Permits are required for the importation into the U.S. and transit through the U.S. of regulated plants and plant products for consumption or propagation. The most common permit that our office deals with is the PPQ Form 526 Permit and if you want to import and/or move interstate plant pathogens, you may need one.
There are other permits that USDA issues and you can access those from USDA's webpage as well.
Permits are required for the importation, transit, domestic movement and environmental release of Organisms that impact plants, and the importation and transit of Plants and Plant Products under authority of the Plant Protection and Honeybee Acts.
Permits are required for the importation into the U.S. and transit through the U.S. of regulated plants and plant products for consumption or propagation. Plant and plant product permits include plants for planting such as nursery stock, small lots of seed, and post-entry; plant products such as fruits and vegetable, timber, cotton and cut flowers; protected plants and plant products such as orchids, and threatened and endangered plant species; transit permits to ship regulated articles into, through, and out of the U.S.; and controlled import permits to import prohibited plant materials for research.
To access ePermits, you must have a USDA eAuthentication account, a USDA-wide system for logins. To use ePermits, you will need to register for an eAuthentication account with Level 2 access for most application permit types and enables customers to access USDA Web applications and services via the Internet.
The most common permit that our office deals with is the PPQ Form 526 Permit and if you want to import and/or move interstate plant pathogens, you may need one. All PPQ 526 permit applications are submitted to the destination states(s) for review. The PPQ staff process permits in the order they are received and recommend that you apply for your permit four to six months in advance. There are other permits that USDA issues and you can access those from their webpage as well. However, to apply for any permit you must create a user id and password through USDA's eAuthentication (USDA eAuth) website and use their ePermits website.
If you have an USDA eAuth. user id and password, but only have an account with Level 1 Access; you will need log into your profile and apply for Level 2 Access.
If you have an USDA eAuth. user id and password, AND you have the Level 2 Access, you can submit your ePermit application by logging in to your USDA eAuth. account and following the instructions.
You can find a lot of information on USDA's "APHIS eFile" site. You can apply and manage your APHIS applications, registrations, permits and licenses on may different things.