Guidance

Move seed potatoes 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 seed potatoes from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

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

Businesses can only move seed potatoes from Great Britain to Northern Ireland using the NIPHL scheme.

To use the NIPHL scheme, your business must: 

  • get authorised to use the NIPHL scheme
  • only move pre-basic or basic grade seed potatoes under the NIPHL scheme (other grades of seed potato cannot be moved due to Northern Ireland having a longstanding status as a protected region to produce high-quality seed potatoes, which restricts marketing to grades in the pre-basic and basic categories)
  • make sure that the seed potatoes moved under the NIPHL scheme are for Northern Ireland - they cannot be moved on to Ireland or other EU member states, although the resulting crop of seed potatoes or ware, can be moved and marketed in the EU
  • only move seed potatoes under the scheme to a business in Northern Ireland that is registered as a professional operator and signed the NIPHL scheme declaration
  • follow seed marketing requirements - growers and traders may also need to apply for Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SPCS) certification

If the business moves ware potatoes from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, Official Controls Regulations (OCR) apply and you need to get a phytosanitary certificate.

Get authorised to use NIPHLs

Businesses in England and Wales

To get authorised to use 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 Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) may conduct a:

  • growing season inspection
  • soil survey and sampling
  • tuber inspection

4. When your business is approved, 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 once a year. APHA will contact you when your NIPHL authorisation is due for renewal.

Businesses also need to apply to become authorised to issue UK plant passports for internal GB movements of seed potatoes.

Businesses in Scotland

Find out how to get authorised to use NIPHLs from SASA in Scotland on the Scottish Government website.

Requirements for the business in Northern Ireland

The business receiving seed potatoes in Northern Ireland must:

Notify the competent authority and order NIPHLs

Businesses in England and Wales

Before moving seed potatoes to Northern Ireland, you must notify APHA by providing the:

  • Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SPCS) certificate number of the stock
  • quantity to be moved
  • container size
  • number of NIPHLs needed

All seed potatoes are graded under SPCS and must meet Northern Ireland protected region requirements. The seed potatoes must also meet Northern Ireland’s plant health requirements. APHA will check SPCS records to confirm the stock is eligible for the NIPHL scheme.

All businesses must apply for NIPHLs by using the appropriate SPCS3 application form on the eDomero system. APHA will then issue the NIPHLs to your business with the information you put on the application. Allow up to 5 working days for your order to be processed.

If your business is a SPCS designated label producer (DLP), APHA will issue blank NIPHLs for you to complete and print. Your business is a registered DLP if you selected that option when you applied for SPCS certification. Find a sample NIPHL on the UK Plant Health Information Portal.

Businesses in Scotland

Seed potatoes that are grown in Scotland can use the NIPHL scheme.

Before moving seed potatoes to Northern Ireland, all businesses in Scotland must apply to SASA for seed potato labels and put Northern Ireland as the destination. The NIPHLs will be issued automatically by SASA when you make the order. This applies whether the labels are from the local area office or printed by the grower or trader.

Attach NIPHLs

APHA or SASA officially issue NIPHLs for seed potatoes that are assessed as meeting Northern Ireland’s requirements. The NIPHL and SPCS labels must be attached to the smallest tradeable unit within the tamper proof seal, for example an individual bulk bag.

Notify the Northern Ireland recipient about the consignment

You should check with the recipient of the seed potatoes 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 NIPHL seed potatoes in Northern Ireland must notify DAERA of details of the consignment by submitting a Common Health Entry Document (CHED-PP) on the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES NT). One CHED-PP must be submitted for each consignment. The Northern Ireland recipient named on the CHED-PP must be a commercial grower.

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 arrival at a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) facility in Northern Ireland.

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

  • a packing list, providing details of the product type, net weight, package count, type of package, country of origin, and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) code ‘SOLTU’
  • the NIPHL details, including the full botanical name (Solanum tuberosum), NIPHL authorisation number and traceability code

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

This delivery information is needed to complete the CHED-PP:

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

Keeping records for audit

Growers and traders must keep records of all seed potatoes they move under the NIPHL scheme. The records must provide suitable traceability and be kept for at least 3 years.  

Audits for businesses in England and Wales

An APHA inspector will visit once a year to conduct an annual records audit (ARA). The ARA is usually conducted between November and March.

The inspector will check:

  • staff’s knowledge of relevant pests and diseases
  • the plant health awareness of relevant staff
  • the plans 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

Audits for businesses in Scotland

SASA checks records on the MySPUDS system and will contact the business if an inspector needs to visit.

Get help

For more information about the NIPHL scheme in:

Updates to this page

Published 20 February 2025

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