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50 CFR § 23.40 - What are the requirements for a certificate for artificially propagated plants?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t50/s23.40"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "50 CFR § 23.40 - What are the requirements for a certificate for artificially propagated plants?"
title_number: 50
title_name: "Wildlife and Fisheries"
section_number: "23.40"
section_name: "What are the requirements for a certificate for artificially propagated plants?"
chapter_name: "UNITED STATES FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR"
subchapter_number: "B"
subchapter_name: "TAKING, POSSESSION, TRANSPORTATION, SALE, PURCHASE, BARTER, EXPORTATION, AND IMPORTATION OF WILDLIFE AND PLANTS"
part_number: "23"
part_name: "CONVENTION ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES OF WILD FAUNA AND FLORA (CITES)"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (March 3, 1973), 27 U.S.T. 1087; and Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 1531"
regulatory_source: "72 FR 48448, Aug. 23, 2007, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "23"
---

# 23.40 What are the requirements for a certificate for artificially propagated plants?

(a) *Purpose.* Article VII(5) of the Treaty grants an exemption to plants that are artificially propagated when a Management Authority issues a certificate.

(b) *U.S. and foreign general provisions.* The following provisions apply to the issuance and acceptance of a certificate for artificially propagated Appendix-I, -II, or -III plants:

(1) The certificate for artificially propagated plants and any subsequent re-export certificate must show the source code as “A” for artificially propagated.

(2) For an Appendix-I specimen that satisfies the requirements of this section, no CITES import permit is required.

(c) *U.S. application form.* Complete Form 3-200-33 and submit it to the U.S. Management Authority.

(d) *Criteria.* The criteria in this paragraph (d) apply to the issuance and acceptance of U.S. and foreign certificates. When applying for a U.S. certificate, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:

|  |  |  |  |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (1) The plant was artificially propagated. | Yes | Yes | Yes | 23.64 |
| (2) The plant specimen is one of the following:(i) Was propagated for noncommercial purposes.(ii) Is part of a traveling exhibition.(iii) Is a hybrid of one or more Appendix-I species or taxa that is not annotated to treat hybrids as Appendix-I specimens and was propagated for commercial or noncommercial purposes. | Yes | n/a | n/a |  |
| (3) The scientific name of the species is the standard nomenclature in the CITES Appendices or the references adopted by the CoP. | Yes | Yes | Yes | 23.23 |
| (4) The live plant will be prepared and shipped so as to minimize risk of injury, damage to health, or cruel treatment of the specimen. | Yes | Yes | Yes | 23.23 |

(e) *U.S. standard conditions.* In addition to the conditions in § 23.56, you must meet all of the following conditions:

(1) You may not export or re-export a plant (including its parts, products, or derivatives) under this certificate if the plant was removed from the wild or grown directly from a wild seed or spore, except for plants grown from exempt plant materials that qualify as artificially propagated.

(2) You may not export an Appendix-I species that was propagated for commercial purposes under this certificate, except for hybrids of one or more Appendix-I species or taxa that are not annotated to treat hybrids as Appendix-I specimens. (See § 23.47.)

(3) You may export a native plant under this certificate only when specifically approved for export and listed on the certificate, inventory sheet, or an approved species list.

(4) You may export a specimen under a higher-taxon name only if you identified the taxon in your application and we approved it on this certificate.

[72 FR 48448, Aug. 23, 2007, as amended at 79 FR 30425, May 27, 2014]