[Nhcoll-l] Importing herbarium specimens to the US

[Benjamin Hess]

Taylor,

Please feel free to send me a direct message for additional clarification,
but here is a quick overview. I am happy to give you more details specific
to your import.

   - Accessioned / catalogged herbarium specimens should not require an
   import permit (but I recommend a check with your *state plant health
   director* - https://www.aphis.usda.gov/contact/plant-health)
      - The definition of an "herbarium specimen" in the USDA Miscellaneous
      and Processed Products Import Manual does not apply to ALL potential
      herbarium specimen preparations
      - NOTE: recent field collected dried plant material will most likely
      require a USDA import permit - potentially a PPQ 588
   - The USDA ACIR portal (that you mentioned) is the best way to determine
   the species and the associated regulations
   - If you plan to hand-carry any material, it must be declared to US
   Customs and Border Protection
      - I recommend that you send a message to the general CBP email (
      aptlabtc at cbp.dhs.gov) to connect to a Biological Agent where your
      flight will arrive
      - These CBP Agents can also help provide additional guidance for
      other agencies.
   - A Certification Statement is recommended for customs agents to review
   specific details about your specimens (species, treatment, country of
   origin, packaging, etc.)

We hand carry material fairly often, and have had very good success doing
so.

Sincerely,

Ben


On Mon, Aug 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM Taylor, Sarah <sarah.taylor at uconn.edu> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Does anyone have up to date guidance on hand-carrying dead, dried
> herbarium specimens into the US from an international departure? The USDA
> APHIS Plants and Planting manual web page now says that for Herbarium
> specimens, one must refer to the Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements
> (ACIR) database. In that database, you enter the scientific name of the
> plant and "preparation" (of course, herbarium specimen is not listed, so I
> put in "dried") but none of the search results have anything to do with
> herbaria.
>
> I'm aware of the section
> <https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/acir-document-detail?rowId=a0jt000001BjDUbAAN&Document_Type=Reference%20Documents> of
> the old Plants and Planting manual that said that herbarium specimens are
> exempt from import permit requirements, but now I don't know if carrying a
> hard copy of that is enough to clear screening/questions.
>
> Also (because I've never done this myself), does the person with the
> specimens declare them to CBP? (I assume yes).
>
> Is anything else required at the point of entry (besides documentation of
> species IDs/not noxious weeds/not CITES/not ESA/not parasitic and what
> institution will receive the specimens)? Even though herbarium specimens
> are supposed to be exempt, does one need to schedule an appointment at a
> plant inspection station or with the USDA?
>
> I feel so much more informed about shipping internationally (thanks,
> Dirk!), but I've been asked for advice recently on hand-carry. Honestly, I
> think the person should just ship the specimens, but we'll see.
>
> Thanks for any advice and input!
> Best,
> Sarah
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Sarah Taylor, PhD
>
>
> Scientific Collections Manager
>
> George Safford Torrey Herbarium (CONN)
> Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
> *University of Connecticut*
> 75 North Eagleville Road, Unit 3043
> Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043
> U.S.A.
>
> P: 860.486.1889
> F: 860.486.4320
> https://biodiversity.uconn.edu/herbarium/
>
>
>
> Pronouns: she/her or they/them
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nhcoll-l mailing list
> Nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
> https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l
>
> _______________________________________________
> NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of
> Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose
> mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of
> natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to
> society. See http://www.spnhc.org for membership information.
> Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.
>


-- 

*Benjamin M. Hess | EEB Museums Registrar | **EEB Museums Safety
Representative to the RMC *

University of Michigan | LSA Ecology & Evolutionary Biology | Research
Museums Center

3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor MI 48108-2228

bmhess at umich.edu | 734-764-2432
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.yale.edu/pipermail/nhcoll-l/attachments/20250804/e73cc7ee/attachment.html>