A USDA Soils Permit must be acquired from ARF prior to departing from Berkeley. Non-faculty should begin by filling out a Permission to Import Soils form (.Doc / .PDF) and acquire an ARF affiliated faculty member's endorsement signature.
The soils permit consists of a letter size certificate that can be photocopied, and a small label "Soil Samples Restricted Entry" is provided for affixing to the outside of package.
Procedures
As is described in the USDA instructions, samples should be double bagged with visible labels and shipped in a sturdy container. A strong plastic container such as an ActionPacker is often used, although good wood or thick cardboard boxes have been used in the past because they can be destroyed by burning.
Closing up the soil package
The small label should be taped to the outside of the package alerting the customs officials of the presence of this quarantine item. Place a copy of the Soil Permit certificate on the top of the Soils container so that the certificate will be opened immediately upon opening the package.
You should also carry a copy of the Soil Permit certificate on your person when you drop off and pick up the package.
When shipping from within the US from areas with quarantined soils, such as Hawaii, one should go by the USDA office (at the airport) and have them inspect the shipment). They will subsequently close the package and put their stamp on the tape seals.
When shipping from outside of the United States you don't have to stop at the USDA office (because there isn't one). You'll want to ship, rather than hand-carry on the airplane, your samples. Furthermore it makes things much simpler if you have a commercial invoice affixed to the outside of the package.
In the pouch that accompanies the commercial invoice you could include a photocopy of the larger Import Permit document.
Have the package shipped directly to the ARF at
2251 College Bldg
UC Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-1076
