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Shipping Information


  • In order to ship the requested items to you, we need your Fedex or DHL (China - DHL only) account number, with which you will have to provide us during the registration.

  • For FAST dispatch service (automatically applied to all orders with a total of 100 items or less) your order will be dispatched within 2 weeks (excluding public holidays, unforeseen circumstances such as extreme weather, airline strikes, or as otherwise notified in advance on our website).

  • For STANDARD dispatch service (automatically applied to all orders with a total of more than 100 items) it may take up to 6-7 weeks for your order to be dispatched.

  • If some fly lines you have ordered become unavailable during this time (e.g. sick) you will be notified and will receive a full refund for this part of the order.

  • If your order is charged at FAST dispatch service rate and VDRC fails to dispatch it within 2 weeks of receipt of order, you will be refunded 50% of the total cost of the order and your order will be dispatched as soon as possible thereafter.

  • VDRC can not take any responsibility for the condition of the flies due to the shipment.

Important note for users outside Austria

Some other countries not listed below may also require permissions for importing transgenic Drosophila.

Please check your local importing terms. Please make sure that your import permit is still valid. We will not be able to send your items again if your package will not be delivered due to expired import permit.

USA

Import practices were implemented by the USDA on September 30th, 2013. It is now possible for VDRC to send packages with D. melanogaster directly to the recipient and not via the USDA inspection station. After dispatch from VDRC, shipping directly to the recipient should take only 2-3 working days (compared to 7-10 days via USDA).

To receive your imported packages directly, you will need both a Courtesy Permit and a "Letter of No Jurisdiction."

Obtaining a Courtesy Permit and "Letter of No Jurisdiction":

  1. If you already have a permit which is still valid:
    Request a Letter of No Jurisdiction from Biotechnology Regulatory Services to go with the existing permit. The request must come from the person who was issued the permit and the permit number must be provided. The "Letter of No Jurisdiction" will be e-mailed to you within 1-2 business days.

    If you do not already have a permit:
    Apply for a Courtesy Permit at the USDA which will be issued together with a "Letter of No Jurisdiction". 

  2. Send the following to VDRC via email or fax:
    i) "Letter of No Jurisdiction" AND
    ii) the matching Courtesy Permit
    We can then ship your package directly - without a blue/white USDA shipping label.

  3. TSCA:
    As of March 21, 2017, import regulations for the US and Canada have been amended regarding the "TSCA certification". From now on the TSCA must be signed by the Importer (VDRC user).

    You can download the TSCA file here.
    How to fill out the TSCA? Please tick, NEGATIVE Certification, put in all the required details about your company, but leave the fields "date" and "waybill" blank. We will store it together with your permit and the letter of no Jurisdiction and include it with your shipments.

Shipping via the USDA inspection station with the current blue/white USDA shipping labels is currently still valid, but will add unnecessary delay. We therefore recommend that you obtain a Courtesy Permit and a "Letter of No Jurisdiction".

Please find examples for an Import Permit and the Letter of No Jurisdiction here.

For further information please see: https://bdsc.indiana.edu/information/permits/index.html

Australia

Please send an import permit of the AQUIS (Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service).

China

Please send us a permit of the "Bureau of animal and plant health inspection and quarantine" and a valid CR Number ’Customs Registration Number’.