Endangered Species Act
You can view the entire contents of each section of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended through the 108th Congress, by clicking on a section title below that corresponds with your interest. If you prefer you can also download the entire Act or individual sections in PDF format from our document library.
In addition to the Act text itself, many section pages below include audio or slideshow summaries that provide a more general overview of that section.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sec. 2 Findings, purposes, and policy
Sec. 3 Definitions
Sec. 4 Determination of endangered species and threatened species
Sec. 5 Land acquisition
Sec. 6 Cooperation with the States
Sec. 7 Interagency cooperation
Sec. 8 International cooperation
Sec. 8a Convention implementation
Sec. 9 Prohibited Acts
Sec. 10 Exceptions
Sec. 11 Penalties and enforcement
Sec. 12 Endangered Plants
Sec. 13 Conforming Amendments
Sec. 14 Repealer
Sec. 15 Authorization of appropriations
Sec. 16 Effective date
Sec. 17 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972
Sec. 18 Annual cost analysis by the Fish and Wildlife Service
Species
What We Do
For Landowners
- Habitat Conservation Plans (HCPs)
- Safe Harbor Agreements
- Candidate Conservation Agreements
- Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances
- Recovery Credits and Tax Deductions
- Conservation Banking
- Conservation Plans Database
- Information, Planning and Conservation System (IPaC)
- Recovery Online Activity Reporting System (ROAR)
Permits
Grants
News
- News Stories
- Featured Species
- Recovery Success Stories
- Endangered Species Bulletin
- Partnership Stories