How to Send Samples for Radiocarbon Dating
We respond to inquiries promptly during business hours (8 AM-5 PM EST, Monday-Friday).
Request a quote before sample submission.
Payment methods – Prices are available in EUR, GBP, JPY, KRW, RMB, TWD and USD.
Submit Data Sheet
Online Form – please include the confirmation email with your samples.
Package samples and ship to a Beta Analytic office
Use small boxes instead of envelopes to protect the samples from being crushed or powdered during shipment.
For groundwater samples, please put the bottles inside a plastic bag and seal the bag with a zip-tie or duct tape. If any of the bottles leak during shipment, the water will not weaken the cardboard shipping container.
Please use a tracked mail service or courier and email the tracking number to lab@radiocarbon.com.
Customs Declaration for DIRECT shipment to Beta’s Miami address
Description of goods for your customs declaration form – “GEOLOGICAL SAMPLES FOR SCIENTIFIC STUDY – NO COMMERCIAL VALUE – WILL BE DESTROYED IN THE ANALYSIS.”
Customs and carriage value – 1 USD
Harmonized Tariff Number (HS code) – 280300
To avoid delays at customs, use the word “coprolite” in shipping documents instead of guano, dung or feces to describe the materials being sent.
COVID-19 Notice: WE ARE OPEN AND OPERATING NORMALLY
Shipping from Europe – Please contact us before sending your samples to a forwarding office.
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Reminders
- Turnaround time: Our quoted turnaround time starts the following day of receipt at the Miami laboratory, excluding weekends.
- Returning Excess Samples: If you want excess samples to be returned, please provide return shipping instructions. More details can be found on the page Sample Retention and Return of Excess Materials.
- Cancellation Fees: There are no cancellation fees for samples that cannot be dated.
- Order Change Fees: Requests to cancel samples that are suitable for a C14 measurement will be charged according to the amount of work done at the time of cancellation. Please note we begin analysis within hours of receipt of the sample, so charges begin to accrue almost immediately. If in doubt about the suitability of your samples, you are welcome to ask us to contact you for discussion before incurring charges.
- Our Professional Archaeology Policy: Materials with commercial value are not accepted, including houses. Beta Analytic only accepts samples submitted by research and academic institutions or professional archaeologists. We do not date manuscripts, objects of art or other valuable or priceless items unless they are submitted and paid for by a recognized governmental agency, major museum, or other official agency that is investigating the materials as part of a multidisciplinary scholarly process. The lab does not analyze antiques, books, manuscripts or materials of a religious nature or items which are commonly sold in the antiquities markets.
- To meet the requirements of the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and not abet trade of looted cultural property, Beta Analytic does not date art works, artifacts or antiquities from private persons, antiquities dealers, auction houses or private collections.
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Page last updated: June 2021
