You may get some to germinate but don't expect much. Parsnips are one of those vegetables that it is best to use the freshest seed possible as the germination drops off fast in storage.

Rodney

yeah even 2 years old is stretching it with parsnips. best parsnip seed is less than one year in storage.

parsnips, onions, and many fruit producing plants and trees are all very short lived, and lose a lot of viability within the first 1-2 years.

maters, peppers, grains, brassicas, squash, etc...i would say these can be stored for 5 years or longer and still be viable.

you are of course still free to give it a shot with low expectations. you will still get a few to pop, so if you have a lot of old seed, some will sprout.

the issue is the germination rate goes so far down they are no longer reliable, especially in small quantities.

Almost certainly no. All the apiaceae have a very short seed viability. It would be a total waste of effort to sow parsnip seeds of this age. I know they were a gift...but just buy some more seeds.