Due to a couple of recent posts concerning the importation of plant material into the US, and confusion over the legality of doing so it seems that some clarification is in order. I'm going to list the main points. For further info, such as the actual procedures to obtain the required paperwork I will provide links to APHIS at the end of this post. First plants. ALL plants entering the US need phytosanitary certification from the country of origin. No exceptions. Expect to pay $25-$200 per taxa (species) for this depending upon country of origin. Lots of less than 13 plants do not require an additional importation permit. Lots of 13 or more do. The importation permit is known as a PPQ 587. CITES Appendix I species require CITES paperwork from both the country of origin and the US. Appendix I plants can be imported without this paperwork with official certification from the country of origin stating that the plants were propagated in captivity. Now seeds. Seeds normally require phytosanitary certification as well, however seeds with this certification DO NOT require PPQ 587 import permit. A rule change a few years back provided for the importation of small amounts of seed for personal use without the necessity of obtaining a costly phytosanitary certification. This is known as the Small Seed Lot Exemption. To qualify as a small lot, the shipment must contain 50 packets of seed or less, each packet containing 50 or less seeds. However the trade off is that unlike larger shipments with the phytosanitary certification, small lots DO require PPQ 587, an importation permit. In practice, due to their tiny size, you won't be importing orchid seeds through the small lot exemption. Also be aware that ALL imported plant material including seeds MAY NOT be shipped directly from the seller to you. It MUST go through a certified point of entry containing a quarantine station for inspection. If it clears inspection it will be shipped from the station to you, at your expense. And the links:
For importation permit PPQ 587
USDA APHIS | Plant Health
Small Seed Lot Exemption:
USDA APHIS | Plant Health
CITES application and information:
http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-35.pdf
Attempting to ignore these regulations is rather foolish. I won't say any of the words that come to mind when I think about what it takes to post how you did so on a public forum. Suffice it to say that foolish would be very complimentary in comparison.
Yes You Do Need A Permit To Import Plants and Seeds Into The US!
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