[Nhcoll-l] Importing herbarium specimens to the US

[Yatskievych, George A]

Hi Sarah,

Hand-carrying herbarium specimens through international ports-of-entry has gotten harder than it used to be.  My impression is that USDA APHIS discourages hand-carried materials and prefers materials to be shipped. Our standard USDA PPQ588 permit has a clause that we negotiated to have added that allows us to hand-carry up to 100 specimens through various ports-of-entry under certain conditions. These include: 1) At least two weeks notice to inspection staff at the desired port of entry prior to bring plants to the border; and 2) Having a copy of the import permit on hand, as well as a manifest of the individual collections with determinations (or tentative determinations) and a general summary of where collected.  In addition, the inspectors may want proof that the specimens were collected legally (if you are bringing across field-collected material) or loan/exchange/gift paper work from an exporting institution.  Specimens need to be reasonably soil-free and disease-free. They also should be fully dried, as wet specimens might get moldy if the inspectors decide that they need further inspection.  Inspectors have the right to retain hand-carried collections for further processing at a regional inspection station.

Finally, when I submitted the renewal, I had to supply a list of authorized individuals who could use the permit to hand-carry specimens.  In other words, a permit can't be used by just anyone from your institution, but only those whose information you have included on your permit application.

This information applies to a USDA plant import permit. I believe that there are other protocols that can be used for a one-time event outside of the general permit.

Be well,

GY

George Yatskievych, Ph.D.
Botanist, Curator: Billie L. Turner Plant Resources Center, University of Texas at Austin
Main Bldg Rm 127, 110 Inner Campus Dr, Stop F0404, Austin, TX 78712-1711 U.S.A.
Tel. 512-471-5904; george.yatskievych at austin.utexas.edu<mailto:george.yatskievych at austin.utexas.edu>

From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Taylor, Sarah
Sent: Monday, August 4, 2025 12:46 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Importing herbarium specimens to the US

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



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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


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