50 CFR §23.52
Verified against eCFR.gov as of June 20, 2026View official text on eCFR.gov ↗
- (a)Purpose. A Management Authority may issue a duplicate document, either a copy of the original or a re-issued original, when a CITES document has been lost, damaged, stolen, or accidentally destroyed. These provisions do not apply to a document that has expired or that requires amendment. To renew a U.S. CITES document, see part 13 of this subchapter. To amend a U.S. CITES document, see part 13 of this subchapter if the activity has not yet occurred or, if the activity has already occurred, see § 23.53 of this part.
- (b)U.S. and foreign general provisions. The following provisions apply to the issuance and acceptance of a replacement CITES document:
- (1)The permittee must notify the issuing Management Authority that the document was lost, damaged, stolen, or accidentally destroyed.
- (2)The issuing Management Authority must be satisfied that the CITES document was lost, damaged, stolen, or accidentally destroyed.
- (3)The issuing Management Authority should immediately inform the Management Authority in the country of destination and, for commercial shipments, the Secretariat.
- (4)If the replacement CITES document is a copy, it must indicate that it is a “replacement” and a “true copy of the original,” contain a new dated original signature of a person authorized to sign CITES documents for the issuing Management Authority, and give the reason for replacement.
- (5)If the replacement CITES document is a newly issued original document, it must indicate that it is a “replacement,” include the number and date of issuance of the document being replaced, and give the reason for replacement.
- (6)In the United States, you may not use an original single-use CITES document issued under a CITES master file or CITES annual program as a replacement document for a shipment that has already left the country.
- (c)U.S. application procedures. To apply for a replacement CITES document, you must do all of the following:
- (d)Criteria. The criteria in this paragraph (d) apply to the issuance and acceptance of U.S. and foreign documents.
- (1)When applying for a U.S. replacement document, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:
- (i)The circumstances for the lost, damaged, stolen, or accidentally destroyed CITES document are reasonable.
- (ii)If the shipment has already been made, the wildlife or plant was legally exported or re-exported, and the Management Authority of the importing country has indicated it will accept the replacement CITES document.
- (iii)The specimens were presented to the appropriate official for inspection at the time of import and a request for a replacement CITES document was made at that time.
- (2)For acceptance of foreign CITES replacement documents in the United States, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:
- (i)The specimens were presented to the appropriate official for inspection at the time of import and a request for a replacement CITES document was made at that time.
- (ii)The importer or the importer's agent submitted a signed, dated, and notarized statement at the time of import that describes the circumstances that resulted in the CITES document being lost, damaged, stolen, or accidentally destroyed.
- (iii)The importer or the importer's agent provided a copy of the original lost, stolen, or accidentally destroyed document at the time of import showing that the document met the requirements in §§ 23.23, 23.24, and 23.25.
- (1)When applying for a U.S. replacement document, you must provide sufficient information for us to find that your proposed activity meets all of the following criteria:
- (e)U.S. standard conditions. In addition to the conditions in § 23.56, the following conditions apply:
- (f)Validation. For an export or re-export that has not left the United States, follow the procedures in § 23.27. If the shipment has left the United States and is in a foreign country, submit the unvalidated replacement CITES document to the appropriate foreign authorities. We will not validate the replacement CITES document for a shipment that has already been shipped to a foreign country. We do not require validation on replacement documents issued by foreign Management Authorities.