Hand-carrying Specimens into the United States

Published: August 10, 2026    Legislation and Regulations, Wiki Home

Contents

Statement of Purpose

Hand-carrying material can be a complex and stressful process. This page is intended to help those transporting specimens into the United States.

Contributors

Benjamin Hess, Jeremy Kisala, Olwen Grace, Breda Zimkus

Introduction

Researchers are often aware that imports of wildlife material into the United States (U.S.) require that a Declaration of Importation/Exportation (3-177) be submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), but many do not contact U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before their arrival. When hand-carrying biological material into the U.S., communicating with the CBP Biological Agents in advance can ensure that imports are allowed to enter the country. New tools, including a mobile application and group email address, created by the CBP can facilitate successful imports.

The CBP Biological Agents can help inform researchers if other federal agencies should be consulted and improve communication with other CBP Agents at the port of entry. This added consultation with the CBP Biological Agents will facilitate your customs clearance process and help ensure that the import of your biological material can proceed in a timely manner. 

US Customs and Border Protection

CBP Agricultural and Biological Specialists act on behalf of and communicate with all federal agencies that have import and export regulatory requirements (i.e., USDA, CDC, USFWS, EPA, FDA, DOT, DOC, DOE). Therefore, they have the right to delay/hold/deny an entry if they feel that a permit is required by another federal agency.

Customs and Border Protection has 5 main mission priorities:

  • Counter terrorism
  • Combat transnational crime
  • Facilitate lawful trade and protect revenue
  • Facilitate lawful travel
  • Secure the border

CBP Agricultural and Biological Specialists act on behalf of and communicate with all federal agencies that have import and export regulatory requirements (i.e., USDA, CDC, USFWS, EPA, FDA, DOT, DOC, DOE). Therefore, they have the right to delay/hold/deny an entry if they feel that a permit is required by another federal agency.

Customs and Border Protection has 5 main mission priorities:

  • Counter terrorism
  • Combat transnational crime
  • Facilitate lawful trade and protect revenue
  • Facilitate lawful travel
  • Secure the border

CBP Agriculture Specialists prevent potentially harmful or dangerous plant or animal material from entering the country (see https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/cbp-agriculture-specialists). This includes insect pests, invasive plants, plant pathogens, and prohibited animal products that could be carrying diseases that could hurt U.S. crops, livestock, or humans.

CBP Biological Specialists are personnel dedicated as biological material subject matter experts. These agents help keep harmful microscopic materials out of the country and safeguard American research. This group includes a Biological Threat Exclusion Coordinator (BTEC; see https://www.cbp.gov/frontline/cbp-biological-threat-exclusion-coordinators) and Biological Threat Operations Specialists (BTOS).

If you are hand-carrying specimens, the CBP should be your first point of contact when entering the U.S. with specimens. You must declare specimens for import with the CBP when hand-carrying, and for wildlife, submit a USFWS 3-177 declaration >48-72 hours before entry. For these purposes, wildlife is defined as any animal, whether wild or captive bred, including nearly all scientific specimens with very few exceptions. Any wildlife being imported to or exported from U.S. territories must be declared. In most cases, declaration is required at the time of import, or in certain circumstances within 180 days of import. Declaring at the time of import allows the USFWS to also coordinate with the CBP, so they do not detain the shipment for USFWS. Be prepared to declare species listed on appendices by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and provide USFWS with all associated permits (e.g., CITES COSE permit, collection permits, export permits, other U.S. federal permits). For more information, see: Agencies Regulating Import and Export (US),

If you are hand-carrying plants or fungi into the U.S., ensure that your material is not subject to any U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) regulations. In general, unless the material is accessioned herbarium specimens, it must have either a permit or authorization from the USDA PPQ. Recently collected material that is imported may be required a USDA PPQ Import Permit, and should be checked within the USDA Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements (ACIR) portal – https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/. This portal can help direct importers to the correct permit, or show when an import permit is not required. Any questions during this process can be directed to the contact list – https://acir.aphis.usda.gov/s/acir-contact-us. 

It is recommended to contact CBP ahead of time at the Port of Entry (POE) to confirm requirements and notify them of your arrival, so there are no surprises. By increasing early communication with CBP, they can focus more of their attention on “bad actors”.

Do you know that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has:

  •  “Biological specialists” at most major ports
  • A mobile phone application for communication (CBP Link)
  • A group email address (aptlabtc@cbp.dhs.gov)
  • A mobile passport app can shorten wait time for customs (CBP MPC)

CBP Mobile Application

See the CBP Mobile Apps Directory (https://www.cbp.gov/about/mobile-apps-directory) as mobile applications are subject to change.

CBP Link is a FREE mobile application that serves as a single portal to a variety of CBP services using a series of guided questions to direct the user to the appropriate services based on their needs. You must be the person traveling to use this application, and this currently only works for air travel (as of September 2023). This app allows the user to:

  • Check border wait times,
  • Apply for a provisional I-94 entry (for international visitors)
  • Request an inspection of agricultural or biological products
  • Submit a travelers manifest for bus operators

CBP Link is available at most major U.S. ports of entry including all USFWS designated ports and USDA plant inspection stations

After logging in using a login.gov account, users can request an inspection for biological materials by providing a number of details about their travel, inspection type required, materials, and permits. The required details can be easily cut and pasted from a text document to save time:

  • Flight number
  • Airline
  • Arrival date
  • Scheduled arrival time
  • Airport code
  • Were you precleared or processed by US CBP prior to departure
  • First name
  • Last name
  • Passenger name
  • Passport number and country of issue
  • Inspection type (Biological materials)
  • Entry number (N/A)
  • How is the biological material packaged (“Other” allows opportunity to include numerous details because no character limit)
  • Where is the biological material located (Checked bag)
  • Description of biological material (limited to 280 characters)
  • Import Permit 1 (add permit number, issuing agency for permit, photo)
  • Import Permit 2 (add permit number, issuing agency for permit, photo)
  • Import Permit 3 (add permit number, issuing agency for permit, photo)

Note: While the app only asks for import permits, other documentation (e.g., collecting permits, export permits) may be required, depending on the nature of the material.

CBP Group Email Address

Instead of using the mobile application, users can contact CBP using a group email address (aptlabtc@cbp.dhs.gov), which is monitored by Agriculture Programs and Trade Liaison (APTL) and Agriculture/Biological-Terrorism Countermeasures (ABTC) groups. Within APTL, two teams monitor the mailbox, including Biological Threat Exclusion (BTE) and Biosecurity Policy (BSP). Biological Threat Exclusion Coordinators fall within BTE and hold programmatic oversight of the Biological Threat Operations Specialists (BTOS) at the ports of entry. Communication with the BTOS, USFWS, and any other relevant agencies about the travel details, the material, its protection status, country of origin, packaging, preservation, and required permits before travel (48-72 hours ahead of time) will facilitate entry and prevent delays.

If your material fails to meet requirements, CBP may require a formal entry. You will need to file your entry with a customs broker, and they will make sure your specimen packaging and all pertinent documentation are corrected for inspection. Normally, biological specimens are informal entries as they have no commercial value, but an entry that does not meet import requirements must be entered within the CBP Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system to process imports by a customs broker. Specimens will stay in bond at the airline cargo storage area until released, and airline cargo fees in addition to customs broker charges may apply.

CBP Mobile Passport Control

CBP Mobile Passport Control (MPC) is a FREE mobile application (https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/mobile-passport-control) was deployed on 20 Apr 2026, and is available to both flight passengers and select land border crossings to eligible individuals. At this time, this is only available to U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, Canadian B1/B2 citizen visitors and returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with approved ESTA. 

The CBP MPC app can provide the individual with the following key benefits:

  • Shorter wait times in Customs
  • Free, easy-to-use app
  • Groups up to 12 can be processed together
  • Available at most major U.S. airports
  • Available at select land border crossings
  • Ability to declare items in app
  • Apply and pay for provisional I-94 at land border crossings

MPC is different from Global Entry, and has specific categorical differences. It is not a replacement for your passport, but can allow you to bypass paper or kiosk declaration forms. If your flight is altered and your port of entry is different, you must ensure that port utilizes MPC processing.

Once the CBP MPC app is uploaded, the individual should enter details into the app up to 4 hours before landing from flights or 8 hours prior to arriving at a land border. See the Mobile Passport Control FAQs – “Does my U.S. return and preclearance airport offer MPC?”.

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing-biological-materials-united-states

https://www.fws.gov/program/office-of-law-enforcement/information-importers-exporters