File a Lacey Act Declaration

Last Modified: January 07, 2025

The Lacey Act combats illegal trafficking of wildlife, fish, and plants. It is against the law to import into the United States any illegally harvested plant or plant product, and certain products require a declaration.

Below is detailed guidance on filing a Lacey Act declaration.

Phase VII Declaration Implementation

On December 1, 2024, APHIS began implementing Phase VII of the Lacey Act provisions for certain imported plant and wood products. In this phase, Lacey Act declarations are required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials.

What This Means for You

A wide array of imported products—such as furniture, additional essential oils, sporting goods, housewares, tools, boats and vehicles, and cork—that never needed Lacey Act declarations before will now need them. 

View the full list of products included in Phase VII on our Implementation Schedule web page. 

Tips for Importers

Here's what you can do to prepare for Phase VII: 

  1. Know your supply chain for each piece of plant material in the product. An imported product may include many different plant species. For example, furniture may include inlays of many species. Communicate with your suppliers to obtain plant information—the scientific name for each piece of plant product and where that plant was harvested.
  2. Learn how to file a declaration. Familiarize yourself with the requirements and what information you need to file.
  3. Get answers to your questions. For more specifics, check out our frequently asked questions.

Getting Started

File a Declaration

The importer of record or their agent can file the Lacey Act declaration using one of the options below. 

Resources for Filing

In certain circumstances, you can use a special use designation (SUD) to provide descriptions of the plant material in products that require a Lacey Act declaration when you cannot provide the scientific names (genus/species).

Learn More at Special Use Designations

The following resources may be useful when looking up scientific plant names:

  • USDA’s Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), Taxonomy for Plants, Advanced Query of Species taxonomic data provide the structure and nomenclature for accessions of the National Plant Germplasm System, part of USDA's National Genetic Resources Program. GRIN Taxonomy for Plants represents all families and genera of vascular plants and 51,691 species from throughout the world, especially economic plants and their relatives. It also provides information on scientific and common names, classification, distribution, references, and economic impacts.
  • USDA's PLANTS Database provides standardized information about vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the United States and its Territories.
  • World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Wood Risk Tool is a resource for industry to learn about their plant products by providing information, insights, and risk scores for tree species and countries of harvest. The tool includes species that are listed as threatened by CITES or on the IUCN Red List

Make sure you enter the correct entry type code when you file your declaration.

View Lacey Act Requirements by Entry Type Code

Commodities derived from common cultivars (except trees) and common food crops are excluded from the requirements of the Lacey Act. 

Learn More at Common Cultivars and Common Food Crops

If you are filing customs information in ACE, you can use a disclaimer code when prompted to file a Lacey Act declaration for a product that is excluded from the declaration requirements or that you already filed a declaration for through LAWGS or paper. 

Select the appropriate disclaim option in the APHIS Lacey Act Message Set:

  • A. Not Regulated: This disclaimer code is used to indicate that the Lacey Act information is not required because the product is not regulated under the 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act or it is exempt under the Act. This includes products that are common cultivars, common food crops, scientific specimens, and plants intended for planting, and products containing zero (0) plant material. Protected plant species are not part of these exemptions.
  • B. Not Required: This disclaimer code is used to indicate that the Lacey Act information is not required because the product has been identified in APHIS policy as not requiring a Lacey Act declaration.
  • C. Filed Through Other System: This disclaimer code is used to indicate that the filer has already submitted the required Lacey Act information directly to APHIS using the Lacey Act Web Governance System (LAWGS).
  • D. Filed Through Paper Submission: This disclaimer code is used to indicate that the filer has already submitted the required Lacey Act information directly to APHIS using the Lacey Act Plant and Plant Product Declaration (PPQ Form 505 (449.36 KB)/505b (269.8 KB)) paper form.
  • G. De minimis: This disclaimer code is used to indicate that the HTS line is claimed as de minimis for products containing plant material that represents no more than 5 percent of the total weight of the individual product unit, provided that the total weight of the plant material in an entry of such products (at the CBP line level, single HTS code) does not exceed 2.9 kilograms.

View Frequently Asked Questions About Disclaimer Codes

Questions?

For help complying with the Lacey Act declaration requirement:

Lacey Act Team

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Contact our trade specialists with questions about other APHIS import requirements for plants and plant products (including wood, endangered plant species, and more).

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