diff --git a/cmd/goal/account.go b/cmd/goal/account.go
index 97f6bac9b2..23aa655771 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/account.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/account.go
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ func init() {
 	accountCmd.AddCommand(addParticipationKeyCmd)
 	accountCmd.AddCommand(listParticipationKeysCmd)
 	accountCmd.AddCommand(importCmd)
+	accountCmd.AddCommand(exportCmd)
 	accountCmd.AddCommand(importRootKeysCmd)
 	accountCmd.AddCommand(accountMultisigCmd)
 
@@ -140,7 +141,9 @@ func init() {
 	// import flags
 	importCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&importDefault, "default", "f", false, "Set this account as the default one")
 	importCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&mnemonic, "mnemonic", "m", "", "Mnemonic to import (will prompt otherwise)")
-
+	// export flags
+	exportCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&accountAddress, "address", "a", "", "Address of account to export")
+	exportCmd.MarkFlagRequired("address")
 	// importRootKeys flags
 	importRootKeysCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&unencryptedWallet, "unencrypted-wallet", "u", false, "Import into the default unencrypted wallet, potentially creating it")
 
@@ -756,6 +759,7 @@ var listParticipationKeysCmd = &cobra.Command{
 var importCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "import",
 	Short: "Import an account key from mnemonic",
+	Long:  "Import an account key from a mnemonic generated by the export command or by algokey (NOT a mnemonic from the goal wallet command). The imported account will be listed alongside your wallet-generated accounts, but will not be tied to your wallet.",
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		dataDir := ensureSingleDataDir()
 		accountList := makeAccountsList(dataDir)
@@ -810,10 +814,43 @@ var importCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	},
 }
 
+var exportCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "export",
+	Short: "Export an account key for use with account import",
+	Long:  "Export an account mnemonic seed, for use with account import. This exports the seed for a single account and should not be confused with the wallet mnemonic.",
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		dataDir := ensureSingleDataDir()
+		client := ensureKmdClient(dataDir)
+
+		wh, pw := ensureWalletHandleMaybePassword(dataDir, walletName, true)
+		passwordString := string(pw)
+
+		response, err := client.ExportKey(wh, passwordString, accountAddress)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			reportErrorf(errorRequestFail, err)
+		}
+
+		seed, err := crypto.SecretKeyToSeed(response.PrivateKey)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			reportErrorf(errorSeedConversion, accountAddress, err)
+		}
+
+		privKeyAsMnemonic, err := passphrase.KeyToMnemonic(seed[:])
+
+		if err != nil {
+			reportErrorf(errorMnemonicConversion, accountAddress, err)
+		}
+
+		reportInfof(infoExportedKey, accountAddress, privKeyAsMnemonic)
+	},
+}
+
 var importRootKeysCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "importrootkey",
 	Short: "Import .rootkey files from the data directory into a kmd wallet",
-	Long:  "Import .rootkey files from the data directory into a kmd wallet",
+	Long:  "Import .rootkey files from the data directory into a kmd wallet. This is analogous to using the import command with an account seed mnemonic: the imported account will be displayed alongside your wallet-derived accounts, but will not be tied to your wallet mnemonic.",
 	Args:  validateNoPosArgsFn,
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
 		dataDir := ensureSingleDataDir()
diff --git a/cmd/goal/messages.go b/cmd/goal/messages.go
index 309084551c..1a3140cb3c 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/messages.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/messages.go
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ const (
 	infoNoAccounts                 = "Did not find any account. Please import or create a new one."
 	infoRenamedAccount             = "Renamed account '%s' to '%s'"
 	infoImportedKey                = "Imported %s"
+	infoExportedKey                = "Exported key for account %s: \"%s\""
 	infoImportedNKeys              = "Imported %d key%s"
 	infoCreatedNewAccount          = "Created new account with address %s"
 	errorNameAlreadyTaken          = "The account name '%s' is already taken, please choose another."
@@ -40,6 +41,8 @@ const (
 	warnMultisigDuplicatesDetected = "Warning: one or more duplicate addresses detected in multisig account creation. This will effectively give the duplicated address(es) extra signature weight. Continuing multisig account creation."
 	errLastRoundInvalid            = "roundLastValid needs to be well after the current round (%d)"
 	errExistingPartKey             = "Account already has a participation key valid at least until roundLastValid (%d) - current is %d"
+	errorSeedConversion            = "Got private key for account %s, but was unable to convert to seed: %s"
+	errorMnemonicConversion        = "Got seed for account %s, but was unable to convert to mnemonic: %s"
 
 	// KMD
 	infoKMDStopped        = "Stopped kmd"
diff --git a/cmd/goal/wallet.go b/cmd/goal/wallet.go
index 479d638d4d..ad70eff50e 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/wallet.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/wallet.go
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ func init() {
 	walletCmd.Flags().StringVarP(&defaultWalletName, "default", "f", "", "Set the wallet with this name to be the default wallet")
 
 	// Should we recover the wallet?
-	newWalletCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&recoverWallet, "recover", "r", false, "Recover the wallet from a backup mnemonic. Regenerate accounts in the wallet with `goal account new`")
+	newWalletCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&recoverWallet, "recover", "r", false, "Recover the wallet from the backup mnemonic provided at wallet creation (NOT the mnemonic provided by goal account export or by algokey). Regenerate accounts in the wallet with `goal account new`")
 }
 
 var walletCmd = &cobra.Command{