Ivory & CITES-Listed Items 🇺🇸 United States
Commercial ivory trade is banned. Personal importation subject to narrow exemptions.
Can I bring Ivory & CITES-Listed Items into United States?
Commercial ivory trade is banned. Personal importation subject to narrow exemptions.
Essentially zero for commercial ivory; antiques require documentation
- CITES import permit (for any CITES Appendix I/II specimens)
- Documentation proving pre-1976 or antique status for exemptions
- ESA permit from USFWS if applicable
Required at the destination customs authority
Full details
The United States imposed a near-total ban on commercial elephant ivory trade in 2016 under an ESA rule administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Importation of elephant ivory is prohibited except for qualifying antique ivory (over 100 years old with documentation) and pre-ban sport-hunted trophies under specific permit conditions. Personal importation of tourist purchases, souvenir carvings, or jewellery containing elephant ivory is not permitted. USFWS and CBP inspect items at ports of entry. Civil penalties up to USD 50,000 and criminal penalties including imprisonment apply. Ivory from other CITES-listed species (e.g., narwhal, walrus) has separate permit requirements.
PENALTIES
- Fine: 250000 USD
- Imprisonment up to 60 months
- Criminal penalty
Active — Customs actively enforces this rule.
Leaving United States with ivory & cites-listed items
Elephant ivory is listed in CITES Appendix I: commercial international trade is banned, and personal cross-border movement of ivory items from United States is prohibited without CITES documentation that is in practice only issued for narrow antique and museum exemptions. Domestic ivory legislation in most covered countries (US ESA rules, UK Ivory Act 2018, China's 2018 trade ban and equivalents) further bans dealing in ivory regardless of export. Travellers carrying inherited or antique ivory must obtain pre-issued CITES export documentation for the narrow exemption categories; without it, items are seized at either border and prosecution is possible.
Do not purchase ivory souvenirs abroad. Even antique ivory requires extensive documentation. When in doubt, assume the item is prohibited and leave it behind.
Essentially zero for commercial ivory; antiques require documentation
- CITES import permit (for any CITES Appendix I/II specimens)
- Documentation proving pre-1976 or antique status for exemptions
- ESA permit from USFWS if applicable
Endangered Species Act (ESA); CITES Implementation (50 CFR Parts 13, 14, 17, 23); 2016 USFWS Final Rule
This page covers destination customs rules in United States. Whether you can carry ivory & cites-listed items through security, in carry-on, or in checked baggage depends on airline and screening rules — see air travel rules.
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items rules in other countries
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
One of the world's strictest ivory bans under the Ivory Act 2018.
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇿🇦 South Africa
Ivory trade banned under CITES and national law
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇨🇳 China
Complete ban on ivory trade since 2018
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇨🇦 Canada
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items import prohibited
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇦🇺 Australia
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items import prohibited
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Ivory & CITES-Listed Items import prohibited