CONAP CITES Export Permit (Trámite 19): Fees, Requirements, Bank Codes 2026

Quick summary: CONAP does not issue one export document — it issues four kinds, and the one that catches people is the fourth. 19A/19B are the CITES permits and certificates (Q125.00 per permit). 19C/19D are NO CITES certificates for species that are neither native to Guatemala nor listed (Q100.00). 19E/19F are export permits for species that are native to Guatemala but are NOT in the CITES appendices (Q100.00). 19G is the research channel, “exentos de pago”. Every requirement list we read demands prior registration with CONAP and specimens already entered in CONAP’s traceability and chain-of-custody system. No resolution time is published. Getting it wrong is not a fine — Decreto 4-89 Arts. 81 bis and 82 both carry 5 to 10 years in prison plus Q10,000–Q20,000.

Every figure, code, article and quotation on this page comes from CONAP’s own trámite pages, from the CONAP-published consolidated text of Decreto 4-89 and its Reglamento, or from 50 CFR Part 23 as published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — all retrieved 2026-08-13. This page reports published rules; it is not legal advice.

The answer first: four documents, not one

Most write-ups on Guatemalan wildlife exports assume the question is “is my species CITES-listed?”. CONAP’s own catalogue is organised around two questions, and the second one is the one nobody warns you about:

1. Is the species in the CITES appendices?
2. Is the species native to Guatemala?

Read row 19E again. A Guatemalan native species does not have to appear in any CITES appendix for CONAP to require an export permit. That is the trap: people check a CITES list, find their species absent, and conclude there is nothing to do. CONAP’s own description of 19E says otherwise — “Permisos otorgados por el CONAP a personas individuales o jurídicas para autorizar exportaciones de especímenes de flora y fauna silvestre, nativa de Guatemala, pero que no se encuentran incluidas en los Apéndices de la CITES.”

Who signs it: the CITES documents are “otorgados por la Autoridad Administrativa CITES (Secretario Ejecutivo del CONAP)” (CONAP, Trámite 19A). Guatemala’s Management Authority is CONAP — that identity matters again when you reach U.S. customs, for a reason set out further down.

Fees and BANRURAL codes, exactly as CONAP publishes them

All payments are made at Agencias BANRURAL, under Empresa 706, Transacción 1, with the activity’s own code:

One thing to confirm at the window: the CONAP payment code is printed four ways

This is not a typo we introduced. On the same day, CONAP’s own portal prints the institutional code four different ways:

Note the pattern: the two renewal/replacement lines of 19C and 19E print AXT 429 while 19F’s renewal line prints ATX 429 — and 19D’s own 679 line prints AXT 249, where 19C’s 679 prints AXT 429. We reproduce all four rather than pick one. Confirm the code with CONAP before you deposit. (Checked on all ten Trámite 19/20/07A pages, 2026-08-13. CONAP publishes no statement about what happens if a deposit carries the wrong institutional code, so we make none.)

What CONAP asks for

CITES export permit — Trámite 19A (fauna and non-timber flora)

CONAP’s list, verbatim:

1. “Formulario de solicitud establecido por el CONAP.”
2. “Documentación que acredite la calidad con la que actúa el solicitante, según el propósito de la transacción.”
3. “Estar inscrito en el registro del CONAP que corresponda.”
4. “Documentación que acredite la obtención legal de los especímenes (trazabilidad y cadena de custodia), según el propósito de la transacción.”
5. “Haber registrado los especímenes en el sistema de trazabilidad y cadena de custodia del CONAP.”
6. “Pago del Permiso/Certificado CITES.”
7. Sharks: “documentación emitida por la autoridad competente del Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (MAGA).”
8. Breeders and collections: “certificación del regente con los timbres correspondientes.”
9. Collections: “cartas de acuerdo entre instituciones, si existiesen intercambios.”

Note item 7: for shark specimens two authorities are in play — CONAP issues the CITES document, and MAGA’s competent authority issues the underlying documentation.

Timber (19B) adds a packing list, and sometimes INAB

On top of the same core list, timber exports require “Lista de empaque o packing list que detalle el número de paquetes (fardos o bultos), las dimensiones (largos, anchos y grosores) y la volumetría de las piezas de madera por paquete, la especie o especies y las calidades de la madera”; where a yield study exists, “resolución de aprobación del porcentaje de rendimiento de aserrío y/o re-aserrío por especie, emitida por el INAB”; and a Documento Tributario Electrónico issued to the final recipient. Three further DTE items are conditional, and CONAP prints each with its own trigger:

• “Cuando los productos provengan de una o más fuentes: Documentos Tributarios Electrónicos que respalden la compra de los productos a exportar (especie, tipo de producto, volumen, calidad, características y precio total).”
• “En el caso de haber intermediarios: tantos Documentos Tributarios Electrónicos como haya tenido el proceso de compraventa.”
• “Cuando el aserrío se realice en una industria forestal distinta a la de la empresa comercializadora que solicita la exportación: Documento Tributario Electrónico del servicio de aserrío.”

The native non-CITES permit (19E) is the shortest list

Application form · “Estar inscrito en el registro del CONAP que corresponda.” · “Haber registrado los especímenes que se pretenden exportar en el sistema de trazabilidad y cadena de custodia del CONAP.” · documentation of lawful acquisition (traceability and chain of custody) according to the export purpose · “Pago del permiso de exportación de vida silvestre.”

Importing INTO Guatemala: the origin country does most of the paperwork

For a CITES import (19A/19B), CONAP asks for the origin country’s CITES export permit (original or electronic); a certificate of origin from the origin country’s CITES administrative authority where the specimens come from a range State that has not listed the species in that appendix; a document from the competent authority evidencing lawful origin where the origin country is not a CITES Party or not in the species’ natural range; the origin country’s export licence or permit; a phytosanitary certificate from the origin country’s competent authority; “Documento emitido por la SAT en el que se declaren los especímenes a importar”; the bill of lading, air waybill or carta de porte; and, for commercial purposes, the purchase invoice.

The prerequisite every requirement list starts with: registration (Trámite 07A)

Every Trámite 19 requirement list we read starts from “Estar inscrito en el registro del CONAP que corresponda”. That registration is Trámite 07A — “Registro administrativo a cargo del Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP), mediante el cual se inscriben las personas individuales o jurídicas que deseen realizar actividades de comercialización, exportación, importación o reexportación de especies, especímenes, partes o derivados de flora y fauna silvestre, conforme a la normativa”.

Requirements for the registration itself: CONAP application form · proof of payment · documentation evidencing the applicant’s capacity · documentation evidencing title, possession or tenure of the land of the establishments · documentation authorising commercial activity, “por ejemplo, Patente de Comercio”. And the export note attached to the 07A requirements: “Si exporta: código de exportador VUPE.”

A gap worth naming. CONAP’s catalogue publishes no separate route for a one-off individual exporter who is not a registered trader — and it publishes no exemption for one either. We report that as a silence in the published catalogue. It is not a statement that individuals cannot apply, and it is not a statement that they can. Ask before you plan around it: the contact unit CONAP prints on every one of these trámite pages is the Dirección de Manejo de Bosques y Vida Silvestre (DMBVS).

How the filing works

CONAP runs Trámite 19 through its Portal Electrónico, created, in CONAP’s words, “En el marco de implementación de la Ley para la Simplificación de Requisitos y Trámites Administrativos Decreto Número 5-2021”. The portal’s own instruction is blunt: “Regístrate primero para poder solicitar tus trámites”.

The published steps for 19A:

1. “Descargar el formulario digital para Permisos / Certificados CITES”
2. “Llenar el formulario digital a computadora”
3. “Subir el formulario digital en formato PDF en el formulario electrónico”
4. “Subir los documentos de requisitos en el formulario electrónico”
5. “Subir la boleta de pago en el formulario electrónico”
6. Outcome: “Al finalizar el trámite se le enviara a su correo electrónico para descargar el Permiso / certificado CITES”

On timing: we searched the 19A, 19B, 19C, 19E, 19F, 19G, 20A and 20B pages for a plazo in days and found none. No published resolution time exists as of 2026-08-13, and we will not import one from a different CONAP procedure. The one published deadline in this family runs the other way — it is a deadline on you.

Trámite 20: the inspection, and the 3-day rule

A shipment inspection is a “Procedimiento técnico-administrativo realizado por la autoridad competente del CONAP, mediante el cual se constata, en un lugar distinto a puertos marítimos, aeropuertos o pasos fronterizos oficialmente habilitados, la identidad, cantidad, estado, origen legal, trazabilidad y correspondencia documental de los especímenes, partes o derivados de vida silvestre objeto de exportación, importación o reexportación, previo a su movilización internacional”.

• Request it early: “La solicitud deberá ser emitida con un mínimo de tres (3) días de anticipación a la fecha en la que se requiere la verificación.”
• Cost: Q250.00 per visit (code 691) when the inspection happens outside ports and airports.
• 20A covers flora and fauna generally; 20B covers physical verification of timber flora.
• Documents to have at the verification site for a timber export include the “Declaraciones para Registro y Control de Exportaciones del producto forestal regulado por la CITES”, a copy of the “Nota de Envío de Empresa Forestal”, the packing list with dimensions, volumetry and qualities, the “Orden de embarque”, and “En caso de utilizar contenedores, presentar el marchamo de la empresa de transporte”. The company representative present must show identification to CONAP inspectors.

The statute behind the permit

The permit is administrative; the surrounding rules are statutory. Quoted from the consolidated Ley de Áreas Protegidas (Decreto 4-89) y su Reglamento (Acuerdo Gubernativo 759-90) as published by CONAP, with that edition’s reform annotations:

CONAP also cites two of its own resolutions as normativa for these trámites. Both titles below are reproduced exactly as CONAP prints them in the Normativa block of the trámite pages (re-fetched 2026-08-13):

• On the timber pages — 19B, 19F, 19G and 20B: “Resolución 01-27-2013 del Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, Manual de Procedimientos para el Comercio Internacional de Flora Maderable Incluida en los Apéndices II y III de la Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Especies Amenazadas de Fauna y Flora Silvestres -CITES-.”
• On 19A, 19C, 19D, 19E, 20A and 07A: “Resolución Sc. No. 06/2008 del Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas, Manual de Procedimientos del Departamento de Vida Silvestre.”

The appendix wording inside the first title is CONAP’s own name for that manual — it is not an appendix assignment we are making for any species. We name both resolutions because CONAP does; we quote nothing from their text, because we did not read them.

What happens if you get it wrong

Art. 83 bis adds that the fines “ingresarán a los fondos privativos del CONAP, en una cuenta especial” earmarked for training programmes.

The U.S. side: why “it’s just a souvenir” is not an answer

If the destination is the United States, two more bodies enter — and the most common misconception is that the U.S. personal-effects exemption solves the Guatemalan paperwork. It does the opposite.

50 CFR 23.15, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:

• § 23.15(b): “The exemption for personal and household effects does not apply if a country prohibits or restricts the import, export, or re-export of the item.” Sub-paragraph (1) adds: “You or your shipment must be accompanied by any document required by a country under its stricter national measures.”
• § 23.15(c)(1): you must obtain a CITES document if "the Management Authority of the importing, exporting, or re-exporting country requires a CITES document." Guatemala’s Management Authority is CONAP.

So the U.S. exemption is measured against Guatemala’s rules, not instead of them.

Where the exemption does operate, it is bounded by an explicit quantity table for Appendix-II species — these are the numbers 50 CFR 23.15(c)(3) prints:

And the exemption’s conditions are cumulative (§ 23.15(d)): no live wildlife or plants; no Appendix-I specimen (bar certain worked African elephant ivory under (f)); quantity “reasonably necessary or appropriate for the nature of your trip or stay”; owned and possessed for personal use including a personal gift; worn or carried in your personal baggage on the same plane, boat, vehicle or train as you; and “The specimen was not mailed or shipped separately.” Moving house instead of travelling? § 23.15(e) requires the move to happen “within 1 year of changing your residence from one country to another”, with only pre-move acquisitions in the shipment.

What is exempt outright (§ 23.92(c)): “Coral sand and coral fragments as defined in § 23.5”, “Flasked seedlings of Appendix-I orchids … that qualify as artificially propagated”, certain plant hybrids, “Marine specimens listed in Appendix II that are protected under another treaty, convention, or international agreement which was in force on July 1, 1975”, personal and household effects under § 23.15, and certain wildlife hybrids. But § 23.92(b) closes the door on a second misconception: “For specimens that are exempt from CITES requirements, you must still follow the clearance requirements for wildlife in part 14 of this subchapter and for plants in part 24 of this subchapter and 7 CFR parts 319, 352, and 355.”

And § 23.92(b)(1) is why two objects of the same species can be treated differently: annotations govern. “Where an annotation designates what is excluded from CITES requirements, any part, product, or derivative that is specifically excluded” is out; “Where an annotation designates what is covered by the Treaty, all parts, products, or derivatives that are not designated” are out.

On whether your species is listed — we are not going to guess

We do not publish an appendix assignment for mahogany, cedro, rosewood, orchids, quetzal feathers, sea-turtle shell or coral on this page. The authoritative list is, in FWS’s own words, “maintained by the CITES Secretariat based on decisions of the Parties” (50 CFR 23.91(a)), it changes at each Conference of the Parties, and listings adopted at a CoP take effect “90 days after the last day of the CoP, unless otherwise specified in the proposal” (23.91(b)(1)). The Secretariat’s site was unreachable from our environment on 2026-08-13, and the only archived copies available were from 2013–2015 — quoting those as current would be worse than saying nothing. The appendix assignments printed above (queen conch, giant clams, Crocodylia, seahorses, sturgeon, cacti rainsticks) are the ones the U.S. regulation itself prints, and Appendix-I orchids exist because 50 CFR 23.92(c)(2) — headed “Flasked seedlings of Appendix-I orchids” — legislates for them.

Guatemala’s link to that list is statutory: Decreto 4-89 Art. 25 makes the appendices official for Guatemala as approved by the parties, with changes published in the Diario Oficial. Ask CONAP for the determination on your species. That is the body that signs the permit.

USDA APHIS: declare it, whatever it is

APHIS’s own instruction (International Traveler: Souvenirs, last modified 13 January 2026): “Travelers entering the United States must declare all agricultural or wildlife products to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials.” And the sentence worth memorising: “As long as you declare all of the agricultural products you are bringing with you, you will not face any penalties—even if an inspector determines that they cannot enter the country.”

On the specific souvenir classes:

• Driftwood: enterable if “naturally weathered by saltwater to the degree that no pest risk exists” and free of soil or other organic material — “must be declared and is subject to inspection at entry.”
• Palm fronds: single fronds “completely dried or processed” may enter, subject to inspection; “Fresh, green, and/or pliable palm fronds are prohibited entry”; craft items woven from palm fronds “are prohibited entry unless the item was processed (bleached, dyed, painted, or shellacked) beyond just crafting/weaving.”
• Seashells: many saltwater varieties are enterable, but “certain countries limit the collection, sale, and export of shells and shell products”, and “The importation or exportation of certain species of seashells (e.g., queen conch and nautilus) from some countries are restricted under international agreements.” For the status of “seashells, coral, and a wide variety of other items you may find offered for sale in gift shops overseas”, APHIS routes you to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service import information — and adds, in its own words, that USDA “does restrict/regulate the entry of land snails/shells and many species of freshwater snails/shells, because many foreign snail species are considered to be invasive pests that could cause harm to U.S. agriculture and the environment.”
• Rocks, stones, beach sand: declare and present; the inspector decides whether they are “entirely free of soil or other organic matter (such as algae).”

That last point is the practical division of labour: CONAP decides whether it may leave Guatemala; FWS and APHIS decide whether it may enter the United States. Two authorities, one souvenir — and a permit from one is not a clearance from the other.

Related procedures

• CONAP — Procedures hub — every CONAP service, contacts and regional offices
• What you can take back to the USA from Guatemala — the traveller-side guide, including the souvenir categories and the U.S. routing
• Sport Hunting Permit CONAP — the licence that precedes any trophy export question
• CONAP Scientific Research Permit — the licence Trámite 19G’s fee exemption is tied to
• Transport Permit tied to a Research Licence — the guía de transporte in its research form
• Registry extension for timber-flora trading companies — the 07A registration’s update path
• Technical Manager Certificate for flora companies — the regente who signs certificates of origin
• Guatemala customs: what you can bring in — the inbound counterpart
• All trámites — the full procedure index

Official links

• CONAP — Portal Electrónico de Trámites
• CONAP — Trámite No. 19 (CITES / NO CITES export, import, re-export)
• CONAP — Trámite No. 07A (trader registration)
• Ley de Áreas Protegidas (Decreto 4-89) y su Reglamento — CONAP edition
• USDA APHIS — International Traveler: Souvenirs

The difference between a legal export and a five-to-ten-year offence under Decreto 4-89 is a file: registration, traceability, the right sub-trámite, the right BANRURAL code, and an inspection requested three days out. Confirm your species with CONAP before you buy, package or ship anything.