The TSA-Compliant Travel Kit Guide: What the Liquid Rules Actually Require

By Autumn Lido, Partner and Chief of Operations, Convenience Kits International

A TSA-compliant travel kit is a pre-assembled set of toiletries in which every liquid product holds 3.4 ounces or less, and the quart-size zip-top bag the rule requires is included. TSA screened more than 904 million people in 2024, a 5.3 percent increase over the roughly 858.6 million screened in 2023¹.

This guide covers what the rules require, what counts as a liquid, where the real exceptions sit, and five honest ways to pack your carry-on toiletries.

What Is the 3-1-1 Rule?

The 3-1-1 rule is TSA's shorthand for its carry-on liquid limit: containers of 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less, all fitting inside one quart-size bag, one bag per passenger².

It applies to liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes. Anything in a container larger than 3.4 ounces should be packed in checked baggage instead².

The three numbers are easy to mix up, so here they are separated out:

• 3.4 ounces is the maximum stated capacity of any single container.
• One quart-size bag holds all of them, zipped closed.

• One bag is the allowance per traveler, not per carry-on.

  TSA names toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, mouthwash and lotion as common items the rule catches².

  That list reads almost exactly like the contents of any of our travel kits, which is why CKI publishes the TSA rules on its own site: the question comes up constantly³.

  Every CKI men's travel kit and women's travel kit is already built to these numbers, so there is nothing left to measure once it is in your bag.

How Much Liquid Can You Take on a Plane?

As much as fits inside one quart-size bag, in containers of 3.4 ounces or less each. The limit is on the container, not its contents⁴.

That is why a 6 ounce shampoo bottle with nothing but an inch left in the bottom still gets refused at the belt.

Empty bottles of any size are permitted through the checkpoint⁴.

That surprises people more than anything else on this page, because it makes clear what the officer is actually doing when they pick up your shampoo. They are reading the label, not the liquid.

In practice, one quart-size bag holds a full set of travel-size toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash and lotion, each at 3.4 ounces or less. That allowance is per traveler, not per carry-on bag².

There is also a whole category of toiletry the rule ignores completely, and it is not a loophole. It has its own section further down.

What Counts as a Liquid?

More than most travelers think. Lisa Farbstein, former TSA spokesperson, put the working test this way: "If you can spill it, spray it, spread it, pump it, or pour it, then it's a liquid, gel, or aerosol."⁴

On that test, toothpaste is a paste, mascara and liquid foundation are liquid cosmetics, and gel deodorant, sunscreen and peanut butter all fall under the 3-1-1 rule⁴.

Toothpaste is the one that matters most on a travel page. It is in nearly every kit, and TSA names it directly.

Spreadable foods trip up the same test. Peanut butter, hummus, yogurt and jam are treated as liquids at the checkpoint, no different from a gel or paste⁴.

Knowing what counts is half the job. Knowing where the rule stops applying is the other half, because the exceptions are wider than most travelers realize.

The Exceptions to the Carry-On Liquid Rule

Medication

Medically necessary liquids, including liquid medication, are permitted in carry-on baggage in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces, in reasonable amounts for the flight⁵.

Two conditions trip people up. You have to declare them to the officer at the start of screening, and you have to remove them from the carry-on for separate screening⁵.

They do not go in the quart bag. They are subject to additional screening, which may include opening the container, and TSA recommends clear labeling⁵.

Breast milk, formula and juice

Breast milk, infant formula and juice for a child are exempt from the 3-1-1 rule in reasonable quantities and may exceed 3.4 ounces⁶.

Ice packs, freezer packs and gel packs used to cool them are permitted too, along with gel or liquid-filled teethers and canned or jarred baby food⁶.

Here is the part parents miss. The formula is exempt, but the baby shampoo sitting next to it in the same bag is not. Our kids and baby travel kits are built at the compliant size for exactly that reason.

Hand sanitizer

TSA permits one liquid hand sanitizer container of up to 12 ounces per passenger in carry-on baggage, until further notice⁷.

Because it exceeds 3.4 ounces, it has to come out of the bag and be screened separately in a bin⁷.

Treat this one as a standing exception rather than part of the rule itself. The "until further notice" wording is TSA's, and it means what it says.

Powders are a separate rule

Powder-like substances of 12 ounces (350 mL) or more in carry-on baggage must go in a separate bin for X-ray screening and may require additional screening, including opening the container⁸.

Powders over that threshold that cannot be resolved at the checkpoint are not allowed into the cabin and are disposed of. Checked bags have no powder limit⁸.

Twelve ounces is roughly a soda can, so a travel-size dry shampoo or powder deodorant is nowhere near it. Baby formula, medically necessary powders and human remains are exempt from the secondary screening requirement⁸.

Duty-free and tamper-evident bags

A secure tamper-evident bag (STEB) is a single-use bag built to an International Civil Aviation Organization standard and sold only through duty-free retailers².

Duty-free liquids over 3.4 ounces can come through a U.S. checkpoint on an international connection, but three things have to hold. The retailer must have sealed them in a STEB that shows no sign of tampering, the original receipt has to be present and dated within 48 hours, and the contents have to screen clear².

Do the New Scanners Mean the Airline Liquid Rules Changed?

No. This is the single most misread piece of airport news right now, so it is worth being blunt about it.

As of early July 2026, TSA had deployed 1,162 computed tomography (CT) scanning units across 296 airports⁹.

At CT lanes, travel-size liquids and laptops may stay inside the carry-on bag during screening⁴. That is a genuine change and it does save time.

What did not change is the size limit. Each container is still capped at 3.4 ounces and still limited to one quart-size bag⁴.

Passengers without PreCheck should still be ready to take liquids out.

Despite Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly questioning the liquids rule in July 2025, no official change to the U.S. rule had been announced as of May 2026⁴.

One more practical note on those lanes. The CT scanner tunnel measures 24.5 inches wide by 16.5 inches tall, so an overstuffed carry-on can need extra handling⁹.

What to Look For in Carry-On Toiletries

Five things are worth checking before you buy anything, whatever you end up buying: the stated capacity on the bottle, whether a quart bag is included, whether the packaging has been checked for leaks, whether the contents are name brands you recognize, and whether the item count is honest.

Checkpoint traffic keeps climbing, and that is the practical argument for sorting your toiletries at home rather than in line. TSA screened roughly 10.4 million travelers over the four-day 2025 Labor Day weekend, up 3.3 percent on the same period in 2024, and Friday, August 29, 2025 alone brought 2,971,217 passengers¹⁰.

Airlines for America forecast 271 million passengers on U.S. carriers between June 1 and August 31, 2024, a 6.3 percent increase over summer 2023, supported by more than 26,000 scheduled flights a day¹¹.

Stated capacity printed on the bottle

The number that matters is the one molded into the plastic or printed on the label, not the fill line. If a bottle says 4 ounces, it is over the limit even half used⁴.

A quart bag that comes with it

TSA requires the liquids to travel in a quart-size zip-top bag², and that is exactly why the bag is part of a Convenience Kits International kit rather than something you have to remember separately³.

Every liquid in a CKI kit is 3.4 ounces or less³. There is nothing to measure and nothing to decant.

Packaging that is checked for leaks

Quality control happens at three points rather than one: incoming components, assembly of the kit, and the seal. Bottles that show any leak are pulled and not used, and there is a further inspection after assembly and before boxing³.

On a page about carrying open liquids through an airport in a clear plastic bag, that step is not a footnote.

Contents you already recognize

Kits contain name-brand products, which means there is nothing to evaluate at the shelf and nothing unfamiliar in your hand at 5 a.m. in a hotel bathroom. A familiar brand is a piece of home. As Autumn Lido puts it, "having a brand allows you to feel like you're home when you're away."³

An honest item count

If the label says ten pieces, ten pieces should be in the kit. It is a low bar, and it is one of the five claims Convenience Kits International stands behind on any kit it sells³.

See what goes into a men's travel kit or compare the women's deluxe 10-piece kit.

Five Ways to Pack Your Carry-On Toiletries

There is no single right answer here, and a guide that pretended otherwise would not be worth reading. Each of these five works. They differ on time, cost and how much of the rule you have to think about.

1. A pre-assembled travel kit

Every liquid is built at 3.4 ounces or less, packed in the required quart-size zip-top bag, double-sealed and leak-resistant, with an honest item count and name-brand contents³.

CKI's consumer lines cover men's, women's, unisex, budget and kids and baby, plus a dental kit.

Best suited to the traveler who flies a few times a year and does not want to think about the rule at all. The budget travel kits cover a short trip; the men's premium travel kit and the oral care 6-piece kit cover longer ones.

The trade-off is honest enough: you get what is in the kit, and if you are particular about one specific product, you will still bring that one separately.

2. Refilling your own bottles

This works, and plenty of frequent travelers do it. The bottles have to be 3.4 ounces or less in stated capacity, and you supply your own quart-size bag⁴. Empty bottles of any size are permitted, so the constraint is only on what you fill⁴.

The catch is the one in the mistakes section below: people decant into a 6 ounce bottle they only half fill, and lose it at the checkpoint.

The other catch is time. Assembling your own means visiting more than one store, because no single store reliably carries every travel size you need in the brands you want³.

Autumn Lido puts it plainly: "Who doesn't want to save time? If I can get all my toiletries packaged in a convenient pack to grab and go, I prefer that any day over going to individual stores to find the individual travel sizes."³

3. Going solid

Solid-format toiletries are products you cannot pour, pump or spread, and they are not subject to the 3-1-1 rule or to any carry-on size limit¹².

Bar soap, solid stick deodorant, shampoo and conditioner bars, solid sunscreen sticks, twist-up lip balm, solid perfume and pressed powder cosmetics all qualify¹².

This is the category the earlier section pointed at. It is genuinely the only way to skip the rule entirely, and a guide that left it out would be selling rather than explaining.

What changes is the product experience and the range of brands available. The gel and liquid versions of the same products go straight back under 3-1-1¹².

4. Buying at the airport or on arrival

Airport prices are less outrageous than their reputation. Most large U.S. airports cap what stores may charge at the street price plus a fixed percentage¹³:

• 10 percent: DFW, Oakland, Sacramento, Seattle, Tampa
• 11 percent: SFO
• 15 percent: Atlanta, Denver and the three New York airports, which add a further 3 percent employee benefits and retention fee
• 18 percent: LAX

Portland International has prohibited vendor markups since the 1980s¹³.

The real argument against replacing a toiletry at the gate is not price gouging. It is time and selection, at the moment you have the least of both.

5. Checking a bag

Checking removes the liquid limit entirely for anything inside the checked bag, and TSA's own guidance is that containers larger than 3.4 ounces belong there².

The cost is covered in the next section. The other cost is that you do not see your toiletries until you land, and sometimes not then.

A major resort group and two cruise lines hand a hygiene kit to guests who arrive without their bags, holding toothpaste, a toothbrush, a facial wipe and hand sanitizer, enough to get the guest through until the airline delivers the bag³. On cruises the luggage sometimes never makes the port at all and has to be flown out to the ship³.

What This Actually Costs

The checked-bag alternative

U.S. airlines collected roughly $7.4 billion in baggage fees in 2025, about 2.9 percent of total operating revenue, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics¹⁴.

The 2024 figure was approximately $7.27 billion, up from $7.07 billion in 2023, $6.7 billion in 2022 and $5.3 billion in 2021¹⁴. American, Delta and United each took in over $1 billion from checked bags in 2024¹⁴.

The per-traveler version is easier to picture. Southwest began charging $35 for a first checked bag after more than 50 years of including the first two at no charge, and American raised its first-bag fee from $30 to $35 in 2024¹⁵.

At $35 each way, that is $70 on a round trip.

Carry-on-only became a money decision, which is why the liquid rules suddenly matter more than they used to.

Replacing something at the checkpoint

Airport stores are capped by policy at most large U.S. airports, and can charge only 10 to 18 percent over the street price¹³. Losing a bottle of sunscreen is not a financial event.

It is a time event. You are buying a replacement while boarding is called, from whatever the terminal happens to stock.

What drives the price of a kit

The tier decision is a real decision. A kit built from no-name product runs about two to three dollars; a kit built from national brands costs more³.

Stock kits are produced in batches of 5,000 to 10,000, and that batch size is what makes them cheaper. A custom kit requires setting up its own production line, which is why custom costs more than stock³.

Ben Lido on the mistake buyers make most: they "add up the components and they say, oh this isn't so valuable to me. What they fail to see is that what the customer is looking for is convenience. It's an impulse buy and it has everything all in one package. That's the value."³

Common Mistakes

Oversized liquids, gels and aerosols are among the items most commonly surrendered at TSA checkpoints, alongside water bottles and knives and tools longer than seven inches¹⁶.

Body wash, sunscreen, hair and skin care products and toothpaste are the repeat offenders¹⁶. Six mistakes account for most of it.

1. Bringing an oversized container because it is nearly empty. The checkpoint reads the container's stated capacity, so a half-used 6 ounce bottle is still refused⁴. Decant into a bottle that is 3.4 ounces or smaller, or bring a kit built at that size.
2. Not knowing that pastes, creams and spreadables count. Toothpaste is a paste, mascara and liquid foundation are liquid cosmetics, and peanut butter, hummus, yogurt and jam are treated as liquids at the checkpoint⁴. Apply the spill-spray-spread-pump-pour test to everything in the bag.

3. Assuming a product label means a government agency cleared it. The one recognized product-marking scheme in air travel is the red diamond on luggage locks, issued by Travel Sentry, a private standards company whose standard is accepted by TSA and security agencies in more than 80 countries¹⁷.

   Travel Sentry's own materials describe the mark as "Travel Sentry Approved" and built to "TSA-accepted standards"¹⁷. A kit can meet TSA's published carry-on limits, which is a narrower and more accurate claim than a government blessing on a product.

4. Reading "liquids can stay in your bag" as "the size limit is gone." At CT lanes the bag stays packed, but each container is still capped at 3.4 ounces and still limited to one quart bag⁴.

5. Assuming the U.S. rule travels with you. As of January 2026, Heathrow, Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol, Belfast International and Belfast City permit containers up to 2 litres in hand luggage with no clear-bag requirement, while Luton and Manchester still enforce 100ml¹⁸.

   Across the EU the rollout is fragmented: the European Commission approved certain C3 scanners in July 2025, and airports including Dublin, Rome Fiumicino and Milan permit up to 2 litres, but 100ml remains the default everywhere else¹⁸. Check your departure airport in both directions, because packing at 3.4 ounces clears the strictest rule anywhere.

6. Pricing a kit by adding up what the pieces would cost separately. On the bulk side, buyers also expect a custom kit to cost what a stock kit costs³.

Recommendations

No single kit is right for everyone, so here is the situational version.

If you fly once or twice a year, a pre-assembled kit removes the whole problem for the price of not thinking about it. Start with the budget travel kits or a women's premium travel kit, depending on trip length.

If you travel with a baby, remember the formula is exempt and the toiletries are not⁶. A compliant kids and baby kit handles the second half.

If you are buying a gift, December is the season for it. TSA projected 44.3 million travelers between December 19, 2025 and January 4, 2026, with the heaviest day expected to be Sunday, December 28 at 2.86 million¹⁹.

The person you are shopping for is about to be one of them.

If you are buying for a group, a school, a shelter, a hotel or a company, go straight to bulk ordering or custom travel kits. Call 800-859-KITS if you want to talk through quantities, customization or a drop-ship plan before you order.

One last thing, and it is the reason I keep buying them myself. The bag outlives the trip. I use mine for makeup and keep several going at once, one for first aid, one for nail products, one for cosmetics³.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much liquid can you take on a plane?

Each container must hold 3.4 ounces (100 millilitres) or less, and every container has to fit in one quart-size bag². One bag per passenger. The limit is on the container's stated capacity, not on how much is left inside it⁴.

What is the 3-1-1 rule?

3-1-1 is TSA's shorthand for its carry-on liquids limit: 3.4 ounce containers, 1 quart-size bag, 1 bag per traveler². It covers liquids, aerosols, gels, creams and pastes².

Does toothpaste count as a liquid?

Yes. TSA names toothpaste on its liquids rule page², and the working test is whether you can spill, spray, spread, pump or pour it⁴. That test also catches mascara, liquid foundation, sunscreen and peanut butter⁴.

Can you bring medication or baby formula over 3.4 ounces?

Yes to both, in reasonable quantities. Medically necessary liquids must be declared at the start of screening and removed for separate screening, and they do not go in the quart bag⁵. Breast milk, formula and juice for a child are exempt too, along with the ice or gel packs cooling them⁶.

Do the new airport scanners mean the liquid rules are gone?

No. At CT lanes your liquids can stay inside your bag, which is a real change, but each container is still capped at 3.4 ounces and still limited to one quart bag⁴. No official change to the U.S. rule had been announced as of May 2026⁴.

Are the rules the same in the UK and Europe?

Not any more, and not consistently. As of January 2026 several UK airports allow containers up to 2 litres while others still enforce 100ml, and the EU rollout is airport by airport¹⁸. Packing at 3.4 ounces clears the strictest rule at any of them.

What actually goes in a travel kit, and what is not covered?

A kit covers the liquids, which is the part the rule restricts: shampoo, toothpaste, mouthwash, body wash and the rest, all at 3.4 ounces or less, in the quart bag the rule requires³. Solid items like bar soap and stick deodorant are not restricted at all and can go anywhere in your bag¹².

Order Travel Kits, One or Ten Thousand

Convenience Kits International has been packing travel and hygiene kits for 35+ years and has sold more than 50 million of them³. Kits already in stock ship within 48 hours, and often within 24. When new kits have to be produced, we can build 4,000 to 6,000 in a day, and double shifts double that³.

Shopping for yourself, start with the men's travel kits, the women's 11-piece kit or a 10-piece hygiene kit. Want to read more first? Simple steps to building a travel hygiene kit walks through the same decisions from the packing side.

Buyers ordering in quantity tend to arrive with the same five questions: what it costs, whether there are price breaks at higher quantities, whether the kit can be customized and what the minimum is to do that, whether their logo can go on the bag, and what the lead time is³. Organizations with sites in more than one place ask a sixth, which is whether CKI can drop ship to each location, so they are not paying freight into one warehouse and then paying again to redistribute it themselves³.

Buying for a school, shelter, hotel, rental property or company? Order travel kits in bulk or build your own custom travel kit with your logo on the bag. Call 800-859-KITS to talk through quantities, customization and lead times.

Sources

1. Transportation Security Administration, 2024. Annual screening volume for 2024 and comparison to 2023. https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/01/16/2024-year-review-tsa-highlights-banner-year-record-passenger-volumes
2. Transportation Security Administration, 2026. The 3-1-1 carry-on liquids rule, items it covers, checked-baggage guidance, and duty-free secure tamper-evident bag conditions. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/liquids-aerosols-gels-rule
3. Convenience Kits International, first-party practitioner interview, August 2026. Kit liquid sizes and included quart bag, three-point quality control, brand familiarity, tier and batch economics, Ben Lido on component pricing, lost-luggage kit program, production and ship times, and the reusable bag.
4. AFAR, 2026. Container capacity versus fill level, empty bottles, Lisa Farbstein's liquid definition, item classifications, and CT lane liquid limits. https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-tsas-3-1-1-rule-for-liquids-in-carry-on-luggage
5. Transportation Security Administration, 2026. Medically necessary liquids exemption and screening conditions. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/medications-liquid
6. Transportation Security Administration, 2026. Breast milk, formula and juice exemption from the 3-1-1 liquids rule. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/frequently-asked-questions/breast-milk-formula-and-juice-exempt-3-1-1-liquids-rule
7. Transportation Security Administration, 2026. Hand sanitizer allowance of up to 12 ounces per passenger. https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/items/hand-sanitizers
8. Delta Air Lines, 2026, restating the TSA powder directive. Powder threshold of 12 ounces (350 mL), separate screening, and exemptions. https://www.delta.com/us/en/advisories/other-alerts/tsa-powder-restrictions
9. AFAR, 2026. CT scanner deployment count as of early July 2026 and scanner tunnel dimensions. https://www.afar.com/magazine/tsas-new-ct-scanners-what-travelers-need-to-know
10. Transportation Security Administration (via PR Newswire), 2025. Labor Day weekend 2025 screening volumes and the August 2025 single-day record. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tsa-screens-record-10-4-million-individuals-over-labor-day-weekend-302545301.html
11. Airlines for America, 2024. Summer 2024 passenger forecast of 271 million, June 1 to August 31, 2024. https://www.airlines.org/news-update/a4a-predicts-record-setting-summer-travel-season-for-u-s-airlines/
12. TSA classification as restated by multiple travel and product sources, 2026. Solid-format toiletries and their exclusion from the liquids rule. https://www.awaytravel.com/blogs/the-away-pages/tsa-liquid-rules
13. Groundwork Collaborative, 2025. Airport concession street-pricing markup caps by airport and the Portland International no-markup policy. https://groundworkcollaborative.org/work/street-pricing/
14. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 2025. U.S. airline baggage fee revenue for 2025 and prior years. https://www.bts.gov/newsroom/us-airlines-profited-60-billion-2025-decrease-over-2024
15. Bureau of Transportation Statistics data and airline announcements, reported by CBS News, 2025. Southwest and American checked-bag fee changes. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/checked-bag-fees-us-airlines-southwest-united/
16. Reporting on TSA checkpoint practice, 2026. Items most commonly surrendered at checkpoints. https://dailypassport.com/items-tsa-confiscates-most-often/
17. Travel Sentry, 2026. The red diamond lock certification, its acceptance in more than 80 countries, and Travel Sentry's own description of the standard. https://www.travelsentry.org/tsa-lock/
18. Which?, 2026. UK airport liquid allowances as of January 2026 and the fragmented EU rollout. https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/100ml-rule-at-uk-airport-security-new-scanners-avLDH4E9xSVg
19. Transportation Security Administration (via PR Newswire), 2025. Holiday travel projection for December 2025 to January 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tsa-prepares-for-holiday-travel-season-to-cap-record-year-302648058.html