Procedure and guidelines on species conservation in export

When exporting CITES-listed animals, plants, and their parts and derivatives, species protection rules apply. Find out when CITES documents are required and what happens before and during export.

Consignments of plant and animal species that are protected under Swiss species conservation legislation (CITES) require a permit for export. CITES not only applies to live animals and plants, but also the parts and products derived from them.

Before export

Check beforehand whether your consignment is subject to species protection rules and which CITES documents are required.

• Affected animal and plant species

  To find out whether a species is protected under CITES, look up its scientific name in the official list of species:

  CITES: Checklist of CITES species

• Permit and inspection requirement

  To export or re-export a species that is listed in the CITES appendices, one of the following CITES documents is required:

  • Export permit from the exporting country
  • Re-export certificate issued by the re-exporting country
  • Pre-Convention certificate from the exporting or re-exporting country

  The FSVO issues these documents in Switzerland. For readability reasons, the FSVO website uses the term ‘CITES certificate’ to refer to these documents.

  More information:

  Permits for export

  No protected species inspections are required for export consignments. If there are grounds for suspicion, however, the FSVO can carry out an inspection at any time.

  The recipient can find out about the import regulations in the country of destination by contacting the responsible CITES authority:

  CITES: National CITES authorities

  Information on special conditions for private travel:

  Travel

  In addition to the export conditions for species protection, any animal health regulations must also be complied with.

  More information:

  Exporting animals and animal products to the EU

  Exporting animals and animal products to third countries (non-EU)

  Exporting foods

• Special regulations for plants

  The Federal Office for Agriculture is responsible for consignments of plants that are not subject to CITES regulations. It can also answer questions on the phytosanitary certificate.

  More information:

  FOAG: Exporting plants

Export procedure

Once the necessary CITES certificate is available, the export can proceed.

The person required to declare the consignment (e.g. exporter or haulier) declares the consignment to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) as CITES-regulated goods.

More information:

FOCBS: Detailed information on customs declaration for CITES exports

The original CITES certificate must be presented to the FOCBS on export. The FOCBS checks the documents and certifies the export if everything is in order. The certificate is stamped in the designated field and the actual exported quantity is entered.

If no or an incorrect CITES certificate is entered on the goods declaration, or it is not presented on request, the FOCBS will reject the consignment. The FSVO can declare the consignment non-compliant.