In the US, a bacterial CRISPR kit is legal to buy and use. Kits for editing yourself are a different matter, and other countries draw the line in other places.
Bacterial CRISPR kits, which edit one gene in a harmless lab strain of E. coli, are sold openly to schools and hobbyists. Our CRISPR kit guide covers what they do.
Human use is where the law steps in. In November 2017 the FDA said that gene therapy products and do-it-yourself kits meant for self-administration were being offered to the public, and that "The sale of these products is against the law."
California's SB 180, signed on July 30, 2019, added sections 22949.50 and 22949.51 to the Business and Professions Code. Anyone selling a gene therapy kit in the state must state that the kit is not for self-administration, both on the website before the point of sale and on a label on the package. The law defines a gene therapy kit to include CRISPR-Cas9 systems.
In Great Britain, work with genetically modified organisms falls under the Genetically Modified Organisms (Contained Use) Regulations 2014. They require a risk assessment before work starts, and the premises must be notified to the Health and Safety Executive before they are first used. We found nothing in them that exempts work done at home, so check with the HSE before starting.
Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act makes it a crime to alter the genome of a human cell or embryo so that the change can be passed on to descendants, under section 5(1)(f). We found no Canadian rule written for bacterial kits used at home; Health Canada is the place to ask.
Australia regulates any work with genetically modified organisms under the Gene Technology Act, and the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator's fact sheet on biohacking warns that significant fines, and even jail time, can follow from not complying.
The same fact sheet says a kit like those used in Australian schools, which adds a fluorescent color to a harmless lab strain of bacterium, is likely to be an exempt dealing, provided you follow good laboratory practice and do not release the organism into the environment.
This page summarizes what each authority has published, with links to the source. Rules change, and how they apply depends on the work, so check with the regulator where you live before you start.
