Five-year Review Guidance: Procedures for Conducting Five-year Reviews Under the Endangered Species Act

A five-year review is a periodic analysis of a species’ status conducted to ensure that the listing classification of a species as threatened or endangered on the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants is accurate. The five-year review is required by section 4(c)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA). This guidance has been developed jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to promote a consistent nationwide approach to five-year reviews and to clarify the scope and role of these reviews in relationship to other requirements under the ESA.