Importation prohibited; certificate of inspection; importer's declaration.
19 C.F.R. § 12.34
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) The importation into the United States of white phosphorus matches is prohibited.
(b) Invoices covering matches imported into the United States shall be accompanied by a certificate of official inspection of the Government of the country of manufacture, or its electronic equivalent, in the following form:
(c) In the absence of such certificate, the matches shall be detained until a certificate is produced or the importer submits satisfactory evidence to show that the matches were not in fact manufactured with the use of poisonous white or yellow phosphorus.
(d) The production of the above certificate shall not be required on the entry of matches manufactured in countries which prohibit the use of white or yellow phosphorus in the manufacture of matches.
(e) At the time of filing an entry for imported matches, the importer shall make a declaration, or its electronic equivalent, that to the best of his knowledge and belief no matches included in the invoice and entry are white phosphorus matches.
Certificate of Official Inspection of Matches
I, ________________ (Name), do hereby certify that I am the ____________ (Official title), that according to the chemical analysis made by me the matches described below do not contain white or yellow phosphorus and that therefore they are not white phosphorus matches as defined in the Act of Congress of the United States of America approved April 9, 1912;
Number of case mark
Description of matches
Name and address of manufacturer
Name of consignee and address, vessel, and date of shipment
(Signature)
(Official title)
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-19.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026