The title mol-ecule, C(20)H(31)NO(8), has pseudo-C2 symmetry about the C-N bond, with the bis-(tert-butoxy-carbon-yl)amino group twisted from the benzene ring plane by ca 60° and the bulky tert-butoxy-carbonyl (Boc) groups are orientated away from the substituted aniline group. As part of an anti-bacterial drug discovery programme furnishing analogues of platensimycin, we unexpectedly synthesized the bis-Boc-protected aniline.