Import plants and plant products from the EU to Great Britain
How to import plants, fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, trees, seeds and used agricultural machinery to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) from the EU, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
‘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 a product of plant origin that is unprocessed or has had a simple preparation. This includes wood and bark.
These rules also apply to goods imported by post or courier for commercial purposes (to be sold onwards). Contact your post or courier service for more information, and to see if they offer an import service.
Read different guidance to import plants and plant products:
Read different guidance to import timber, wood products and bark.
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
Before you start
- Check if your goods are prohibited.
- Find out if you are using any wood packaging material, as it will need to meet the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) 15.
- Check if your plant or plant product is an endangered species that is listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) list. Then you’ll need to apply for a CITES permit to import.
Prohibited goods
Some goods are prohibited from entering Great Britain if they cannot meet the import requirements for scientifically justified reasons.
It may be possible to import prohibited goods into Great Britain with a scientific authorisation, if they meet the qualifying criteria. Read more about moving specified plants, plant pests, pathogens and soil.
Find the risk category for your goods
Plants and plant products imported from the EU to Great Britain are categorised as:
- high risk
- medium risk A
- medium risk B
- low risk
High risk, medium risk A, and medium risk B plants and plant products must move under plant health controls.
Low risk plants and plant products do not need to go through any plant health controls.
You must check the risk category for your goods.
The assessment of plant health risk is ongoing and risk categorisations may change.
Temporary measure for medium risk A and B fruit and vegetables
Medium risk A and B fruit and vegetables imported from the EU are temporarily being treated as low risk and do not need to go through plant health controls. This means:
- they do not need a phytosanitary certificate
- you do not need to inform authorities that you’re importing these goods
- they will not be subject to documentary, identity and physical checks
Plant health controls: high risk and medium risk A goods
You must follow these steps to import high risk or medium risk A plants and plant products:
- Register to import (if you’re importing for the first time).
- Get a phytosanitary certificate from your EU exporter. You may be able to use ePhyto to get an electronic equivalent.
- Notify the relevant authorities about your import.
- Comply with documentary, identity and physical checks if needed.
- Pay fees for plant health checks.
1. Register to import
You must register to use the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed (IPAFFS) system). After you complete your registration, you’ll be officially registered as a professional operator to import plants and plant products and make import notifications.
2. Get a phytosanitary certificate
Your EU exporter must get a phytosanitary certificate for each consignment where the plant and plant products are:
- high risk
- medium risk A
- medium risk B
This certificate comes from the plant health authority in the country they’re exporting from.
A phytosanitary certificate is a statement from the plant health authority that the consignment:
- has been officially inspected or tested
- complies with the legal requirements for entry into Great Britain, and 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 that 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.
Check that your EU exporter has provided a phytosanitary certificate before the consignment arrives in Great Britain, and get a scanned copy from your exporter. You’ll need to upload this copy to IPAFFS when you complete your import notification.
ePhyto electronic certificates
If you’re importing plants from the EU into Great Britain, you may be able to use ePhyto. An ePhyto certificate is the electronic equivalent of a paper version of a phytosanitary certificate. Using ePhyto allows countries to exchange information securely and may enable the information to be copied from the ePhyto into your import notification. This process is known as cloning.
The ePhyto acts as the original certificate, and it is automatically attached to your import notification on IPAFFS.
You should contact your exporter to see if the country they are exporting from uses ePhyto. Read more about ePhyto.
3. Notify the relevant authorities about your import
If you’re importing high risk or medium risk A plants and plant products, you must use IPAFFS to:
- let APHA (in England and Wales) or SASA (in Scotland) 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 and any travel documentation that helps identify your consignment
- read any notifications (after you’ve submitted an import notification) about the documentary, identity and physical checks your goods will need
- follow the progress of your consignments, using the ‘My Alerts’ section
You must give notice at least:
- 4 working hours before the goods land in Great Britain for air and ‘roll-on-roll-off’ freight
- 1 working day before the goods arrive in Great Britain for all other freight
If you do not give enough notice, your consignment may be delayed.
For help with import notifications, email planthealth.info@apha.gov.uk, or call 0300 1000 313.
ePhyto and IPAFFS
If you’re using ePhyto, you’ll be able to retrieve your ePhyto and create an import notification on IPAFFS by selecting ‘Clone a certificate’ on your IPAFFS dashboard.
To create an import notification on IPAFFS using ePhyto, you’ll need:
- to know the country that issued the ePhyto
- the unique ePhyto certificate number, which is provided by your exporter
Products made of many commodity types
If you are importing a product that contains different commodity types with different import requirements, you need to submit separate import notifications on IPAFFS for each commodity type. Commodity types include plant products, high risk food and feed of non-animal origin (HRFNAO), and animal products.
For example, if your product contains HRFNAO and animal products, you need to:
- submit a CHED.D for the HRFNAO
- submit a CHED.P for the animal product
You should include both CHED reference numbers in the commercial documentation uploaded to each import notification. For example, you need to:
- add the CHED.P reference number to the commercial documentation on the CHED.D notification.
- add the CHED.D reference number to the commercial documentation on the CHED.P
For all types of CHED, the reference number should be entered in the field labelled ‘data element (DE) 2/3’ on the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). You should write the CHED reference number in the following format on your customs declaration - GBCHDyyyy.nnnnnnn. For example, the product containing HRFNAO and animal products would be declared using:
- document code C678 for the CHED-D, followed by the CHED reference number
- document code N853 for the CHED-P, followed by the CHED reference number
If any CHED reference numbers are missing, your products may be held until this is resolved. Find more guidance on how to enter data into CDS
4. Find out if your consignment needs plant health checks
All high risk and medium risk A plants and plant products must enter through an airport or a port with a border control post (BCP) that can handle plants or plant products, unless they are entering through a point of entry on the west coast of Great Britain.
If you’re importing the goods through an airport, the authorities will carry out any necessary checks before they release the consignment for collection by your transporter.
If you’re importing the goods through a port, the way to find out if your consignment needs plant health checks will depend on whether your transporter is using the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) to clear customs.
If your transporter is using GVMS, they should use the check if you need to report for an inspection service to find out what they need to do.
If your transporter is not using GVMS, IPAFFS will provide an initial risk assessment telling you if your consignment needs plant health checks when you submit your import notification. If your consignment does need checks, you’ll also receive a text and email message 2 hours before your transporter’s estimated time of arrival in Great Britain. The message will confirm what you need to do.
If IPAFFS tells you your consignment has not been selected for plant health checks, you should still check for messages until your consignment has cleared the port. This is because the authorities may still call you for checks based on their final risk assessment.
Find out the frequency of checks for your goods.
If your consignment is called for plant health checks
If your consignment is called for plant health checks, APHA (in England and Wales) or SASA (in Scotland) will carry out documentary, 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 checks can take place at either a:
- BCP - a border inspection facility where goods first arrive
- control point (CP) - an inland inspection facility
Check a list of BCPs and CPs for plant imports.
It’s possible to use your premises as a control point. To do this, your premises must be:
- designated as a control point by Defra
- authorised as a temporary storage facility where plant health inspections can be carried out
You can apply for authorisation as either an:
What happens if your consignment fails plant health checks
If all or part of your consignment fails plant health checks, an inspector will advise you on what you need to do with the consignment.
If the inspector decides that the failed goods cause a risk to plant health, they may:
- destroy your goods
- ask you to return them
If you need to return goods to the EU, they’ll be treated as an export. The plant health authority in the country you’re returning the goods to will explain how to do this. Read more on how to export plants and plant products to the EU.
5. Pay fees for plant health checks
Fees for documentary, identity and physical checks depend on the type of plant material you import.
Find out the fees that apply for plant health checks:
If you import a consignment of high or medium risk A plants and plant products through the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel, you’ll need to pay the common user charge.
Plant health controls: medium risk B goods
For medium risk B plant and products you only need to follow step 2. Get a phytosanitary certificate from your EU exporter.
Send documents after your consignment arrives
For high risk, medium risk A or medium risk B plants or plant products, you must post the original phytosanitary certificate if it is a paper copy to APHA (in England and Wales) or SASA (in Scotland). This must be within 3 days of the consignment reaching Great Britain.
If you have submitted an import notification on IPAFFS using ePhyto, you do not need to post a paper phytosanitary certificate.
For consignments landing at Heathrow or Gatwick, send the certificate to:
Animal and Plant Health Agency
1st Floor
Building 4
Heathrow Boulevard
284 Bath Road
West Drayton
Middlesex
UB7 0DQ
For consignments arriving anywhere else in England and Wales, send the certificate to:
Animal and Plant Health Agency
Foss House
1st Floor
Kings Pool
1 to 2 Peasholme Green
York
YO1 7PX
For consignments arriving in Scotland, send the certificate to:
SASA
Roddinglaw Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9FJ
For wood, wood products and bark, you’ll need to provide the Forestry Commission with original phytosanitary certificates. This must be within 3 days (or as soon as possible) of the consignment arriving in Great Britain. Your local forestry inspector will agree with you which address you need to send the phytosanitary certificate to.
View contact details for inspectors at the main points of entry into Great Britain.
Read more on how to import timber, wood products or bark.
Check if you need a UK plant passport for onward movement
You will need a UK plant passport for onward movement of certain goods from the first place of destination if:
- they’re moved to another professional operator
- they’re sold to final users (those buying for personal use) under a distance contract - for example, online
- they’re moved to another one of your premises that’s more than 10 miles from the premises where the consignment arrived
- the phytosanitary status of the consignment changes - for example, if it’s reconfigured, such as 2 plants previously in separate pots are planted together in a new pot
Check the list of plant and wood that need a UK plant passport.
If you move these plants or some regulated wood, you need to be registered and authorised to issue plant passports..
The EU plant passport is no longer recognised as an official label in Great Britain.
Customs declaration
IPAFFS will provide you with the reference number you need to begin your customs declaration. After you complete and submit your import notification, you will be able to copy the customs declaration reference from IPAFFS and begin your customs declaration.
Contact HMRC if you need help with your customs declaration.
Importing from non-EU countries, through the EU, to Great Britain
If you import goods from a non-EU country to Great Britain through the EU, your goods may be treated as an EU import. While in the EU, they must have:
- entered into free circulation
- passed EU plant health checks
- been issued with a phytosanitary certificate from an EU member state, if applicable
They will be treated as a non-EU country import if they did not enter into free circulation and pass plant health checks in the EU. Read about how to import plants and plant products from non-EU countries.
Get help
For more information on plant imports:
- in England and Wales, email APHA at planthealth.info@apha.gov.uk, or phone 0300 1000 313
- in Scotland, visit the Scottish government’s plant health guidance
Complaints and appeals
You can complain or appeal if you’re not satisfied with the service you receive from APHA.
Updates to this page
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Information has been added on importing products made of more than one commodity type.
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Added information about using ePhyto to create an import notification on IPAFFS. You do not need to post your paper phytosanitary certificate to APHA or SASA if you use ePhyto.
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Updated information about risk categories. Plants and plant products are now categorised as high risk, medium risk A, medium risk B and low risk. Also added a link to guidance about the common user charge for imports through the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel.
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Updated throughout to reflect changes to import controls under the Border Target Operating Model, including for medium risk goods. This includes removing information about using a place of destination for plant health checks, as these must take place at a border control post or control point. Also removed information about the PEACH import system, as this has now been replaced by IPAFFS.
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Clarified wording in 'Get a phytosanitary certificate', 'Attach a UK plant passport' and 'Importing prohibited goods' sections.
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Updated guidance on medium risk goods to reflect current rules under the Border Target Operating Model.
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A prompt has been added to prepare for new import controls which begin on 31 January 2024.
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First published.