50 CFR § 23.48 - What are the requirements for a registered scientific institution?
(a) Purpose. Article VII(6) of the Treaty grants an exemption that allows international trade in certain specimens for noncommercial loan, donation, or exchange between registered scientific institutions.
(b) U.S. and foreign general provisions. The following provisions apply to the registration of scientific institutions and acceptance of shipments from registered scientific institutions:
(1) The receiving and sending scientific institutions must be registered with the Management Authority in their country. Scientists who wish to use this exemption must be affiliated with a registered scientific institution.
(i) When a Management Authority is satisfied that a scientific institution has met the criteria for registration, it will assign the institution a five-character code consisting of the ISO country code and a unique three-digit number. In the case of a non-Party, the Secretariat will ensure that the institution meets the standards and assign it a unique code.
(ii) The Management Authority must communicate the name, address, and assigned code to the Secretariat, which maintains a register of scientific institutions and provides that information to all Parties.
(2) A registered scientific institution does not need separate CITES documents for the noncommercial loan, donation, or exchange of preserved, frozen, dried, or embedded museum specimens, herbarium specimens, or live plant material with another registered institution. The shipment must have an external label that contains information specified in paragraph (e)(5) of this section.
(c) U.S. application to register as a scientific institution. To register, complete Form 3-200-39 and submit it to the U.S. Management Authority.
(d) Criteria. The criteria in this paragraph (d) apply to the registration of U.S. and foreign institutions for scientific exchange. To be issued a certificate of scientific exchange as a registered U.S. scientific institution, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your institution meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Collections of wildlife or plant specimens are permanently housed and professionally curated, and corresponding records are kept.
(2) Specimens are accessible to all qualified users, including those from other institutions.
(3) Specimens are properly accessioned in a permanent catalog.
(4) Records are permanently maintained for loans and transfers to and from other institutions.
(5) Specimens are acquired primarily for research that is to be reported in scientific publications, and CITES specimens are not used for commercial purposes or as decorations.
(6) Collections are prepared and arranged in a way that ensures their accessibility to researchers.
(7) Specimen labels, permanent catalogs, and other records are accurate.
(8) Specimens are legally acquired and lawfully possessed under a country's wildlife and plant laws.
(9) Appendix-I specimens are permanently and centrally housed under the direct control of the institution.
(e) U.S. standard conditions. In addition to the conditions in § 23.56, any activity conducted under a certificate of scientific exchange must meet all of the following conditions:
(1) Both scientific institutions involved in the exchange must be registered by the applicable Management Authorities (or the Secretariat in the case of a non-Party), and be included in the Secretariat's register of scientific institutions.
(2) An institution may send and receive only preserved, frozen, dried, or embedded museum specimens, herbarium specimens, or live plant materials that have been permanently and accurately recorded by one of the institutions involved in the exchange and that are traded as a noncommercial loan, donation, or exchange.
(3) An institution may use specimens acquired under a certificate of scientific exchange and their offspring only for scientific research or educational display at a scientific institution and may not use specimens for commercial purposes.
(4) The institution must keep records to show that the specimens were legally acquired.
(5) A customs declaration label must be affixed to the outside of each shipping container or package that contains all of the following:
(i) The acronym “CITES.”
(ii) A description of the contents (such as “herbarium specimens”).
(iii) The names and addresses of the sending and receiving registered institutions.
(iv) The signature of a responsible officer of the sending registered scientific institution.
(v) The scientific institution codes of both registered scientific institutions involved in the loan, donation, or exchange.
(6) A registered institution may destroy samples during analysis, provided that a portion of the sample is maintained and permanently recorded at a registered scientific institution for future scientific reference.