The Commerce Department (https://www.commerce.gov/), along with other federal agencies, regulates shipping of biologicals and toxins outside the U.S. All select agents and many biological agents and toxins are controlled for export, and require US government authorization in the form of an export license before they may be shipped internationally. Stanford University’s Export Controls Website (https://stanford.io/2Bq33cY) identifies those agents and toxins requiring a license for export ().

Stanford’s Export Control Officer must be contacted before any export-controlled biological material or toxin is shipped abroad so that an export license can be obtained. Note: the export licensing process can take up to two months so plan well in advance. All other exports of biologicals need to be documented with the appropriate export certification signed by the responsible PI or researcher. An Export Controls Decision Tree (https://stanford.io/2opYe0y) is available to assist PIs and researchers with selecting the appropriate certification, as is Stanford’s Export Control Officer.

Please see Stanford’s Export Controls Website (https://stanford.io/2Bq33cY) for additional details.