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General information only, not customs or legal advice. Sources checked on 2026-11-01.
Short answer
The Nairobi Protocol is an international agreement, supplementing the Florence Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials, that the United States applies through three duty-free lines in Chapter 98 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule: 9817.00.92, 9817.00.94 and 9817.00.96. The USITC tariff data lists all three as “Free” under the general rate. The lines cover articles specially designed or adapted for blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons, and they carry exclusions that matter to labs and clinics, notably for therapeutic and diagnostic articles.
What the Nairobi Protocol is
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) describes the Nairobi Protocol to the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials of 1982 (Pub. L. No. 97-446, 96 Stat. 2329, 2346 (1983)) as the instrument that established duty-free treatment for certain articles for the handicapped. The United States put it into tariff terms through section 1121 of the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-418) and Proclamation 5978 of 12 May 1989, which amended the HTS for articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse on or after 30 May 1989.
How the US applies it (HTS 9817.00.92, .94, .96)
The chain from treaty to tariff line is short, and each step does one job.
| Step | What it does |
|---|---|
| Nairobi Protocol (1982), approved in Pub. L. 97-446 | Establishes duty-free treatment for certain articles for the handicapped. |
| Section 1121, Pub. L. 100-418 (1988) | Provides for U.S. implementation of the Protocol. |
| Proclamation 5978 (12 May 1989) | Writes the Protocol into the HTS, effective for entries on or after 30 May 1989. |
| HTS 9817.00.92 | Books, music and pamphlets in raised print, used exclusively by or for the blind or other handicapped persons. General rate: Free. |
| HTS 9817.00.94 | Braille tablets, cubarithms and special apparatus, machines, presses and types for their use or benefit exclusively. General rate: Free. |
| HTS 9817.00.96 | “Other” articles specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons, plus qualifying parts and accessories (except parts and accessories of braces and artificial limb prosthetics). General rate: Free. |
For the wider map of the 98 chapter, including the provisions for returned goods and agricultural equipment, see the Chapter 98 HTS guide.
Who counts as handicapped, and what is excluded
U.S. Note 4(a) to the subchapter says “blind or other physically or mentally handicapped persons” includes any person suffering from a permanent or chronic physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, such as caring for one’s self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working.
Note 4(b) says lines 9817.00.92, .94 and .96 do not cover:
- articles for acute or transient disability;
- spectacles, dentures and cosmetic articles for individuals not substantially disabled;
- therapeutic and diagnostic articles; or
- medicine or drugs.
Exclusion (iii), for therapeutic and diagnostic articles, is the one most relevant to clinics and labs. Whether an item is a medical device at all is a separate question, covered in What Is a Medical Device?
The “specially designed” test, with a worked example
CBP’s Customs Bulletin of December 2023 (Vol. 57, No. 48) states that eligibility under 9817.00.96 turns on two questions: whether the article is “specially designed or adapted for the use or benefit of the blind or physically and mentally handicapped persons,” and whether it falls within a Note 4(b) exclusion. A checklist built from Note 4 and the cases CBP cites:
- User class. Is the intended user a person with a permanent or chronic impairment that substantially limits a major life activity (Note 4(a))? Acute or transient conditions do not count.
- Design. Was the article intended for that class of persons to an extent greater than for the use or benefit of others? This is the test the Federal Circuit applied in Sigvaris, Inc. v. United States (2018), as CBP cites it. Meeting accessibility rules alone is not enough: in Danze, Inc. v. United States, 319 F. Supp. 3d 1312 (CIT 2018), compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act was insufficient to show an item was specifically designed or adapted for the handicapped.
- Exclusions. Does Note 4(b) remove it: acute or transient disability, cosmetic or non-disabled spectacles and dentures, therapeutic or diagnostic purpose, or medicine?
Worked example, as CBP states its position in the December 2023 Customs Bulletin: CBP modified earlier rulings (NY 813853 and HQ 556449) on reaching aids and now holds them ineligible for 9817.00.96. Its reasoning is that the reachers have no significant adaptations that would benefit the handicapped community and are common to members of the general public, including people with impaired mobility from transient injury or advanced age who are not chronically handicapped. That is the reasoning behind steps 1 and 2 of the checklist.
Nairobi Protocol and approved institutions
The Protocol also appears in U.S. Note 1 to the subchapter, which is a different mechanism from the handicapped-articles lines. Visual or auditory material of an educational, scientific or cultural character under 9817.00.40 is exempt where it is imported by, or certified for use of, an institution approved as educational, scientific or cultural by the designated federal agency or agencies under the Nairobi Protocol, and the importer certifies that the material is of that character or was produced by the United Nations or its specialized agencies. Note 1(b) applies the same criteria to 9817.00.42 through 9817.00.48, which cover holograms and microfilm, motion-picture films, sound and video recordings, and patterns, wall charts, globes and mock-ups.
So the Protocol reaches importers in two ways: through articles for disabled users (Note 4) and through certification by an approved institution (Note 1). For the purchasing side of lab and clinic equipment, see Hospital and Clinic Equipment Procurement Policy and Buy American Act Compliance for Federally-Funded Medical Equipment.
Common misunderstandings
Is anything labeled “accessible” duty-free?
No. Under the Danze decision cited by CBP, meeting ADA requirements alone does not show an article is specially designed or adapted for the handicapped.
Do diagnostic and therapeutic devices for disabled patients qualify?
Not under 9817.00.92, .94 or .96. Note 4(b)(iii) excludes therapeutic and diagnostic articles, and 4(b)(i) excludes articles for acute or transient disability.
Does a short-term condition count as a handicap?
No. Note 4(a) requires a permanent or chronic impairment that substantially limits a major life activity.
FAQ
What is the Nairobi Protocol?
An international protocol to the Florence Agreement on educational, scientific and cultural materials. In the United States it is implemented through section 1121 of Pub. L. 100-418 and Proclamation 5978, and appears in HTS Chapter 98.
Which HTS lines implement it for articles for the handicapped?
9817.00.92 (raised-print books and music), 9817.00.94 (Braille tablets and special apparatus) and 9817.00.96 (other specially designed or adapted articles and their parts and accessories). All three show “Free” under the general rate in the USITC data.
When did the HTS change take effect?
For articles entered or withdrawn from warehouse on or after 30 May 1989, per Proclamation 5978.
Where do approved institutions come in?
Under U.S. Note 1, for qualifying visual and auditory materials imported by or certified for an institution approved under the Protocol.
Sources
All sources checked on 2026-11-01.
- USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule data for 9817.00.92, 9817.00.94 and 9817.00.96: https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/search?keyword=9817.00.96
- Proclamation 5978, 12 May 1989, “To Implement in Terms of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States the Nairobi Protocol to the Florence Agreement” (American Presidency Project): https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-5978-implement-terms-the-harmonized-tariff-schedule-the-united-states-the
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Customs Bulletin and Decisions, Vol. 57, No. 48 (27 December 2023), modification of NY 813853 and HQ 556449: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Dec/Vol_57_No_48_complete.pdf
