The National Eagle Repository is the only federally authorized source of bald and golden eagle remains for Native American religious use, run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colorado.1U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository – What We Do Enrolled members of federally recognized tribes can apply at no cost using Form 3-200-15a, but the repository depends entirely on eagles recovered after they die, so waits for some items stretch past a decade. Knowing what you can request, how long it will take, and what the permit does and does not allow matters more here than in most federal programs.
Who Can Apply
You must be at least 18 years old and an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe.1U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository – What We Do The rule comes from the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and 50 CFR 22.60, which limit permits to members of Indian entities eligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.2eCFR. 50 CFR 22.60 – Eagle Indian Religious Permits There is no exception for people of Native American descent who are not enrolled, however strong the cultural connection.
Everything the repository sends out must go to bona fide religious use, including healing, marriage, and naming ceremonies.3U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 3-200-15a – Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes Decorative display, personal collecting, and any form of sale or trade are not authorized uses.
How to Apply
The application is Form 3-200-15a, “Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes.” You can file it online through the Fish and Wildlife Service’s ePermits system or mail a paper copy to the repository.4U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Ordering Eagle Parts and Feathers from the National Eagle Repository There is no processing fee.5U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Form 3-200-15a – Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes
The form asks for your full legal name, contact information, and tribal affiliation. First-time applicants must attach a Certificate of Enrollment in a Federally Recognized Tribe, filled out by your tribal enrollment office.1U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository – What We Do The repository will not process a request without it.
You then choose exactly what you want: a whole eagle, a pair of wings and a tail, a tail only, wings only, ten quality loose feathers, or twenty miscellaneous loose feathers. Specify bald or golden, and adult or immature. Each combination has its own waiting list, and switching categories later means starting over at the back of a new line, so pick carefully.
Paper applications go to:
National Eagle Repository
6550 Gateway Road, Building 128
Commerce City, CO 800226U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository – Contact Us
Once approved, your request is logged chronologically on the appropriate list. You should receive confirmation that it has entered the system, and a signature is required when the order eventually ships.
How Long the Wait Really Is
This is where most applicants are caught off guard. The repository can only send out eagles that come in, and supply consistently falls short of demand. Wait times for some items run more than ten years.
Golden Eagles
Adult golden eagle requests are being filled roughly as follows:7U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository
- Whole bird: orders from approximately December 2017 or earlier
- Wings and tail: around February 2021
- Tail only: around July 2020
- Wings only: around January 2025
- Ten quality loose feathers: around May 2023
- Twenty miscellaneous loose feathers: around December 2025
Immature golden eagles are scarcer still. Whole-bird orders are being filled from March 2014 or earlier, meaning some applicants have waited more than twelve years. Immature golden eagle tails are filling from October 2015, and pairs of wings and tails from February 2018.7U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository
Bald Eagles
Bald eagle parts generally move faster, largely because the population has recovered more successfully:
- Whole adult: around June 2022
- Whole immature: around November 2024
- Wings and tail, adult: around February 2025
- Wings and tail, immature: around July 2025
- Twenty miscellaneous loose feathers, adult: around August 2025
- Twenty miscellaneous loose feathers, immature: around October 2025
The practical takeaway: if your ceremony calls for a whole golden eagle, plan years ahead. If loose bald eagle feathers will serve, the wait may be under a year. These dates shift as birds are recovered, so check the repository’s site before you file.7U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. National Eagle Repository
What the Permit Allows and How Long It Lasts
Your permit to possess and transport eagle parts within the United States is valid for life.2eCFR. 50 CFR 22.60 – Eagle Indian Religious Permits There is no periodic renewal. The issuing office may ask you for inventories or photographs of the feathers and parts you hold, and you are required to respond.
The permit covers possession and transport for religious use. It never authorizes selling, buying, bartering, or trading. No permit issued under any provision of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act authorizes a commercial transaction involving eagle remains.8eCFR. 50 CFR Part 22 – Eagle Permits
Gifting and Passing Down Eagle Parts
Eagle parts received from the repository can be handed down from generation to generation or given from one Native American to another in keeping with tribal or religious custom.2eCFR. 50 CFR 22.60 – Eagle Indian Religious Permits Feathers can be gifted at a ceremony, passed to your children, or shared within your community as your tribe’s traditions direct.
You cannot give eagle parts to non-Native Americans, for any reason.9U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Possession of Eagle Feathers and Parts by Native Americans A non-Native recipient is in unauthorized possession under federal law, and both giver and recipient can face penalties.
Traveling With Eagle Parts
Your possession permit covers transportation anywhere in the United States for the life of the permit. For commercial flights, TSA advises placing eagle feathers and other sacred items in a separate bin at screening and telling the officer if the items cannot be screened by technology; officers may inspect them by hand.10Transportation Security Administration. Tribal and Indigenous
Crossing an international border is different. Your domestic permit does not cover it. You need a separate international transport authorization under 50 CFR 22.60, and the application must also carry all the information needed for a CITES permit, because bald and golden eagles are protected under that treaty. The international permit is valid for up to three years and covers multiple trips, but no single trip can exceed 180 days. It only authorizes dead eagles and their parts; live eagles and live eggs cannot be transported internationally under this permit.12eCFR. 50 CFR 22.60 – Eagle Indian Religious Permits
Penalties for Stepping Outside the Permit
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act at 16 U.S.C. 668 makes it a federal crime to possess, sell, purchase, barter, transport, import, or export any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg, without authorization.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 668 – Bald and Golden Eagles The law reaches everyone, including tribal members whose actions fall outside their permit’s terms.
A first criminal offense is a federal misdemeanor carrying up to one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000 for individuals or $200,000 for organizations.13U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act A second or subsequent conviction is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a $10,000 statutory fine, though general federal fine provisions can push that higher. Each eagle or part involved counts as a separate violation, so charges can stack fast.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 668 – Bald and Golden Eagles
Civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation are available separately from criminal prosecution and do not require proof of criminal intent, only that the prohibited act occurred.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 668 – Bald and Golden Eagles Even picking up a feather you find on the ground can constitute unauthorized possession if you are not a permitted tribal member.
If You Find a Dead or Injured Eagle
Report the bird promptly to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer; the Service keeps regional contacts for this purpose.15U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Handling and Distribution of Bald and Golden Eagles and Parts Your state wildlife agency can also take the call and coordinate with federal officers.
Do not move or transport the bird yourself. Unauthorized possession applies even when your intent is to help. Note the exact location and the bird’s apparent condition to pass along to the responding officer. Once authorized personnel collect the carcass, the Fish and Wildlife Service pays for shipping to the repository in Colorado, and every recovered bird that meets the repository’s standards eventually reaches someone on the waiting list.15U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Handling and Distribution of Bald and Golden Eagles and Parts