Lacey Act Compliance Centre: A Guide for Timber Importers

What Is the Lacey Act?

The Lacey Act is a conservation law in the United States. First enacted in 1900 to combat wildlife trafficking, the Act was expanded in 2008 to cover plants and plant products, including timber, wood and derivatives. This significant expansion has made the Act a primary federal tool for targeting trade in illegal timber products, as well as a mechanism for enforcement in other trade-related laws and regulations.

The Lacey Act does two things. Firstly, it prohibits the trade of plant materials harvested, manufactured, transported, traded or sold in violation of any relevant laws of the countries included in the product supply chain. Secondly, it requires importers to file a declaration at the point of entry into the US, identifying species, country of harvest, quantity and value of the plant material in the shipment.

Importantly, the Lacey Act is not only an import regulation. It also governs the broader trade in wood products, including distribution, trading and selling. Whether you are a distributor that sources from an importer, a manufacturer purchasing from a distributor or a retailer buying through a multi-tiered supply chain, the Lacey Act covers your activity. The responsibility to demonstrate due care applies regardless of where in the chain you operate.

The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is the primary regulatory authority for plant-related areas of the Act, and criminal prosecution sits with the Department of Justice. Penalties can range from civil fines and forfeiture of goods to criminal conviction and even prison sentencing. Enforcement is coordinated, intelligence-led and focuses on the full supply chain.

Who Does the Lacey Act Apply To?

The Lacey Act applies to more businesses than many realize, covering raw timber, sawn lumber, plywood, engineered wood, furniture, flooring, cabinetry, paper and a wide range of finished goods containing plant material.

With Phase VII implemented in December 2024, declarations are now required for all remaining plant product HTS (HS) codes not made from 100% composite materials. If your product contains wood and is imported as a formal entry under an APHIS-listed HTS code, a declaration is likely to be required, unless a specific exception applies.

The scope of the product is also only a part of the picture. Who carries the compliance responsibility is equally broad. With the Lacey Act, holding a supplier certificate or third-party standard does not transfer your obligations to someone else. You remain responsible for the legality of what you trade.

A significant recent development that demonstrates how downstream purchasers can face liability is the Boise Cascade case. In April 2026, the company pleaded guilty to and was fined for purchasing plywood from a company previously charged with Lacey Act violations related to a China-Malaysia transshipment scheme. Boise Cascade was the buyer, not the importer, but this distinction was no defense. As the Lacey Act is a strict liability law, if red flags appear in your supply chain and you do not investigate them, you cannot claim ignorance.

What Is ‘Due Care’ and How Do You Demonstrate It?

Reasonable due care is the standard the Lacey Act uses to judge whether a business acted appropriately. APHIS defines it as “the degree of care which a reasonably prudent person would take under the same or similar circumstances.”

This definition is both the most important thing to understand about the Act and the source of most compliance uncertainty. There is no checklist behind it, and no certification scheme satisfies it automatically. Due care is a moving target, defined largely through enforcement outcomes and court-mandated compliance plans rather than regulation.

An example to consider is the DOJ’s compliance requirements for L&D Kitchen and Bath, following their 2024 conviction. The mandated program addressed supplier assessment, documentation practices and audit requirements across the supply chain. While this is an instructive benchmark, rather than a formal regulatory standard, it offers a clearer picture of what a defensible program might look like.

The standard also scales with risk. A low-value shipment from a well-documented supplier in a stable sourcing country carries a different due care obligation than a high-value shipment sourced through a multi-tier chain. Understanding your risk profile is the starting point for understanding what your due care obligations actually require.

For a detailed look at what due care requires in practice, including how to assess risk, structure your supplier program and document your process, see our guide, Lacey Act Due Care: What It Means in Practice.

The Import Declaration: What You Are Signing

Every importer of plant materials covered by the Lacey Act must file a PPQ 505 declaration at the point of entry. The declaration must include the scientific name of the plant species, the country of harvest, the quantity and value of the plant material and the Manufacturer ID code. APHIS’s declaration requirements set out the full list of required fields, including guidance on composite materials, special use designations and exemptions.

Crucially, the declaration is signed under penalty of perjury. It is a legal certification that the information it contains is accurate to the best of your knowledge. This is where the due care obligation becomes concrete. If your knowledge is limited because you have not verified your supply chain, you are signing on unverified claims. The Boise Cascade case highlights the significance of this. Willful blindness extends criminal liability to businesses that deliberately avoid acquiring knowledge of illegal sourcing. In enforcement terms, choosing not to investigate red flags can be treated much like actual knowledge. Knowing what your suppliers are claiming about your products at import is critical in understanding your risk exposure and due care responsibilities.

HS Codes and Timber Declarations: What to Know

The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code, or HS code, assigned to a product determines whether a Lacey Act declaration is required. APHIS maintains the full implementation schedule covering which HTS chapters and headings trigger the requirement. Following Phase VII, if your product contains wood and is not made from 100% composite materials, treat a declaration as a requirement until you have confirmed otherwise.

Importantly, the direct Lacey Act connection comes through the PPQ 505 form itself. Also known as the Plant and Plant Product Declaration, the HS code must be stated on this form. This means that accurate product classification is precisely a due care question. If the species or origin of the shipment does not match what is declared on the PPQ 505, the problem sits squarely in the realm of the Lacey Act.

For fuller treatment of how HS codes, product verification and tariff exposure interact for US timber importers, see our article, Timber Tariffs and HS Codes: What US Importers Need to Verify.

Building a Lacey Act Compliance Program

Broadly, a Lacey Act compliance program that demonstrates due care in practice must do these four things well.

For fuller treatment of how HS codes, product verification and tariff exposure interact for US timber importers, see our article, Timber Tariffs and HS Codes: What US Importers Need to Verify.

1. Define process and procedure

Due care requires a documented, enacted program. This means having defined procedures for how your business assesses suppliers, handles declarations and responds to red flags. A process that exists only in practice but is neither defined nor documented on paper is not demonstrable due care.

2. Assess risk

Country of harvest, species involved and supply chain complexity all determine how rigorous your due care needs to be. High-risk sourcing countries, multi-tier intermediary chains and commercially sensitive species demand more scrutiny. Understanding where your risk is concentrated is the foundation on which everything else builds.

3. Mitigate risk

Identifying risk is only half the work. Your program needs to show what you did about it. That means on-site validation for high-risk suppliers, supplier-level compliance requirements and a clear process for what happens when a red flag appears.

4. Document everything

Documentation must sit at the purchase order level and cover what was verified, by whom and on what basis. Best practice guidance recommends retaining records for a minimum of five years. If you cannot produce the documentation, you cannot demonstrate due care.

For a detailed practical guide to building a Lacey Act due care program, see our guide, Lacey Act Due Care: What It Means in Practice.

How DoubleHelix Supports US Timber Importers

The practical challenge most businesses face is knowing whether their existing processes actually demonstrate due care or not.

DoubleHelix helps US timber importers develop, improve and demonstrate quality due care. We work across the full process, from initial supply chain scoping through to ongoing monitoring, so the program you build holds up to scrutiny and gives you peace of mind. Our work includes:

1. Supply chain scoping and mapping

Understanding what is actually in your supply chain before enforcement raises the question. We identify the species, origins, intermediaries and risk factors that your existing process may not capture.

2. Risk assessment and supplier tiering

Assessing your supplier portfolio against species risk, country of origin risk and supply chain complexity. We help you understand where exposure is concentrated and what level of due diligence each tier of your supply chain requires.

3. On-site assessment and validation

For high-risk supply chains, physical on-site risk assessment and validation provide the kind of evidence that due care requires and that enforcement outcomes suggest prosecutors may expect. It establishes what risks are actually present and how it is practically mitigated.

4. Traceability and documentation support

Building the chain of custody records and documentation processes that make your due care demonstrable at the purchase order level. If a regulator or enforcement body asks for your records, you will have them.

5. Ongoing compliance support

Due care is not a one-time exercise. As your supply chain changes and enforcement priorities shift, your program needs to keep pace. We provide the ongoing support that makes that manageable for your team, rather than becoming a recurring burden.

The businesses most exposed under the Lacey Act are often the ones that have not tested whether their existing processes are sufficient. If you are not certain whether your due care program will withstand scrutiny, now is the time to find out.

Talk to DoubleHelix about Lacey Act due care and supply chain verification.