Frequently Asked Questions About Lacey Act Declaration Requirements

In this new phase, Lacey Act declarations will be required for all remaining plant product Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials. APHIS launched an outreach campaign in October 2022 to provide information about the upcoming declaration implementation phase. 

Phase VII includes a wide variety of materials and plant products, such as furniture, cork, sporting goods, and some essential oils that have not yet required a declaration. If you import items that contain plant products, and you do not currently file a Lacey Act declaration, you will likely need to file one once we implement Phase VII. Importers should become familiar with their supply chain and review what information you'll need to file a declaration.

On May 31, 2024, APHIS published a Federal Register notice regarding the Phase VII of the enforcement schedule, which begins on December 1, 2024, and includes approximately 250 HTS codes that will soon require a Lacey Act Import Declaration.  

Yes. APHIS has provided a grant to the International Wood Products Association to allow affected industries to take both in-person and online training on Lacey Act topics at no cost through the end of November 2024 while the grant money lasts. To learn more and register for the Lacey Act courses available, visit Lacey Act Compliance Training.

Composite materials are plant products and plant-based components of products where the original plant material is mechanically or chemically broken down and subsequently re-composed or used as an extract in a manufacturing process. Examples of composite materials could include paper, paperboard, particleboard, and medium- and high-density fiberboard (MDF and HDF).

You cannot submit a blanket declaration. 

The 2008 Lacey Act amendments do not impose any additional paperwork or reporting requirements beyond the import declaration. 

However, those responsible for transporting, purchasing, and processing regulated plant products entering the United States should know their supply chain. The Lacey Act requires, in an exercise of due care, that you know the plants or plant products were not taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of the Act or in a manner unlawful under any underlying law, treaty, or regulation. Those who either knowingly or unknowingly accept illegally taken and transported plant products, including timber, may be subject to penalties for violating the 2008 Lacey Act amendment.

APHIS collects, stores, and reviews declaration data to ensure compliance with the 2008 amendment of the Lacey Act. We may also use the data to track national import activities and anticipate future market trends. We may share the data with other government agencies to assist in enforcing the Lacey Act.

To learn more, view the Lacey Act Declaration Information Systems, System of Records Notice.

If you are filing customs information in the Automated Commercial Environment (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 the Lacey Act Web Governance System (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.

The Lacey Act does not apply to plant products used exclusively as packaging material to support, protect, or carry another item, unless the packaging material itself is the item being imported. However, when filing import documents in ACE for any products in tariff provision 4415, the Lacey message set will prompt you to file a declaration. For these products, you can apply disclaimer code “A” to fulfill the Lacey message set requirements.

APHIS does not require importers to file a Lacey import declaration for used, recycled, or reclaimed wooden products in tariff provision 4415. However, when filing import documents in ACE for any products in tariff provision 4415, the Lacey message set will prompt you to file a declaration. For these products, you can apply disclaimer code “B” to fulfill the Lacey message set requirements.

APHIS Lacey message set application of disclaimers for products in Harmonized Tariff Schedule 4415

Importers can use disclaimer codes for products when the APHIS Lacey message set flags the tariff codes, but the product does not require an ACE filing of the Lacey Act declaration data. This includes products that are not regulated by APHIS, not required per APHIS guidance, already filed through LAWGS or paper method, or for de minimis exemptions. 

Importers can use special use designations (SUD) to provide descriptions of the plant material in products that require a Lacey declaration. They can use the applicable SUD when it is not possible to provide the scientific names (genus/species). The proper use of a SUD in a Lacey Act declaration fulfills the requirements of the Lacey Act for the declaration of the scientific names. A declaration that uses a SUD to identify the scientific names must include all other information required by the Lacey Act.

To make changes to a Lacey Act declaration you submitted, follow the steps below.

• If you submitted the declaration in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), you may correct it in ACE within the allowable timeframe. For more information on ACE timeframes, visit U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
• If you are past the allowable timeframe for making corrections in ACE, contact APHIS at lacey.act.declaration@usda.gov.
• If you submitted the declaration in LAWGS, contact our help desk.
• If you submitted a paper declaration (449.36 KB), you must resubmit on paper with correction(s) noted at the top of the form.

Only importers of record can revise a Lacey Act declaration. If you are not the importer of record, notify them that the declaration needs revision. You may help them by providing the information for the declaration that they may not have. If you signed a paper PPQ Form 505 and submitted it, advise the importer of record that they need to submit a new PPQ Form 505 and indicate “Corrected” at the top. If you filed the declaration in the LAWGS data system, contact APHIS to discuss next steps.

If your paper declaration (PPQ Form 505 (449.36 KB)) is not complete, CBP or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reviewing officials may hold your shipment at the port pending inquiries to you, your agent, or APHIS. Make the corrections as soon as possible to ensure your shipment is not detained. If you or your agent file the declaration in the LAWGS data system or ACE, the systems will prompt you to ensure all of the necessary fields are completed before submission.

If you discover that the declaration contains incorrect information before or after the shipment is released, follow the guidance in the questions and answer above ("What should I do if I need to revise my declaration after I submit it?").

Please make the corrections as soon as possible to avoid additional questions from APHIS.

Any person who violates the Lacey Act declaration requirement could be subject to either civil or criminal penalties.

¹ This number is subject to inflation. Current amounts are posted in the Federal Register. 

A person who imports plants or plant products in violation of the Lacey Act declaration requirement, or falsely labels plants or plant products, could be subject to civil or criminal penalties as follows: 

Civil Penalties

Any person who violates the declaration requirement may be assessed a civil administrative penalty of not more than $250. Any person who knowingly violates the declaration requirement, or knowingly falsely labels a plant or plant product, may be assessed a civil administrative penalty of not more than $10,000.^* Furthermore, any plant or plant product imported in violation of the import declaration requirements may be subject to civil forfeiture.

^* Under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015 (Pub. L. No. 114-74, Sec. 701), the U.S. Department of Agriculture is required to adjust the level of civil monetary penalties for inflation on an annual basis.

Criminal Penalties

Any person who knowingly violates the declaration requirement or knowingly violates the false labeling prohibitions could be subject to criminal penalties if the offense involves:

• The importation of plants, fish, or wildlife; or
• The sale or purchase, offer of sale or purchase, or commission of an act with intent to sell or purchase plants, fish, or wildlife with a market value greater than $350.

The criminal penalties for an individual are not more than 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. For a corporation, the criminal penalties are not more than 5 years of probation and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Restitution and forfeitures may also be imposed. 

If the offense does not involve one of the factors above, the criminal penalties for an individual are not more than 1 year in prison and a fine of $100,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. For a corporation, the criminal penalties in that circumstance are not more than 2 years of probation and a fine of $200,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Restitution and forfeitures may also be imposed.

A person who traffics in plants or plant products in violation of the Lacey Act trafficking prohibitions could be subject to civil or criminal penalties as follows:

Civil Penalties

A civil administrative penalty of not more than $10,000 may be assessed for any person who: 

1. Violates the trafficking prohibitions, and
2. In the exercise of due care should know that the plant or plant product was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of or in a manner unlawful under any underlying law, treaty, or regulation. 

However, when the violation involved plants or plant products with a market value less than $350 and involves only the transportation, acquisition, or receipt of plants or plant products, the penalty shall not exceed the maximum provided for violation of the underlying law, treaty, or regulation of the United States, any Indian Tribal law, any foreign law, or any law or regulation of any State, if that maximum is less than $10,000.

Criminal Penalties

Criminal penalties may be assessed for any person who knowingly violates the trafficking prohibitions by:

1. Importing or exporting the plants or plant products, or
2. Engaging in conduct that involved the sale or purchase of, the offer of sale or purchase of, or the intent to sell or purchase plants and plant products with a market value in excess of $350, and knew that the plant or plant product was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under any underlying law, treaty, or regulation. 

For an individual, the criminal penalties are not more than 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. For a corporation, the criminal penalties are 1 to 5 years of probation and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Restitution and forfeitures may also be imposed.

Any person who knowingly violates the trafficking prohibitions and in the exercise of due care should have known that the plant or plant product was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of or in a manner unlawful under any underlying law, treaty, or regulation, could be subject to criminal penalties. For an individual, the criminal penalties are not more than 1 year in prison and a fine of $100,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. For a corporation, the criminal penalties are not more than 5 years of probation and fine of $200,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Restitution and forfeitures may also be imposed.

Permit Sanctions

Suspension, modification, or cancellation are authorized for any Federal hunting or fishing license, permit, or stamp, or any license or permit authorizing a person to import or export fish or wildlife or plants (other than a permit or license issued pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act) or to operate a quarantine station or rescue center for imported wildlife or plants, issued to any person who is convicted of a criminal violation of any provision of this chapter or any regulation issued hereunder. The government shall not be liable for the payments of any compensation, reimbursement, or damages in connection with the modification, suspension, or revocation of any licenses, permits, stamps, or other agreements pursuant to this section.

Forfeiture

The Lacey Act’s civil forfeiture provisions are enforced on a strict liability basis. If illegal plants, including timber, or a product made from illegal plants (and/or illegal wildlife or fish) are brought into the United States, that plant or plant product may be seized, whether or not the person from whom it is seized knew of the illegal nature of the product. Nonetheless, the government must still show that a plant, fish, wildlife, or product thereof has been imported or received in violation of a State or foreign law or regulation. Criminal forfeiture also extends to instrumentalities of the crime, such as vehicles, guns, vessels, and even factories or sawmills, if a felony conviction is obtained.

The Lacey Act, as amended, makes it a crime to traffic in plants or plant products when, in the exercise of due care, the person should know that the plant or plant product was taken, possessed, transported or sold illegally. “Due” care is a long-standing legal principle that means the degree of care at which a reasonably prudent person would take under the same or similar circumstances. The Lacey Act does not define nor mandate any requirements to constitute due care. U.S. importers have discretion to determine how to best verify the legitimacy of their supply chain going back to where the plant material was taken, and the legality of transactions thereafter, and to abide by plant protection and conservation laws in the United States and abroad.

No. There is no innocent owner defense when the plant or plant product subject to forfeiture is contraband or otherwise illegal to possess under the law.