026.
4. Actual weight: more than 110 pounds, effective January 12, 2026.

The volume and weight tests are the 2026 change. Before them, a box under 96 inches long and 130 inches in length plus girth was never oversize, however heavy or bulky. Now a dense 120-pound crate or a wide, squat box can cross the line too. The threshold of 17,280 cubic inches is 10 cubic feet, roughly a 26-inch cube.

What Is the Maximum Package Size FedEx Accepts?

Oversize packages still ship; FedEx just bills them differently. Packages beyond the maximums below are “unauthorized” and, in FedEx’s words, “may be refused, returned to the shipper, or disposed of,” with an extra Unauthorized Package Charge if FedEx accepts them anyway.

Anything heavier than 150 pounds or bigger than 165 inches in length plus girth belongs on a pallet. For FedEx’s packaging options below these limits, see our guide to FedEx box sizes, and our explainer on FedEx service tiers and transit times compares Ground with the Express options.

How Do You Measure Length and Girth for FedEx?

FedEx measures the longest side as the length, then adds twice the height and twice the width to get length plus girth. Any fraction of an inch rounds up to the next whole inch before the math, so a 95.2-inch tube is measured as 96 inches and a 96.1-inch tube as 97, which is oversize.

Irregular items, such as a bike frame or a chair wrapped in foam, are measured as if they sat in the smallest six-sided box that would enclose them. FedEx can also re-measure in transit: if a soft package bulges or its shape changes, it may adjust the charges after the fact.

How Does FedEx Bill an Oversize Package?

Two things change on the invoice. First, the package is rated at the greater of its actual rounded weight or its dimensional weight, with a 90-pound minimum billable weight, so a light but oversize box is billed as if it weighed at least 90 pounds. Second, FedEx adds the Oversize Charge, which varies by zone for U.S. shipments, and during peak periods a Demand Oversize Charge can apply on top.

Dimensional weight matters even below the oversize line. FedEx divides length times width times height by 139 to get it, which our guide to how carriers calculate dimensional weight walks through with examples. FedEx publishes current surcharge amounts in its Service Guide and rate tools, and our breakdown of FedEx shipping fees by service, weight and zone explains how they stack. For one heavy shipment, our guide to FedEx large box shipping cost for a 200 lb shipment shows what drives the total.

How Is Oversize Different From the Additional Handling Surcharge?

Additional Handling kicks in at smaller sizes. FedEx applies it to a package that is longer than 48 inches, has a second-longest side over 30 inches, measures more than 105 inches in length plus girth, exceeds 10,368 cubic inches, or weighs more than 50 pounds, plus packages in non-standard packaging, such as boxes that aren’t corrugated cardboard, shrink-wrapped cartons, tubes and drums, or items with wheels or straps. A dimension-based Additional Handling package carries a 40-pound minimum billable weight.

FedEx refers to any package meeting these criteria as a “non-standard shipment.” Because the bands overlap, a big box can meet the criteria for more than one charge, so check each size-related line on your invoice against the box’s rounded measurements.

How Can You Avoid FedEx Oversize Charges?

The cheapest oversize charge is the one you design out of the box. Most savings come from shaving an inch or two off a box that sits just over a threshold:

• Measure with the rounding in mind. Round every dimension up yourself before you buy a box, since FedEx will.
• Trim the girth, not just the length. Every inch off the width or height takes two inches off length plus girth.
• Split heavy loads. Two 60-pound boxes avoid the 110-pound weight test that one 120-pound box triggers.
• Disassemble where you can. Removing legs, handlebars or wheels often drops an item below 96 inches or 130 inches in length plus girth; our guides on how to ship a bike and how to ship furniture show how.
• Use a better-fitting box. Our guide to shipping large boxes and dimensional weight covers box selection, and FedEx’s custom box ordering options help repeat shippers fit products tightly.

For items that will always be big, a pallet is usually the better route. ParcelPath offers LTL freight through PalletPath, and you can price a pallet with the PalletPath LTL freight quote tool.

How Do UPS Size Limits Compare With FedEx?

UPS uses nearly the same structure. A UPS package can weigh up to 150 pounds, measure up to 108 inches long and 165 inches in length plus girth, and the UPS Large Package Surcharge applies above 96 inches long, 130 inches in length plus girth, 17,280 cubic inches or 110 pounds, also with a 90-pound minimum billable weight. That means switching carriers won’t make an oversize box standard, but the base rate under it can differ a lot.

If you’re open to UPS or USPS instead, ParcelPath offers up to 85% off UPS and up to 89% off USPS with no subscription or per-label fee. Compare live UPS and USPS rates for your box in the ParcelPath rate calculator, or see how carriers price big parcels on our shipping calculator page. USPS tops out at 70 pounds and 130 inches in length plus girth for Ground Advantage, so it only fits the lighter end of large-box shipping.

Does an Oversize Package Ship Differently?

Oversize boxes don’t fit FedEx’s automated sorters well, so they’re handled more manually and are more exposed to bumps. Reinforce them with double-wall corrugated board, tape every seam, and avoid straps or handles that can snag. Track them like any other package with our guide to FedEx tracking and delivery.

Oversize packages also lose FedEx’s late-delivery protection. The FedEx Service Guide lists packages meeting the oversize definition among the exceptions to its money-back guarantee, so an oversize Express package that arrives late won’t earn a refund. For delivery days on big Express shipments, our guide to FedEx Saturday delivery shows which services can arrive on a weekend.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size package is considered oversize by FedEx?

FedEx treats a U.S. package as oversize if it’s longer than 96 inches, measures more than 130 inches in length plus girth, exceeds 17,280 cubic inches, or weighs more than 110 pounds. The last two criteria took effect January 12, 2026. Oversize packages are billed at a minimum of 90 pounds plus an Oversize Charge that varies by zone.

What is the largest box FedEx will ship?

FedEx Ground and Home Delivery accept packages up to 150 pounds, 108 inches long and 165 inches in length plus girth. FedEx Express allows up to 150 pounds, 119 inches long and 165 inches in length plus girth. Packages over those limits are unauthorized and may be refused, returned or disposed of; heavier items should ship as freight.

How do you calculate length plus girth for FedEx?

Measure the longest side as the length, round each dimension up to the next whole inch, then add two times the width and two times the height. A box measuring 48 by 24 by 18 inches has a length plus girth of 48 + 48 + 36, or 132 inches, which is over FedEx’s 130-inch oversize threshold.

Does the FedEx Oversize Charge apply to FedEx Ground?

Yes. The Oversize Charge applies to FedEx Ground, FedEx Home Delivery and FedEx Express package services using the same four criteria: over 96 inches long, 130 inches in length plus girth, 17,280 cubic inches or 110 pounds. FedEx Ground also adds an Unauthorized Package Charge to packages over 108 inches long, 165 inches in length plus girth or 150 pounds.

What is the minimum billable weight for an oversize FedEx package?

Ninety pounds. FedEx rates an oversize package at the greater of its actual rounded weight or its dimensional weight, subject to a 90-pound minimum billable weight, before adding the Oversize Charge. Packages that only meet Additional Handling dimension criteria have a lower 40-pound minimum, and FedEx international shipments aren’t subject to the 90-pound minimum.

Sources

• FedEx Service Guide 2026 (U.S.): Oversize Charge, Additional Handling Surcharge, Unauthorized Package Charge and package size limits
• FedEx: Shipping rate quote tool
• UPS: Package dimensions and weight limits
• USPS Domestic Mail Manual 201: Physical standards for parcels

This article is part of our FedEx coverage, alongside the best shipping services and solutions roundup and the FedEx shipping hub.

Part of our FedEx Box Sizes and Prices guide. Related: FedEx Labels and Supplies, FedEx Custom Boxes, FedEx Envelope Sizes.