QuickLinks -- Click here to rapidly navigate through this document

Exhibit 3.1


CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT

OF

RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

* * * * *

        United Parcel Service, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the "Company"), DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:

        FIRST: That at a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company, resolutions were adopted setting forth a proposed amendment to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company, declaring the amendment to be advisable and directing that the amendment be considered by the Company's shareowners at the Company's next annual meeting of shareowners. The resolutions setting forth the proposed amendment are as follows:

        SECOND: That thereafter, at the annual meeting of shareowners of the Company duly called and held on May 12, 2000, upon notice in accordance with Section 222 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the necessary number of shares as required by statute were voted in favor of the amendment.

        THIRD: That the foregoing amendment was duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 242 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.



        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, United Parcel Service, Inc. has caused this certificate to be signed by Joseph R. Moderow, its Secretary, this 15th day of May, 2000.

    UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC.

 

 

By:

 

/s/  
JOSEPH R. MODEROW      
JOSEPH R. MODEROW,
Secretary


RESTATED
CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC.
(ORIGINALLY INCORPORATED ON JULY 15, 1999)

        United Parcel Service, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, hereby certifies as follows:

        FIRST: The name of the Corporation is United Parcel Service, Inc.

        SECOND: The address of the Corporation's registered office in the State of Delaware is Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle. The name of its registered agent at this address is The Corporation Trust Company.

        THIRD: The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the Delaware General Corporation Law.

        FOURTH: (a) The total number of shares of stock that the Corporation has authority to issue is 10,400,000,000, of which:

        The Class A-1 Common Stock, the Class A-2 Common Stock, the Class A-3 Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock are referred to collectively as the "Common Stock".

                          (b) The number of authorized shares of any class or classes of stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by the holders of the Common Stock, voting together as a single class, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the Delaware General Corporation Law or any corresponding provision hereinafter enacted.

                          (c) The following is a statement of the relative powers, preferences and participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions of the classes of Common Stock:


  (3) (A) At every meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation in connection with the election of directors and all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders: (i) every holder of Class A-1 Common Stock, Class A-2 Common Stock or Class A-3 Common Stockshall be entitled to ten votes in person or by proxy for each share of Class A-1 Common Stock, Class A-2 Common Stock and Class A-3 Common Stock registered in his or her name on the transfer books of the Corporation; and (ii) every holder of Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to one vote in person or by proxy for each share of Class B Common Stock registered in his or her name on the transfer books of the Corporation. Except as otherwise required by law or by this Article Fourth, the holders of each class of Common Stock shall vote together as a single class, subject to any right that may be conferred upon holders of Preferred Stock to vote together with holders of Common Stock on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders of the Corporation.




                          (d) All rights to vote and all voting power shall be vested exclusively in the holders of Common Stock, except as otherwise expressly provided by the Board of Directors in connection with the issuance of any shares of Preferred Stock pursuant to Article Fifth of this Restated Certificate of Incorporation or as otherwise expressly required by the law of the State of Delaware. At every meeting of stockholders duly called and held at which a quorum is present (i) in all matters other than the election of directors, a majority of the votes that could be cast at the meeting upon a given question and (ii) in the case of the election of directors, a plurality of the votes that could be cast at the meeting upon the election, by the holders who are present in person or by proxy, shall be necessary, in addition to any vote or other action that may be expressly required by the provisions of this Restated Certificate of Incorporation or by the law of the State of Delaware, to decide the question or election.

        FIFTH: The Board of Directors shall have authority to issue shares of Preferred Stock from time to time on such terms as it may determine, and to divide the Preferred Stock into one or more series. In connection with the creation of any such series, the Board of Directors shall have authority to fix by the resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of shares thereof the designations, voting powers, preferences and relative participating, optional or other special rights of such series, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, to the full extent now or hereafter permitted by law.

        SIXTH: The number of directors of the Corporation constituting the whole Board shall be fixed in the manner provided in the by-laws. The election of directors need not be by ballot unless the by-laws so require.

        SEVENTH: In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by the laws of the State of Delaware, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend and repeal the by-laws of the Corporation, in any manner not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware or this Restated Certificate of Incorporation.

        EIGHTH: No holder of stock of any class of the Corporation shall have any preemptive or preferential right of subscription to any shares of any class of stock of the Corporation whether now or hereafter authorized, or to any obligation convertible into stock of the Corporation, or any right of subscription therefor, other than such rights, if any, as the Board of Directors in its discretion may from time to time determine.



        NINTH: A director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director's duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Any repeal or modification of this Article Ninth shall be prospective only, and shall not adversely affect any elimination or limitation of the personal liability of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.

        TENTH: Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of such holders and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such holders. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, special meetings of stockholders of the Corporation may be called only by the Chairman of the Board or by the Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be confined to the purpose or purposes of the meeting as stated in the notice of the meeting. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Restated Certificate of Incorporation to the contrary, any amendment to or deletion of this Article Tenth shall require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 80% of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors.

        ELEVENTH: (a) So long as any person (as defined in this Article Eleventh) is the beneficial owner (as defined in this Article Eleventh) of more than 25% of the voting power, determined without giving effect to the provisions of this Article Eleventh, of the then outstanding shares of the capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (the "Voting Stock"), the record holders of such shares so beneficially owned by such person (hereinafter a "Substantial Stockholder") shall have limited voting rights on any matter requiring their vote or consent as set forth in this Article Eleventh; provided, however, that the voting restrictions of this Article Eleventh shall not apply to any employee benefit plan of the Corporation or any Subsidiary, any person holding Voting Stock for or pursuant to the terms of such plan or to any person who is a fiduciary, participant, beneficiary or alternate payee under the terms of such plan, and such plan or person shall not be deemed to be a Substantial Stockholder as defined herein with respect to such shares held pursuant to such plan. With respect to each vote in excess of 25% of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of Voting Stock which such record holders would be entitled to cast without giving effect to this Article Eleventh, the record holders in the aggregate shall be entitled to cast only 1/100 of a vote and the aggregate voting power of such record holders, so limited, for all shares of Voting Stock beneficially owned by the Substantial Stockholder shall be allocated proportionately among such record holders. For each such record holder, this allocation shall be accomplished by multiplying the aggregate voting power, as so limited, of the outstanding shares of Voting Stock beneficially owned by the Substantial Stockholder by a fraction whose numerator is the number of votes represented by the shares of Voting Stock owned of record by such record holder (and which are beneficially owned by the Substantial Stockholder) and whose denominator is the total number of votes represented by the shares of Voting Stock beneficially owned by the Substantial Stockholder, in each case before giving effect to the limitation on voting power provided by this Article Eleventh. A person who is a record holder of shares of Voting Stock that are beneficially owned simultaneously by more than one person shall have, with respect to such shares, the right to cast the least number of votes that such person would be entitled to cast under this Article Eleventh by virtue of such shares being so beneficially owned by any of such persons.

                                (b) The Board of Directors shall have the power to construe and apply the provisions of this Article Eleventh and to make all determinations necessary or desirable to implement such provisions, including but not limited to matters with respect to (i) the number of shares of Voting Stock beneficially owned by any person, (ii) whether a person is an Affiliate or Associate of another, (iii) whether a person has an agreement, arrangement or understanding with another as to the matters referred to in the definition of beneficial ownership, (iv) the application of any other definition or



operative provision of this Article Eleventh to the given facts or (v) any other matter relating to the applicability or effect of this Article Eleventh.

                                (c) The Board of Directors shall have the right to demand that any person who after reasonable inquiry is believed to be a Substantial Stockholder supply the Corporation with complete information as to (i) the record holder(s) of all shares beneficially owned by such person who is so believed to be a Substantial Stockholder, (ii) the number of, and class or series of, shares beneficially owned by such person who is so believed to be a Substantial Stockholder and held of record by each record holder and the number(s) of the stock certificate(s) evidencing such shares and (iii) any other factual matter relating to the applicability or effect of this Article Eleventh, as may reasonably be requested of such person. Such person shall furnish such information within ten days after the receipt of such demand. If the Board of Directors reasonably believes the shares of Voting Stock held of record by any person or represented by a proxy holder are beneficially owned by a Substantial Stockholder, it may demand that the record holder of such shares, or the proxy holder thereof, provide to the Corporation a list of (i) names and addresses of the beneficial owners of all shares of Voting Stock held by such record holder or represented by such proxy holder; (ii) the number of, and class or series of, shares of Voting Stock held by such record holder or represented by such record holder or represented by such proxy holder on behalf of each beneficial owner and (iii) any other factual matter relating to the applicability or effect of this Article Eleventh. Such record holder or proxy holder shall furnish such information within ten days (or such longer period as is required by law or regulation) after the receipt of such demand; provided, however, that any such request shall be made in accordance with the requirements of applicable law and regulation. If as of the date of any stockholder vote or consent, a demand made pursuant to this paragraph has not been timely responded to, the Corporation, to the extent permitted by law, shall treat such votes as are reasonably believed by the Board of Directors to have been cast with respect to the shares of Voting Stock beneficially owned by a Substantial Stockholder as subject to the limitation provided by this Article Eleventh.

                                (d) Except as otherwise provided by law or expressly provided in this paragraph (d), the presence, in person or by proxy, of the holders of record of shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitling the holders thereof to cast a majority of the votes (after giving effect, if applicable, to the provisions of this Article Eleventh) entitled to be cast by the holders of shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders, and every reference in this Restated Certificate of Incorporation to a majority or other proportion of capital stock (or the holders thereof) for the purposes of determining any quorum requirement or any requirement for stockholder consent or approval shall be deemed to refer to such majority or other proportion of the votes (or the holders thereof) then entitled to be cast in respect of such capital stock.

                                (e) Any construction, application or determination made by the Board of Directors pursuant to this Article Eleventh in good faith and on the basis of such information and assistance as was then reasonably available for such purpose shall be conclusive and binding upon the Corporation and its stockholders including any Substantial Stockholder.

                                (f) Nothing contained in this Article Eleventh shall be construed to relieve any Substantial Stockholder from any fiduciary obligation imposed by law.

                                (g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Restated Certificate of Incorporation or any provision of law which might otherwise permit a lesser vote or no vote, but in addition to any affirmative vote of the holders of any particular class or series of the capital stock required by law, this Restated Certificate of Incorporation or any resolution of the Board of Directors referred to in Article Fifth, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 80% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of the Voting Stock (after giving effect to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Article Eleventh), voting together as a single class, shall be required to alter, amend or repeal this Article Eleventh.

                                (h) In the event any provision (or portion thereof) of this Article Eleventh shall be found to be invalid, prohibited or unenforceable for any reason, the remaining provisions (or portions



thereof) of this Article Eleventh shall remain in full force and effect, and shall be construed as if such invalid, prohibited or unenforceable provision had been stricken herefrom or otherwise rendered inapplicable, it being the intent of this Corporation and its stockholders that each such remaining provision (or portion thereof) of this Article Eleventh remain, to the fullest extent permitted by law, applicable and enforceable as to all stockholders, including any Substantial Stockholder, notwithstanding any such finding.

                                (i) For the purposes of this Article Eleventh:


        TWELFTH: Subject to the provisions hereof, the Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Restated Certificate of Incorporation, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation.

* * *

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which restates and integrates and further amends the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation of this Corporation, and which has been duly adopted in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, has been executed by a duly authorized officer on this 15th day of November, 1999.

    UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC.

 

 

By:

 

/s/  
JAMES P. KELLY      
James P. Kelly
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer



QuickLinks

CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT OF RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION OF UNITED PARCEL SERVICE, INC. (ORIGINALLY INCORPORATED ON JULY 15, 1999)