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Plant means a living plant or a living part of a plant at any stage of growth. This includes trees and shrubs.

Plant product means products of plant origin that are unprocessed or have had a simple preparation. This includes wood and bark.

Read separate guidance if youre:

• importing plants and plant products from non-EU countries to Northern Ireland
• importing plants and plant products from the EU, Liechtenstein or Switzerland to Great Britain
• bringing plants and plant products to Great Britain for personal use

If youre importing fruit and vegetables from non-EU countries to Great Britain, you also need to follow quality and labelling rules and your goods may need to go through marketing standards controls.

Plant health checks are carried out by:

• APHA (the Animal and Plant Health Agency) in England and Wales
• SASA (Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture)?in Scotland?

Risk categories for imports?

Plants and plant products imported from non-EU countries to Great Britain are categorised into high, medium and low risk categories, unless they are unregulated.

Plant health controls apply to imports of high, medium and low risk plants and plant products from non-EU countries.

Unregulated plants and plant products are exempt from plant health controls. ?

High risk goods include:

• all plants for planting
• ware potatoes
• some seeds for sowing and other plant or forest reproductive material
• some wood and wood products
• machinery or vehicles that have been used for agricultural or forestry purposes

Medium risk goods include:

• some common fruits other than fruit preserved by deep freezing
• some cut flowers
• root and tubercle vegetables

The assessment of plant health risk is ongoing, and risk categorisations may change.

Check the full list of risk categories for plants and plant products from non-EU countries.

Plant health controls for high, medium and low risk goods

If you import high and medium risk plants and plant products, you need to:

1. Register to import if youre importing for the first time.

2. Get a phytosanitary certificate from your exporter.?

3. Meet ISPM 15 international standards for any wood packaging material you use.?

4. Notify the relevant authorities about your import.?

5. Comply with documentary, identity and physical checks.?

6. Pay fees for plant health checks.

If you import low risk plants and plant products, you need to:

1. Get a phytosanitary certificate from your exporter.?

2. Meet ISPM 15 international standards for any wood packaging material you use.?

Register to import

You must use one of Defras import IT systems to import high and medium risk plants and plant products from non-EU countries to Great Britain.

If youre importing goods for the first time, register to use IPAFFS (the import of products, animals, food and feed system).

After you complete your registration, youll be officially registered as a professional operator to import plants and plant products.

If you already use the PEACH (procedure for electronic application for certificates) IT system, you can continue to do so until 8 April 2024. From this date, you must submit import pre-notifications using IPAFFS.

Read Forestry Commission guidance if you want to register as a professional operator to import timber, wood products or bark.

Get a phytosanitary certificate

To import high, medium or low risk plants and plant products from non-EU countries, you must get a phytosanitary certificate for each consignment from the plant health authority in the country where your supplier is.

A phytosanitary certificate is a statement from the plant health authority that the consignment:

• has been officially inspected
• complies with legal requirements for entry into Great Britain
• is free from quarantine pests and diseases

Phytosanitary certificates for import purposes must have been issued no more than 13 days before or after the date the consignment left the country of export. There is no requirement for a consignment to arrive in Great Britain within 13 days of it leaving the country of export.

If you need a phytosanitary certificate for your consignment, check that your exporter has provided one before the consignment arrives in Great Britain. Make sure you get a scanned copy from your exporter.

If youre importing high or medium risk plants and plant products, youll need to upload a copy of the phytosanitary certificate on your import IT system when you notify APHA or SASA about your consignment.

Notify the relevant authorities about your import

If youre importing high or medium risk plants and plant products, you must use your import IT system to:

• let APHA or SASA know in advance when your goods will arrive (this is known as pre-notification)
• upload any necessary documents - for example, a scanned copy of your phytosanitary certificate
• read any notifications about what documentary, identity and physical checks your goods will need
• follow the progress of your consignments

You must give notice:

• at least 4 working hours before the goods land in Great Britain for air and roll-on-roll-off freight
• at least 1 working day before the goods arrive in Great Britain for all other freight

If you do not give enough pre-notification notice, your consignment may be delayed.

After youve pre-notified your consignment, youll get a message on your import IT system to say what checks your goods will need.

Get your goods inspected when they enter Great Britain

If youre importing high or medium risk plants or plant products from non-EU countries, your consignment must be presented for inspection when it arrives in Great Britain.

APHA (England and Wales) or SASA (Scotland) will carry out identity and physical checks to make sure your consignment:

• includes all required documents
• contains the plants you have declared
• is free from pests and diseases

The inspection can take place at either a:

• border control post (BCP) - a border inspection facility where goods first arrive
• control point (
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