Steps that I took to get certified:
1. Open an account with Fedex
2. Once my account was open, I called my rep (you should have a particular rep) and tell her I needed to get certified to ship live harmless reptiles.
3. She said she'd look into the procedure.
4. She never got back to me, and I emailed her again saying the same. I got the feeling she was not aware of what was required and was doing some digging. I was understanding since that probably isn't a typical request.
5. She let me know I would need to send a sample package (how I would pack a snake if I was shipping one) to a particular address where they test them. Have your packaging ready before this step comes up.
6. I did so.
7. They let me know that my package was tested for it's strength and had passed. I got an email which showed pictures of it as it was opened. It documented each 'layer' so to speak from outer box, to styrofoam, to crumpled newspaper, to snake bag, to deli cup; which did NOT contain a snake.
8. My rep sent me an email with an attachment that was supposed to be my waivers; releasing liability for Fedex if a snake was damaged along the way. It was not the right attachment, instead it was the documentation of my box test again. I replied that that was the case.
9. I got another email with the right attachment, I signed the waiver and sent it in.
10. I was certified!
Be patient with them, it's not every client of theirs who is doing this and most Fedex employees don't even know that they allow shipment of live animals. Besides that you'll probably end up working with the same rep for awhile, so it is probably in your benefit to be known as the one who was really understanding while they figured it out. Also I wouldn't ask them how you can get certified to ship to someone's home, as there really is no such certification, you'll just end up confusing things.
Good luck!
