Guidance

Move plants and seeds from Great Britain to Northern Ireland using NI plant health labels

How growers and traders can use Northern Ireland plant health labels (NIPHLs) to move plants and seeds for planting from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

From:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Published
20 February 2025

Businesses can use the NIPHL scheme to move plants and seeds for planting that are grown by professional growers from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

To use the NIPHL scheme, your business must:

  • get authorised to issue and print NIPHLs
  • check for pests and diseases and make sure that plants or seeds meet plant health requirements
  • make sure that plants or seeds remain in Northern Ireland – for exports to Ireland or other EU countries you must apply for a phytosanitary certificate
  • only move goods under the scheme to a business in Northern Ireland that is registered as a professional operator and signed the NIPHL scheme declaration

Some plants cannot be moved from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. You must check the list of regulated plants.

Businesses must also meet seed marketing requirements to move seeds to Northern Ireland. For more information, contact your local Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) inspector or, if you are based in Scotland email seedtesting@sasa.gov.scot.

The NIPHL scheme does not cover plant produce, such as fruit and vegetables or cut flowers. If your business is moving these goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland you can use the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme.

Get authorised to use NIPHLs

Businesses in England and Wales

To get authorised to issue and print NIPHLs, you need to follow these steps.

1. Register as a professional operator. Your business may already be registered if it is involved in:

  • planting
  • breeding
  • production, including growing, multiplying and maintaining
  • introduction into, and movement within and out of Great Britain
  • making available on the market
  • storage, collection, dispatching and processing

2. After you have registered as a professional operator you must apply for authorisation to use Northern Ireland plant health labels.

3. The local APHA inspector will contact your business to determine if a growing season inspection (GSI) is needed before APHA can confirm authorisation. The inspector will look at what plants or seeds your business wants to move and decide if an inspection is required.

4. When your business is authorised, APHA will email you a unique NIPHL authorisation number (this is the same as the Customer Reference Number (CRN)) and the label QR code.

5. Businesses must renew authorisation for NIPHLs once a year. APHA will contact you when NIPHL authorisation is due for renewal.

Businesses also need to apply to become authorised to issue UK plant passports for movements of plants and some seeds inside Great Britain.

Businesses in Scotland

Find out how get authorised to issue and print NIPHLs in Scotland on the Scottish Government website.

Requirements for the business in Northern Ireland

The business that is receiving the plants or seeds in Northern Ireland must:

Examine the plants or seeds

Businesses must examine the plants or seeds they plan to move to make sure they are free from pests and diseases and meet the phytosanitary requirements of Northern Ireland.

Plants for planting can move with soil or growing media attached if they meet the phytosanitary requirements for Northern Ireland.

What you must include on the NIPHL

The NIPHL must be its own label and separate from the information included on other labels. Do not add a company logo.

The NIPHL must include the Union Flag (this can be in black and white) and the words ‘NI plant health label’ at the top of the label.

The label should then list the following 4 letters (A, B, C and D) and the following information next to them:

  • A: botanical name
  • B: unique NIPHL authorisation number
  • C: unique traceability code
  • D: QR code

You should add the phrase ‘For use in the United Kingdom only’ to the label after Part D.

Find a sample NIPHL on the UK Plant Health Information Portal.

A: Botanical names

You must include the botanical names of the plants or plant material. This should be a full genus and species name.

You can only add a genus name on its own if the species name is not known.

Variety or cultivar names are optional.

B: NIPHL authorisation number

You must include the unique NIPHL authorisation number. This number is in the email you received from APHA or SASA confirming scheme authorisation.

C: Traceability code

You must include a unique traceability code that links to your records. This code can be an existing code used to trace or identify a consignment. For example, it could be an individual serial, week, batch or invoice number.

D: QR code

You must include the QR code received in the email from APHA or SASA confirming scheme authorisation.

If you cannot use the QR code

The QR code must be used unless there’s a good reason not to. If using the QR code for a NIPHL is impractical, add the sentence ‘Complies with Article 10 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1231’ to the label. This should only be done in exceptional circumstances.

You must print the label in the NIPHL standard format.

You must attach the NIPHL following the same guidelines as for the UK plant passport.

The label must be attached to the smallest tradeable unit that you transport your plants or plant material in (for example pots, trays or pallets). If the NIPHL is on a care label or pictorial packet, it must have its own border and not have other information or logos.

Notify the Northern Ireland recipient about the consignment

You should check with the recipient of the plants or seeds in Northern Ireland that they are registered as a professional operator with DAERA and have signed the NIPHL declaration.

The business (or their agent) receiving the plants or seeds in Northern Ireland must notify DAERA by submitting a Common Health Entry Document (CHED-PP) on the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES NT). The business in Northern Ireland must submit one CHED-PP for each consignment. You can read the guidance on how to submit a CHED-PP on DAERA’s website.

The CHED-PP must be submitted 24 hours before the goods arrive in Northern Ireland or at least 4 hours before when there are logistical constraints. DAERA will use this information to conduct the relevant documentary, ID and physical processes on the goods arrival at an Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) facility in Northern Ireland.

Your business should provide the recipient in Northern Ireland with the following information to help them complete the CHED-PP:

  • a packing list - providing details of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) code, full botanical name, product type, net weight, package count, type of package and country of origin (you can find out more about the EPPO code on EPPO’s website)
  • the NIPHL details - giving the full botanical name, NIPHL authorisation number and traceability code

You will need to complete a NIPHL pro forma and give the consignment reference, the Great Britain authorised operator information and Northern Ireland professional operator information.

Your business must also make sure the recipient in Northern Ireland has details of the movement, including the:

  • point of entry
  • date and time of arrival
  • transporting vehicle registration number or container ID

Keeping records for audit

Businesses must keep records of all plants and seeds they move under the NIPHL scheme. These records must provide suitable traceability and be kept for at least 3 years.

An inspector will visit once a year to conduct an annual records audit (ARA) in line with the UK plant passport regime. The ARA is usually between November and March.

The inspector will check:

  • the format of the NIPHLs
  • staff’s knowledge of relevant pests and diseases
  • the plant health awareness of relevant staff
  • the arrangements for when the responsibilities of the person named on the authorisation are done by other staff
  • that there’s a suitable record keeping system
  • any changes in information, such as site changes and contact details

Get help

You can learn more about moving plants or seeds for planting using Defra’s e-learning tool about NIPHL on the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) website

For more information about the NIPHL scheme, contact:

Updates to this page

Published 20 February 2025

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