Guidance

Moving specified plants, plant pests, pathogens and soil

How to apply for authorisation to import, move or keep specified material and the fees you must pay.

From:
Animal and Plant Health Agency and Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
Published
29 July 2015
Last updated
1 November 2022 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

You must be authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to import, move or keep specified material. This used to be known as scientific licensing.

Specified material you need authorisation to import, move or keep includes:

  • invertebrate plant pests (arthropods and nematodes)
  • plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, virus-like agents and phytoplasmas)
  • plants, including parts of plants and seeds
  • soil and other organic material
  • potatoes

If your application is approved by APHA you will receive an authorisation document by email. This will include the specific conditions under which you must import, move or keep the specified material.

You must follow these along with the conditions set out in this guidance.

If you are in Scotland contact SASA or email plant_health_licensing@sasa.gov.scot for further information.

If you are in Northern Ireland, contact the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Who can get authorisation

You can only get authorisation if you are using the specified material for:

  • official testing
  • scientific research
  • educational purposes
  • trials
  • testing new varieties of plants (varietal selection)
  • breeding

Authorisation for invertebrate plant pests and plant pathogens

You must have authorisation to import, move or keep invertebrate plant pests or plant pathogens if they are:

You do not need authorisation for plant pests or pathogens if they are:

For unlisted pests, you must contact APHA to find out if you need authorisation. You can also get advice on listed pests.

Authorisation for plants, parts of plants and seeds

You can find out the import requirements for your plant, parts of plants and seeds on the plant health information service.

You must have authorisation to import, move or keep plants, parts of plants or seeds that are prohibited. Imports may also require a phytosanitary certificate.

Using authorisation instead of a phytosanitary certificate

If you cannot get a phytosanitary certificate for scientifically justified reasons, you may be able to use an authorisation instead of a phytosanitary certificate.

You must contact APHA to do this.

Authorisation for soil and other organic material

You must have authorisation to import, move, or keep soil from all countries apart from EU member states, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. This also applies to any organic material which is capable of sustaining plant life and which contains solid organic matter, for example:

  • humus
  • peat, other than pure and unused peat
  • moss, bark and artificial growing media which contains organic matter

You do not need authorisation for:

  • marine sediments
  • pure and unused peat
  • pure and unused fibre of Cocos nucifera L.
  • pure sand, clay, talc, rocks, volcanic pumice and chalk
  • water that is not contaminated by soil or organic matter

Apply for authorisation

You should apply for authorisation at least 2 months before you need it, using Defra’s eDomero online application system.

If you have not used eDomero before, you need to register as a new user.

Application fees

New authorisations for plants, plant pests and pathogens cost £995.36. This fee covers authorisations for 5 types of material - you must pay a further £52.45 for each extra type of material.

New authorisations for soil or other organic material cost £745.41 if you need them for chemical or physical analysis. They cost £995.36 if you need them for other purposes.

APHA will send you an invoice after you apply for authorisation using the eDomero system.

What to include in your application

Your application must include the following details:

  • place of origin of the material
  • quantity of the material
  • duration of the work on the specified material
  • summary of the nature and objectives of the work
  • packaging conditions under which the material will be moved or imported
  • final use of the specified material on completion of the work, for example, destruction, collection or storage
  • method of destruction or treatment of the material on completion of the work
  • standard operating procedure (SOP) including contact details for your consignor (supplier)
  • a list of personnel who will be working with the specified material

What to include in your standard operating procedure (SOP)

You should upload your SOP as an attached file to your application on eDomero. Your SOP should provide details of your:

  • site security
  • record keeping and labelling
  • the layout of your facilities
  • the procedures you will follow during experiments

Site security

You must confirm:

  • all areas containing specified material are kept locked
  • the names of anyone who has access to the facilities or a set of keys
  • how you label quarantine stations or confinement facilities
  • that all authorised personnel will read and sign a standard operating procedure before starting work with specified material

Record keeping and labelling

You must describe how you will keep dated records on:

  • personnel trained to work with specified material
  • visitors accessing the facility
  • specified material entering and leaving the quarantine station or confinement facility, including its origin and any associated letter of authority reference numbers
  • observations of any pests on specified plants, soil or other organic material for the APHA inspector to review at the inspection

You must label or distinguish specified material at all stages of your experiments.

Your facilities 

You must:

  • describe the type of facilities you will use, for example glasshouses, polytunnels, laboratories
  • describe the location of facilities on your premises – give room numbers or a geographic location relative to a named or numbered area and a floor plan of your facility if possible
  • give details of how often authorised staff enter the facilities
  • describe how much material you will keep in your facilities at a given time
  • describe how you will minimise the risk of escape of specified material from the facility (for example sealed doors, blocked drains, appropriate filters on ventilation systems)
  • state any other material that will arrive with the specified material and how you will handle it or dispose of it
  • state whether you will keep specified material in the same containment facilities as other material
  • describe the type of work you will carry out in each area of your site
  • describe the containers you will grow plants in and how you will collect any irrigation water, if the specified material includes plants for planting
  • describe the traps you will use to detect the escape of specified invertebrates
  • provide a detailed contingency plan you will use if an unexpected breach of containment has occurred, or is suspected to have occurred, which means untreated specified material could escape into the environment

Your experimental procedures

You must also state:

  • how you will carry out your experiments – give step by step descriptions of every experiment you intend to do
  • if workers will wear dedicated protective clothing that is only used when working with specified material and how you will clean it after use
  • describe how you will keep specified material within 3 layers of secure containment when transporting outside of your facilities
  • the disinfectants you will use to clean containment facilities, their concentration and how you will use them
  • how you will destroy the specified material after you’ve finished working with it, and before you dispose of it
  • a list of the scientific and technical qualifications of all personnel who will do work under the authorisation

Moving consignments within England and Wales

You must follow certain rules to send and receive material from other sites within England and Wales.

Sending material to other sites

You can send specified material to other people or organisations in England and Wales, provided the destination site or person has authorisation to receive them.

Complete the PHI 10 form and email it to APHA: planthealthlicence@apha.gov.uk - if they approve your plan, they will send you a written agreement.

This written agreement is valid for 12 months, provided the recipient’s authorisation is not amended or cancelled in this time.

If the recipient changes the terms of their authorisation you will have to contact APHA for a new approval.

Receiving material from other sites

You must have authorisation to receive specified material from other people or organisations in England and Wales.

You must also make sure your supplier has authorisation and a written agreement from  APHA.

Receiving material from outbreak sites

You can only receive material from an outbreak site that is under an APHA notice if the notice allows this.

Contact APHA if you are unsure which sites are under notice.

You must have authorisation to hold and work with any material you receive.

Bringing specified material into England and Wales

If you get authorisation to bring specified material into England and Wales from other countries, you will receive an authorisation document by email. This document will come with a ‘letter of authority’ which lists the specified materials you are allowed to import.

You must make sure your letter of authority is attached to any specified material and you must include a copy inside each package.

Your letter of authority is valid from the date of issue until 31 December of the year it is issued. APHA will issue a new letter of authority by 1 January each year and charge you £42.50.

Bringing specified material into England and Wales from Scotland

You must follow these steps to bring specified material into England and Wales from Scotland:

  1. Send a copy of your letter of authority to the supplier.

  2. Ask your supplier to get your letter of authority endorsed by SASA.

  3. Ask your supplier to attach the letter to the outside of the package and include a copy inside each package.

Importing specified material from outside Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales)

You must follow these steps to import specified material into England and Wales from outside Great Britain:

  1. Send a copy of your letter of authority to the supplier.

  2. Ask your supplier to attach the letter to the outside of the package and include a copy inside each package.

There is no requirement for your letter of authority to be endorsed.

If you are importing material in luggage, you must present it at the red customs channel, along with the appropriate letter of authority, when you arrive in Great Britain.

Sending specified material from England and Wales to other countries

There are different rules you must follow to send specified material from England and Wales to EU countries, Northern Ireland or Scotland and to other non-EU countries.

Sending material to EU countries, Northern Ireland and Scotland

You must follow these steps to send specified material to EU countries, Northern Ireland and Scotland:

  1. Ask the recipient for a copy of their letter of authority.

  2. Send the letter of authority to APHA to be endorsed, email: planthealthlicence@apha.gov.uk

  3. Attach the endorsed letter of authority to the outside of all packages before you send them. You should also include a copy inside the packaging.

If the recipient tells you that they do not need a letter of authority to receive the material, ask them to show you official confirmation of this from their National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO).

You must not send your material until you have got this confirmation.

Exporting material to other non-EU countries

To export material to non-EU countries, you must comply with the import regulations in the destination country.

For information on import regulations in the destination country ask the recipient of the specified material to contact their NPPO.

How to pack materials

You must make sure any specified material you are moving under your authorisation is stored in 3 layers of packaging.

At least 1 of the layers must be escape-proof and shatter-proof.

Transport, handling and storage

You must make sure you have specified material transported to your approved facility directly from the place of landing or the establishment listed on the authorisation.

You must only open, handle and keep specified material in the approved facilities listed on your authorisation.

Inspections

You must make all specified material available for inspection by your local APHA inspector.

You must allow the inspector to check how you are keeping the material – they may take samples of material or any associated organisms, for example invertebrates.

You must contact APHA on the first working day after a consignment of plants arrives to inform them of any plants you’ve received under your authorisation.

You must keep the plants in isolation until a plant health and seeds inspector has seen them.

Inspection fees

Your application fee covers the cost of your first inspection.

Some authorised facilities must be inspected every year, especially for new authorisations. In other cases, inspectors will reinspect every 2 or 3 years.

The first inspector who visits your site will tell you how often you need to be reinspected.

If you fail an inspection you must pay for any further inspections, at a cost of £370.68 an hour, with a minimum cost of £185.34.

Changing an existing authorisation

You can apply to change your authorisation using eDomero – for example when you want to:

  • work in a new facility
  • work with new material you think may require authorisation
  • take on a new project
  • change an experimental procedure or destruction method

APHA may re-inspect your facilities as part of this application process.

Authorisation amendment fees

Authorisation amendments that require a Defra scientific or technical assessment cost £380.25.

Amendments that don’t need an assessment cost £42.50, for example a change in the person responsible.

APHA will send you an invoice after you apply to change your authorisation through the eDomero system.

Destroying plants, parts of plants and seeds

You must usually destroy plant material after you have completed the research you were approved to do.

In some circumstances, you may be allowed to test the plant material and get it released from the terms of its authorisation.

Contact APHA if you want to get plant material released from its authorisation instead of destroying it.

You will have to get the plant material tested and pay any costs associated with this.

Updates to this page

Published 29 July 2015
Last updated 1 November 2022 + show all updates

  1. Updated to 'authorisation' and 'specified material' throughout to be consistent with the legislation introduced in December 2019, instead of 'scientific licence' and 'prohibited material'. Other minor changes to reflect the changes that came into force on 1 November 2022, including updates on moving specified materials in England and Wales, bringing in material from other countries and sending material to other countries. Other minor changes were made to improve clarity for applicants applying for authorisation.

  2. Updated the link to the PHI 10 form. It is under the section 'Moving consignments within England and Wales'.

  3. Update to fees associated with licensing Change to the invertebrates and pathogens that require a licence Change to plant passports and phytosanitary certificates (PCs)

  4. Clarified the application fees because there are two types of soil licence which have different costs. A soil licence for work other than chemical and physical analysis is £995.36. Soil for chemical and physical analysis is £745.41.

  5. New information about letters of authority - they last for one calendar year and cost £42.50 each year.

  6. Updated fees information, changed 'licence' to 'authorisation', brought guidance into line with new SRSF regulations.

  7. Increase in fee's - content updated.

  8. Application fees updated

  9. Updated licence application fees

  10. Amendments to section on renewing and amending existing licences, and licence amendment fees. There is no longer a requirement to renew scientific licences.

  11. First published.

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Contents

Part of Get UK customs clearance when importing goods into the UK: step by step

  1. Step 1 Check if you need to follow this process

    Follow these steps to get your goods for import through UK customs if you’re managing the process yourself.

    Getting customs clearance is complicated. You can hire a transporter or customs agent to make the import declaration and get your goods through UK customs.

    1. Hire someone to deal with customs for you

    Your business must be ready to import the goods before you can get customs clearance.

    1. Find out about importing goods into the UK
    1. Check if you need to make an import declaration

  2. Step 2 Set up your business for making import declarations

    You need an EORI number that starts with GB to import goods into England, Wales or Scotland. You'll need a new one if you have an EORI that does not start with GB.

    If you move goods to or from Northern Ireland you may need one that starts with XI.

    1. Get an EORI number

    Depending on where you're moving goods, you need to be registered on the right systems and have compatible software to make declarations.

    1. Check what systems and software you need to make declarations

  3. Step 3 Check if you can make the customs process quicker

    There are processes that can make clearing customs quicker and easier to manage if you have to make import declarations regularly.

    1. Find out about using simplified declaration procedures
    2. Check if Authorised Economic Operator status is right for you

    If you're importing goods from the EU to England, Scotland or Wales (Great Britain) you might be able to delay making a declaration for up to 6 months.

    1. Check if you can declare your goods later if you're importing goods from the EU

    If you regularly import goods using Common Transit, you can apply to start movements of goods at your own premises.

    1. Check if consignee status is right for your business

  4. Step 4 Register to import goods with restrictions

    You need to register as an importer if you import things like plant or animal products, high-risk food or feed, medicines, textiles, chemicals or firearms.

    Register to import:

  5. Step 5 Check if you need a licence or certificate for your goods

    There are special rules and you may need to get licences or certificates if you are importing any of the following:

  6. and Check the labelling, marking and marketing rules

    1. Check the marking, labelling and marketing standards for food, plant seeds and manufactured goods

  7. Step 6 Arrange for the goods to be inspected

    If you import things like plant or animal products, you need to choose a place where the goods can be inspected. This needs to happen before they’re allowed through the UK border.

    1. Find an inspection point for animals and animal products
    2. Find an inspection point for plants, plant products, seeds and wood
    3. Find an inspection point for high risk food and feed that is not of animal origin
    4. Find an inspection point for endangered species, or products made from endangered plants or animals

    You need to let the inspection point know when the goods are arriving. You might have to pay a fee for the inspection.

  8. Step 7 Submit and manage the import declaration

    1. Find out how to submit import declarations
    2. Find out how to change or cancel an import declaration

    If you're importing goods from the EU to England, Scotland or Wales (Great Britain) you might be able to delay making a declaration for up to 6 months.

    1. Check if you can declare your goods later to make the importing process quicker

  9. Step 8 Pay VAT and duty

    HMRC will tell you how much to pay after you submit the declaration.

    1. Find out how and when to pay VAT and duty

  10. Step 9 Get the goods released if they're held up at the border

    The goods may be held at the border if, for example:

    • you have not paid the right amount of duty or VAT
    • you do not have the right import licences for the goods or business
    • they did not pass inspection
    • they've been combined with a shipment that has been held up

    If this happens you will be told why.

    1. Contact the National Clearance Hub to get help