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18 U.S.C. § 175c — Variola virus
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Unlawful Conduct.—**
(1) **In general.—** — Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly produce, engineer, synthesize, acquire, transfer directly or indirectly, receive, possess, import, export, or use, or possess and threaten to use, variola virus.
(2) **Exception.—** — This subsection does not apply to conduct by, or under the authority of, the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
**(b) Jurisdiction.—** Conduct prohibited by subsection (a) is within the jurisdiction of the United States if—
(1) the offense occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce;
(2) the offense occurs outside of the United States and is committed by a national of the United States;
(3) the offense is committed against a national of the United States while the national is outside the United States;
(4) the offense is committed against any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or by any department or agency of the United States, whether the property is within or outside the United States; or
(5) an offender aids or abets any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection in committing an offense under this section or conspires with any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection to commit an offense under this section.
**(c) Criminal Penalties.—**
(1) **In general.—** — Any person who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than 25 years or to imprisonment for life.
(2) **Other circumstances.—** — Any person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (a), uses, attempts or conspires to use, or possesses and threatens to use, any item or items described in su
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Source location: Title 18, Chapter 10, § 175c; chapter-010-biological-weapons.md
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**(a) Unlawful Conduct.—**
(1) **In general.—** — Except as provided in paragraph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly produce, engineer, synthesize, acquire, transfer directly or indirectly, receive, possess, import, export, or use, or possess and threaten to use, variola virus.
(2) **Exception.—** — This subsection does not apply to conduct by, or under the authority of, the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
**(b) Jurisdiction.—** Conduct prohibited by subsection (a) is within the jurisdiction of the United States if—
(1) the offense occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce;
(2) the offense occurs outside of the United States and is committed by a national of the United States;
(3) the offense is committed against a national of the United States while the national is outside the United States;
(4) the offense is committed against any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or by any department or agency of the United States, whether the property is within or outside the United States; or
(5) an offender aids or abets any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection in committing an offense under this section or conspires with any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection to commit an offense under this section.
**(c) Criminal Penalties.—**
(1) **In general.—** — Any person who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than 25 years or to imprisonment for life.
(2) **Other circumstances.—** — Any person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (a), uses, attempts or conspires to use, or possesses and threatens to use, any item or items described in subsection (a), shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and imprisoned for not less than 30 years or imprisoned for life.
(3) **Special circumstances.—** — If the death of another results from a person’s violation of subsection (a), the person shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and punished by imprisonment for life.
**(d) Definition.—** As used in this section, the term “variola virus” means a virus that can cause human smallpox or any derivative of the variola major virus that contains more than 85 percent of the gene sequence of the variola major virus or the variola minor virus.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
### Statutory Notes
Section, acts June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 684; Oct. 30, 1984, Pub. L. 98–596, § 8, 98 Stat. 3138, classified offenses as a felony, misdemeanor, or petty offense.
#### Effective Date of Repeal
Repeal of section effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of such repeal, see section 235(a)(1) of Pub. L. 98–473, set out as an Effective Date note under [section 3551 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section3551&num=0&edition=prelim).
#### Short Title of 2026 Amendment
Pub. L. 119–73, § 1, Jan. 23, 2026, 139 Stat. 2003, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections 28 and 3771A of this title, amending [section 7102 of Title 22](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title22-section7102&num=0&edition=prelim), Foreign Relations and Intercourse, and enacting provisions set out as notes under [section 28 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section28&num=0&edition=prelim) and [section 10110 of Title 34](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title34-section10110&num=0&edition=prelim), Crime Control and Law Enforcement] may be cited as the ‘Trafficking Survivors Relief Act’.”
#### Short Title of 2024 Amendment
Pub. L. 118–78, § 1, July 30, 2024, 138 Stat. 1512, provided that: “This Act [enacting [section 1352 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section1352&num=0&edition=prelim) and amending [section 201 of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section201&num=0&edition=prelim)] may be cited as the ‘Foreign Extortion Prevention Technical Corrections Act’.”
Pub. L. 118–77, § 1, July
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Presidential control of exports and imports of defense articles and services, guidance of policy, etc.; designation of United States Munitions List; issuance of export licenses; negotiations information**
(1) In furtherance of world peace and the security and foreign policy of the United States, the President is authorized to control the import and the export of defense articles and defense services and to provide foreign policy guidance to persons of the United States involved in the export and import of such articles and services. The President is authorized to designate those items which shall be considered as defense articles and defense services for the purposes of this section and to promulgate regulations for the import and export of such articles and services. The items so designated shall constitute the United States Munitions List.
(2) Decisions on issuing export licenses under this section shall take into account whether the export of an article would contribute to an arms race, aid in the development of weapons of mass destruction, support international terrorism, increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, or prejudice the development of bilateral or multilateral arms control or nonproliferation agreements or other arrangements.
(3) In exercising the authorities conferred by this section, the President may require that any defense article or defense service be sold under this chapter as a condition of its eligibility for export, and may require that persons engaged in the negotiation for the export of defense articles and services keep the President fully and currently informed of the progress and future prospects of such negotiations.
**(b) Registration and licensing requirements for manufacturers, exporters, or importers of d
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 49
TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
§ 175c
Pub. L. 107–188, § 231(b)(1)(B), substituted ‘‘Select
agents; certain other agents’’ for ‘‘Possession by re-
stricted persons’’ in section catchline.
Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 107–188, § 231(a)(1), (c)(2)(A), des-
ignated existing provisions of subsec. (a) as par. (1) and
substituted ‘‘shall ship or transport in or affecting
interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affect-
ing interstate or foreign commerce, any biological
agent or toxin, or receive any biological agent or toxin
that has been shipped or transported in interstate or
foreign commerce, if the biological agent or toxin is
listed as a select agent in Appendix A of part 72 of title
42, Code of Federal Regulations, pursuant to section
351A of the Public Health Service Act, and is not ex-
empted under subsection (h) of section 72.6, or Appendix
A of part 72, of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations’’
for ‘‘described in subsection (b) shall ship or transport
interstate or foreign commerce, or possess in or affect-
ing commerce, any biological agent or toxin, or receive
any biological agent or toxin that has been shipped or
transported in interstate or foreign commerce, if the
biological agent or toxin is listed as a select agent in
subsection (j) of section 72.6 of title 42, Code of Federal
Regulations, pursuant to section 511(d)(l) of the
Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
(Public Law 104–132), and is not exempted under sub-
section (h) of such section 72.6, or appendix A of part 72
of the Code of Regulations’’.
Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 107–188, § 231(a)(2), (3), redesig-
nated and transferred subsec. (c) as par. (2) of subsec.
(a).
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 107–188, § 231(a)(5), added subsec.
(b). Former subsec.
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