Technical article

Ivory, Tortoiseshell and Rosewood: Moving a Violin or a Guitar

A musical instrument certificate is one permit that covers many trips, and it does not exempt anything.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Imagine a retired cellist in Boston. Her cello is old, and one part is rosewood. She is moving to Portugal for her retirement and wants to carry it on the plane. Will customs stop it?

The sources show that the answer depends on three things: the material, the country, and how the instrument travels.

What the wildlife trade treaty does

The treaty lists species whose parts need a permit to cross a border. Rosewood, all species of the genus Dalbergia, went into Appendix II on 2 January 2017, with a limit of 10 kg per shipment for non-commercial exports. A trade body for the music industry called that exemption incomplete and unclear for touring orchestras. In 2019, the treaty's members agreed to exempt finished musical instruments, finished parts and finished accessories from the rosewood permit. Brazilian rosewood is the exception, and it stays in the strictest list.

The League of American Orchestras reports that in 2025 three materials still need permits for travel: Brazilian rosewood, African elephant ivory and sea turtle shell, which is the material of old tortoiseshell. The same source says Asian elephant ivory, monitor lizard skin and whale bone can appear in bow tips and grips.

The certificate is a permit

A musical instrument certificate is one permit that covers many trips, and it does not exempt anything. It is needed when the instrument contains treaty-listed material and no other exemption applies. Canada began requiring permits for instruments containing ivory on 8 January 2024.

The US rule on personal effects lets a traveler carry legally acquired treaty items without a document in some cases. The item must be for personal use and travel in the baggage with the owner. It may not be mailed or shipped separately. The rule excludes the strictest list, with limited exceptions for certain worked African elephant ivory. A document is needed if the other country has stricter rules.

Keeping ivory at home

US Fish and Wildlife Service says possessing lawfully acquired elephant ivory is not prohibited and needs no permit. Selling it across state lines is banned, with exceptions for antiques. An antique must be 100 years or older, must not have been repaired with listed material after 27 December 1973, and must come in through a designated port. Items imported before 22 September 1982, or made in the United States, are exempt from the port step. Items imported under a household-move or inheritance exception can never be sold across state lines. All imports and exports also need treaty documents.

In practice

The orchestra league reported in 2018 that customs agents were sometimes unsure about instrument rules. Many musicians put instruments in cargo, and orchestras listed them on a separate schedule. That report came before the 2019 change, but it shows the rules can look different at a counter than on paper.

You might say, "My cello is only a little rosewood." The 2019 decision speaks to finished instruments, so many instruments may be covered. Where the rosewood is Brazilian, or the bridge or bow has ivory or shell, the answer changes. A European note: the European Union's export licence applies to musical instruments over 50 years old and over EUR 50,000, and professional musicians can get a five-year open licence.

Who this touches

Instruments are often passed to a child or grandchild, and the permit question goes with them. Heirs may also want to know that ivory brought in under a move or inheritance exception cannot be sold across US state lines.

Doors you could open

You could ask a maker or luthier which materials your instrument holds. You could photograph the fingerboard, bow tip and bridge for the file. You could ask the consulate of your destination about its permit rule.

What is hiding in your instrument case? If you have traveled with an old instrument, tell us what the customs counter asked for. Someone may benefit from your answer.

Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.