Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - How to get CITES certificate in UK? and elsewhere for shipping items with ivory

vilhelmsson · 7th September 2019, 12:55 AM

I've had a conversation with a US Customs Specialist about this recently, and he was very helpful. He's based in Alaska with the Walrus Ivory Taskforce. If you're shipping to the US, he's a good resource.

The key point, though, is that you're going to want to work with an experienced shipper so that they can properly fulfill all of the requirements.

Please don't rely on the following. It is only meant to be informative and not to be relied on for shipping or obtaining a CITES or Pre-CITES permit.

The basic steps for are:

1. Apply for a Pre-CITES or CITES Export Permit from the UK Government, depending on the age of the ivory.

2. Have the relevant UK customs authority validate the permit and sign off on the export. This step is typically neglected, and it will get rejected by the destination Customs authorities.

The more detailed steps are:
1. Application for CITES Permit:
A. Note materials from animal species
B. Scientific name of animal species
C. Date you acquired the object
D. Date you purchased the object
E. Country of last export
F. Quality photos showing relevant materials
2. Affidavits:
A. Affidavit 1: classification of material by species and rationale for classification. This should include the scientific name of the species.
B. Affidavit 2: stating circa date of the item, testify to its antiquity, and advise on its pre-Act or pre-Amendment status. This should include a statement that the walrus ivory pre-dates 1972. To also comply with California law, you'd also need a statement based on a reasonable rationale that it is over 100 years old, and an estimate of the volume of the whole item, an estimate of the volume of the ivory component, and a statement that the ivory makes up less than 5% of the total volume.
C. Affidavit 3: stating species and origin, with supporting arguments and rationale. Affidavit 3 would also require a provenance statement from you to show that the origin of the ivory is pre-1972, and likely came from which country, with rationale.
3. Sign off on permit; won't be signed off on until it is in the warehouse and inspected.

More details here (the above taken from pp 87-90): http://www.connectingtocollections.o...int-Slides.pdf

If you PM me, I can give you a recommendation of a UK shipper who has been willing to obtain a Pre-CITES permit on an item for me.

7th September 2019, 12:55 AM	#2
vilhelmsson Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Bay Area Posts: 57	I've had a conversation with a US Customs Specialist about this recently, and he was very helpful. He's based in Alaska with the Walrus Ivory Taskforce. If you're shipping to the US, he's a good resource. The key point, though, is that you're going to want to work with an experienced shipper so that they can properly fulfill all of the requirements. Please don't rely on the following. It is only meant to be informative and not to be relied on for shipping or obtaining a CITES or Pre-CITES permit. The basic steps for are: 1. Apply for a Pre-CITES or CITES Export Permit from the UK Government, depending on the age of the ivory. 2. Have the relevant UK customs authority validate the permit and sign off on the export. This step is typically neglected, and it will get rejected by the destination Customs authorities. The more detailed steps are: 1. Application for CITES Permit: A. Note materials from animal species B. Scientific name of animal species C. Date you acquired the object D. Date you purchased the object E. Country of last export F. Quality photos showing relevant materials 2. Affidavits: A. Affidavit 1: classification of material by species and rationale for classification. This should include the scientific name of the species. B. Affidavit 2: stating circa date of the item, testify to its antiquity, and advise on its pre-Act or pre-Amendment status. This should include a statement that the walrus ivory pre-dates 1972. To also comply with California law, you'd also need a statement based on a reasonable rationale that it is over 100 years old, and an estimate of the volume of the whole item, an estimate of the volume of the ivory component, and a statement that the ivory makes up less than 5% of the total volume. C. Affidavit 3: stating species and origin, with supporting arguments and rationale. Affidavit 3 would also require a provenance statement from you to show that the origin of the ivory is pre-1972, and likely came from which country, with rationale. 3. Sign off on permit; won't be signed off on until it is in the warehouse and inspected. More details here (the above taken from pp 87-90): http://www.connectingtocollections.o...int-Slides.pdf If you PM me, I can give you a recommendation of a UK shipper who has been willing to obtain a Pre-CITES permit on an item for me.