(a) A person must obtain a valid permit before commencing an activity for which a permit is required by this subchapter, except as provided in § 23.53 of this subchapter for retrospective permits for certain CITES shipments under very specific situations.

(b) A person must apply for such a permit under the general permit procedures of this part and any other regulations in this subchapter that apply to the proposed activity.

(1) The requirements of all applicable parts of this subchapter must be met.

(2) A person may submit one application that includes the information required in each part of this subchapter, and a single permit will be issued if appropriate.

The regulations contained in this part provide uniform rules, conditions, and procedures for the application for and the issuance, denial, suspension, revocation, and general administration of all permits issued pursuant to this subchapter B.

The provisions in this part are in addition to, and are not in lieu of, other permit regulations of this subchapter and apply to all permits issued thereunder, including “Importation, Exportation and Transportation of Wildlife” (part 14), “Wild Bird Conservation Act” (part 15), “Injurious Wildlife” (part 16), “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants” (part 17), “Marine Mammals” (part 18), “Migratory Bird Permits” (part 21), “Eagle Permits” (part 22), and “ Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)” (part 23). As used in this part 13, the term “permit” will refer to a license, permit, certificate, letter of authorization, or other document as the context may require, and to all such documents issued by the Service or other authorized U.S. or foreign government agencies.

The Director may approve variations from the requirements of this part when he finds that an emergency exists and that the proposed variations will not hinder effective administration of this subchapter B, and will not be unlawful.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements contained in part 13 and assigned OMB Control Numbers 1018-0022, 1018-0070, 1018-0092, 1018-0093, or 1018-0167 (unless otherwise indicated). Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimates or any other aspect of the information collection to the Service's Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b).