3-1-1 clarification

Hey Laura, It is as many items that can fit in one baggie. Each item must be no more than 3 oz. :)
Happy travels.

The quart baggie needs to be able to close when loaded as well.

And you are allowed to have multiples of items- ex. two 3 oz shampoos, are ok . As long as it all fits and the bag closes. NOTE- The containers must only hold 3 oz- can't have a 6 oz container that is half full....

OK it's one CLOSED quart bag with only 3 oz max containers of anything liquid, gel etc. Dr. prescribed meds should go in a separate baggie - no oz. size maximum but must be in original packaging (or with clear labeling that it is a prescription) from the drug store/doctors office. Some airports overseas limit the number of items that can be in the baggie although that seems to be going away - max was 10.
Remember you only need to pack enough for a couple of days. Anything you need is probably available there. Well, it is actually....just find a market. If you can't read the language you can pretty much figure it out from the products placement (in the shampoo section say).

Actually you can go a bit larger than 3 fl oz each. The restriction is 100 ml which is 3.38 fl oz. Also note the restriction is volume (fluid oz or ml) not weight or mass (grams or oz).

Ed is right - you can play a little with the size of the container. The travel bottles I use are actually 3.4 fl oz - shh! Don't tell TSA!

And I believe the container MUST state the volume. Hasn't happened in a while, but I had the TSA confiscate a container, clearly small, because it did NOT state the volume. That make's refillable containers you'd purchase from Target, etc. useless for air travel. I've also had 3.4 Oz confiscated because the U.S. TSA thinks 3 oz is the rule and doesn't know how to convert to the 100 ml rule. These both happened within a year of the implimentation of these rules, but I altered my liquid carryon accordingly. I carryon 90% of the time, so I don't take chances with "loosing" my toiletries to the TSA garbage bin.

No- the container does NOT have to state the volume. And medications do NOT have to be in original container nor does TSA require copies of prescriptions, etc. That is more for your own use in case of a medical emergency or need to replace/refill medications. Teh only exception is liquid medications- they should be in original bottles to avoid the 3 oz. rule.

I travel with an empty, brand name, hairspray bottle (or two) marked 100mL/3.4oz. It will be my water bottle for spritzing wrinkles out of clothing, etc. later. IF there's any question about how large an unmarked container is, then we're going to pour it into the clearly-marked and empty container. IF an agent is a rear-end about THAT, then look for me on the evening news; mine will be the PO'd-looking mugshot.

Thanks for the info guys! Toni, I did not know that drugs don't have to be labeled anymore and that you can throw them together in a daily dosage container. from the TSA website: "We do not require that your medications be labeled. Medications in daily dosage containers are allowed through the checkpoint once they have been screened."

I was stopped in CPH airport with a half full 150 mL container of shampoo. The agent explained: "It's the volume labeled on the container that counts, even though I can see that the container is half full and only contains 75 mL, it's not allowed in, since it's a 150 mL bottle. And away it went. (not a big deal though for a small amount of shampoo). This is how it's interpreted at CPH. Probably, other airports are different.

The only thing I'd add is the quart ziplock can't be stuffed completely full. I've been told before that it has to fit comfortably so the TSA person can easily inspect it. At TSA I think a lot is up to the individual who checks your bag. I always try to be well within the rules so I'm never worried about interpretations.

Nope, Christophe, that's the universal rule :-( (which I can understand - some cases are obvious (nearly empty 7oz toothpaste tube), but others aren't...if only the agents would apply the rules consistently, though...but I don't want to get into THAT LOL) "The only thing I'd add is the quart ziplock can't be stuffed completely full." SURE it can, Brad ;-) (OK - you can kind of 'squeeze' things around and see what's in there...)

Helpful Tip: Make sure you bring a few extra quart baggies. Even the heavy duty ones tend to break from being over filled, fluid spilling, overuse, etc. Drug stores and Target sell TSA specific bags in their travel size section so you don't have to buy a whole box of them.

As as reminder - the TSA really shouldn't care about your vitamins and prescription medications - even prescribed narcotics - unless you can make them go 'ka-BOOM'. But the US Customs agents (and their beagles) surely do! They still want prescriptions in their original containers...

Non-prescribed medical liquids and gels can go into a separate quart baggie - like neosporin, hydrocortisone cream, eye drops, mentholatum ointment, etc. Have done this since the ban on liquids and have had no problems in Europe/Africa/USA.