Written to be read, not to be survived. If anything here is unclear, call and ask — the answer will be the same as what's written.
These terms govern courier services provided by LAX Hand Carry ("we", "us"), an independent sole-operator courier service based in Los Angeles, California, to the person or organization booking a shipment ("you", "the client"). Booking a run — by phone, email or the form on this site — means these terms apply.
We provide hand-carried courier service: ground pickup and delivery within the Los Angeles basin, and on-board courier service in which a courier travels as a passenger on a commercial flight with your item in the aircraft cabin. We are an independent courier, not a common carrier, freight forwarder, indirect air carrier, or customs broker, and we do not tender shipments into any airline's cargo system.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or acting as an agent of Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles World Airports, any airport authority, or any airline. References to LAX and to individual carriers are descriptive of where and how we operate. Airline names and marks belong to their owners.
A booking request — including one submitted through this website — is a request, not a contract. A run is accepted only when we confirm it with you directly, normally by phone, stating the pickup window, the intended flight where applicable, and the price. Rates, countdown timers and calculator output on this site are planning estimates and are not binding offers.
The confirmed price consists of the service fee, any applicable surcharges (after-hours, weekend and holiday work at 75% of base; oversize handling; wait time beyond fifteen minutes billed in thirty-minute increments), and, for on-board runs, airfare. Airfare is quoted at cost and either booked by you or invoiced to you with the receipt; we do not mark it up. Payment is due on completion unless billing terms have been agreed in writing. For new clients or high-value runs we may require airfare in advance, and you will be told at the quote.
Cancel before the courier is dispatched and there is no charge. Cancel after dispatch but before pickup and a call-out fee equal to the ground rate applies. Cancel after a non-refundable airline ticket has been purchased and the ticket cost is payable regardless, along with any work already performed. We will always tell you which of these positions you are in before you decide.
Items are sealed at pickup in a numbered tamper-evident bag, photographed with timestamp and location at each custody stage, carried in the cabin by a single named courier, and released only against signature by the named recipient with the seal verified against its number. The custody file is provided to you, normally the same day. We do not open a sealed bag except where required by law, by the TSA, or by an operating carrier.
You may not tender: hazardous materials or dangerous goods of any class; firearms, ammunition, weapons or their components; controlled substances, cannabis, or prescription medication other than as agreed in advance; live animals; perishables requiring active temperature control; currency, bullion, or bearer instruments; human remains; and anything prohibited by the TSA, the FAA, the operating carrier, or by federal, state or local law. Biological or diagnostic material is accepted only where non-hazardous, properly packaged by you, agreed in advance, and permitted by the carrier.
You warrant that anything you tender is lawful, accurately described, and permitted on a passenger aircraft. We may inspect, refuse, or discontinue carriage of any item at our sole discretion, and we may surrender any item to a lawful authority on demand. You are responsible for any fine, penalty, delay or loss arising from a misdescribed or prohibited tender.
Quoted windows are our best professional estimate and are not guaranteed. Delivery depends on commercial air service, security screening and road conditions, none of which we control. Where weather, air traffic control, mechanical delay, cancellation, screening or a lawful order prevents the planned flight, we will re-book at the earliest opportunity at no additional service fee, keep the item sealed and in our custody throughout, and keep you informed. Change fares or new tickets remain payable by you.
Our liability for loss of or damage to an item in our custody is limited to $1,000 per shipment. We do not carry cargo insurance. Declaring a value does not provide insurance or increase this liability limit. Coverage is the client’s responsibility; clients should arrange shipper’s interest insurance prior to pickup. See the Insurance & Coverage FAQ for insurance options.
We are not liable for consequential, indirect, incidental or special damages — including lost profit, missed filings or deadlines, lost business or reputational harm — even where the purpose of the shipment was known to us. We are not liable for delay caused by circumstances outside our control as described above, for inherent defect or inadequate packaging by you, or for the acts of any airport, airline or government authority.
Notify us of visible damage or a compromised seal at the moment of delivery, and confirm any claim in writing within thirty days of the delivery date. Keep the item, the bag and the seal available for inspection. Claims are settled against documented value; payment of a claim requires the invoice for the run to be settled in full.
We treat every shipment and every client relationship as confidential, and we do not review, copy or disclose contents. We are not a healthcare provider, law firm or records custodian. Clients with HIPAA, attorney–client, or other regulated-data obligations should keep identifiers sealed inside the package and out of booking correspondence; business associate agreements and confidentiality agreements are available on request.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, and any dispute will be brought in the state or federal courts serving Los Angeles County. If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest stands. We may update these terms; the version in effect on the date a run is confirmed is the version that governs it. Material changes will be dated at the top of this page.
Short version: we collect what is needed to pick something up and put it in the right hands, we keep it as long as the paperwork requires, and we sell none of it. The long version follows.
From you when you book: name, company, phone, email, pickup and delivery addresses, on-site contact names, the date and time required, a general description of contents, and any declared value. From the run itself: seal numbers, timestamped photographs at each custody stage, the delivery signature, and the courier's notes. For billing: the payment method and invoice records.
We do not want, ask for, or need case numbers, patient identifiers, client names, deal names, account numbers, or the substance of what you are shipping. The booking form and our correspondence are not the place for them. If such information reaches us anyway, we delete it from our records where we can and treat it as confidential where we cannot.
To quote, schedule and perform your run; to reach you and the recipient during it; to produce the custody file that proves it; to invoice and collect payment; to keep tax and insurance records; and to answer you if you contact us later about a past run. Nothing else.
The courier performing the run. Beyond that, only the service providers needed to operate: the airline (passenger booking — the courier's own details, not yours), the payment processor, the hosting, database, dispatch, email and form providers that process your booking request, and an accountant or insurer where a record is required. We share with law enforcement or a government authority only where legally compelled. We do not sell, rent or trade personal information, and we do not use it for advertising.
Custody files, including photographs and signatures, are retained for two years so a proof of delivery can be produced if a matter is questioned later. Invoices and financial records are kept for seven years as tax law requires. Booking correspondence that led to no run is deleted within ninety days. You can ask us to delete a custody file sooner and we will, unless a claim or a legal obligation is open on it.
Booking requests are saved with our hosting provider and sent to our dispatch system for coordination. A form copy may also be kept as a backstop. We count call clicks, calculator interactions, request starts, submissions, saves and errors using fixed event names and random event IDs. Analytics receives no form contents, addresses, contact details or session identifiers. Do Not Track signals are respected. The calculator runs in your browser. A one-way fingerprint and a random request ID are kept in session storage to make interrupted submissions safe to retry; form contents are not kept there. Standard server logs may record IP address and request time for security. A short-lived hashed IP counter limits repeated booking requests.
Custody photographs and files are held on access-controlled, password-protected devices and accounts. Physical custody logs are kept secured. No system is perfect, and we will not claim otherwise; if a breach affects your information we will tell you promptly and directly.
California residents may request a copy of the personal information we hold about them, ask us to correct or delete it, and be free from any penalty for asking. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of. Email or call using the details below and we will respond within thirty days.
This is a business service. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under sixteen, and we will delete it if we learn we have.
Questions about this policy, or a request about your information: laxhc@laxhandcarry.com or 310-415-3520. If we change this policy, the effective date at the top of this page changes with it, and material changes will be described here.
Any of this, in plain words, from the person who will be carrying your package.