Permit Guidelines

Importing Biological Samples

International conventions, as well as, individual countries and governmental bodies have an array of permit requirements for work to be conducted on wildlife and for the transport of specimens or samples collected from wildlife. Generally speaking, government agencies will be concerned about issues related to permission to conduct studies, trade or transport of legally protected species or parts thereof, and agriculture/livestock regulations. On this page, we can not provide a complete set of regulations for every country and every situation, but for bringing samples to the U.S. from other countries, please bear in mind the following:

Make sure you have permission from the appropriate agencies in the country or countries from which you wish to obtain samples.

Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES): For Appendix I (endangered) species, the CITES treaty requires the importing country to issue an import permit and the exporting country to issue an export permit. In general, an export permit will not be issued until a valid import permit is presented to the office issuing the export permit. For Appendix II (threatened) species, only a CITES export permit is required.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (USF&WS ) Office of Management Authority is the agency which currently issues CITES import permits. In general, they require written proof of permission to conduct the work in the host country to accompany the application for an import permit. Typical time for processing a well-written application is four to six months.
USF&WS also maintains a list of endangered and threatened species that in some cases varies with Appendix I, II, and III species. Their import permit requirements may vary accordingly

U.S. Department of Agriculture: The USDA requires shipments of biological materials to be accompanied by a permit issued by their office. Currently, samples of materials from birds, ungulates, and plants that are not preserved in formalin need a permit. Samples from these usually require sterilization prior to importation onto the U.S. mainland. One method is to arrange for irradiation of the samples at the USDA's Foreign Animal Disease facilities on Plum Island. Fees are charged for this service and samples must be met at the port of arrival by a USDA courier. Fees are charged for this service also. Permits are required for importation of parasites and materials potentially containing bacteria, viruses, or fungi which may pose a threat to U.S. livestock or agriculture. Typical time for processing the simple application form is two to three weeks.

Some international conventions require government reporting of diseases of human health or economic importance for livestock. Because of the economic and political ramifications of this fact, some foreign agriculture authorities may have restrictions on the exportation of samples for diagnostic tests. Additionally, the USDA requires written proof of permission for the samples to be tested by their laboratories.

U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC): For public health reasons, the CDC issues the permit required for the importation of samples from non-human primates.

Marine Mammal Commission (MMC): Under the authority of the U.S. Commerce Department, the MMC must approve any work involving U.S. based individuals working with marine mammals anywhere in the world, regardless of sample collection. Additionally, for work requiring the importation of samples, the MMC works with USF&WS in the application review process for issuing import permits.

When bringing samples to the U.S., declaration at the port of entry is required. Typically, the USDA agent (s) on duty will arrange for additional inspections that may be required. Notification of impending arrival can help to smooth this process and in some circumstances (i.e. USDA courier services) is mandatory. USF&WS agents may require inspection of materials and CITES permits. Legally, all samples not accompanied by the proper paperwork can be confiscated and destroyed. Fines and imprisonment are also possible. In general, it's best to have three copies of the following documents prepared and available for inspection.

a) U.S. customs declaration form for duty free importation for non-profit or government organizations,
b) USF&WS import declaration form
c) CITES import permit (if applicable)
d) CITES export permit (if applicable)
e) USDA import permit (if applicable)
f) C.D.C. import permit (if applicable)

Ask USDA inspector at port of entry to contact other appropriate agents. If CITES permits are being used, have USF&WS agent stamp one copy of the paperwork for you to keep for your record of the samples being legally imported. This documentation can be important for future permit applications also. Originals will usually be kept by the inspector (s). In some cases, USF&WS may arrange for importation to be pre-cleared in lieu of inspection at the airport. In this case, show permits at port of entry to appropriate individuals and mail two sets to the USF&WS inspector. Ask them to stamp one set as cleared and return to you for your records.