# Selling over state lines



## Woodchuck1988 (May 2, 2018)

Good evening all,I had a request from a family member to build them a simple coffee table. I live in the South part of Texas and will be using mesquite wood, harvested locally from a fallen tree. I will have to ship the table to Idaho. Are there any regulations against shipping custom furniture made with the wood I used? If so, what entity can I contact to get this squared away. Thanks for the help.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

I wouldn't worry about it. Ship it and write on the outside Idaho pine coffee table. 
I bet nobody will even care what's in the crate except your family member.

I really like mesquite but it's very expensive out by me. I bet it will be a great looking table!


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## CaptainKlutz (Apr 23, 2014)

Transportation regulations of wood and wood products is complicated, and depends on myriad of factors.

The USDA is responsible for federal regulations concerning wood import/export/transportation. Many states have independent branches who oversee local state agriculture regulations often called Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

If your lumber is kiln dried, then you can transport wood most anywhere. Most states consider air dried lumber same as firewood, but seldom find anyone checking shipments unless they contain visible bark. If your lumber is not kiln dried: technically would need to check regulations for every state that your wood product will cross. 
Firewood transportation is heavily regulated, almost to point that all other forms of wood transport are ignored? Linked site can help explain states with more severe limitations on moving wood.
Easiest method to avoid any concern about wood transportation is by application of USDA kiln drying methods (which kills invasive pests found in wood).

Reality of wooden product transportation regulations is much different for finished furniture. Since majority of furniture requires dried wood with low moisture content and no bark, wood furniture products are primarily checked/certified when being imported/exported to US, and not a concern when crossing state lines. This makes finding useful information to answer your question very challenging.

Hope this helps.
Best Luck.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

Call your shipping company and ask them if they need any documentation, etc. Only thing I've ever seen are restrictions on lumber, firewood and crates or pallet materials that have to show that they have been kiln dried, fumigated or in some places frozen. I would think that if furniture was a problem, moving companies would go out of business. Of course if it looks like a bunch of logs or is too rustic, that might raise some red flags were anyone to inspect it.


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