PPQ Form 368, the USDA’s Notice of Arrival, is a one-page form that importers file with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to announce that a permitted plant or plant-product shipment has reached a U.S. port of entry. Filing it links the shipment to your existing APHIS import permit and triggers the port inspection needed to clear the cargo. You can download a blank copy from the APHIS website or submit electronically through APHIS eFile, and the regulation requires filing immediately upon the shipment’s arrival.
When You Need to File a Notice of Arrival
The form applies to shipments moving under a specific APHIS permit. That covers plants for planting such as seeds, nursery stock, and bulbs imported under a PPQ 587 permit;1eCFR. 7 CFR Part 319 Subpart H – Plants for Planting foreign soil permitted under 7 CFR 330.201;2eCFR. 7 CFR 330.203 – Soil transit shipments passing through the United States under a specific transit permit; and biological control organisms imported under 7 CFR Part 322.
Two boundaries matter. First, regulated items moving in closed international mail dispatches are exempt because postal documentation already provides what APHIS needs. Second, the rule expressly does not require a notice for “other products or articles” where existing entry documentation covers the same information.3eCFR. 7 CFR 352.7 – Notice of Arrival If you are not sure whether your commodity needs a Form 368, the APHIS Core Message Set lookup on the ACE integration page lets you search by tariff code to see what paperwork applies.
How to Fill Out the 16 Fields
Before starting, pull together your USDA import permit, the carrier’s bill of lading or airway bill, and the CBP customs entry number. APHIS publishes a separate PDF of field-by-field instructions alongside the blank form.4United States Department of Agriculture. Instructions for Completing PPQ Form 368 Notice of Arrival to Import Plants or Plant Products
Carrier and Arrival (Fields 1–4)
Field 1 is the carrier, identified by airline and flight number, ship name and voyage number, or trucking line and container number. Field 2 is the date the carrier arrives at the port. Field 3 is the permittee or consignee responsible for the importation; this person must be a U.S. resident, and you need a physical street address (a P.O. box alone is not enough), a daytime phone number, and an email address if available. Field 4 is the U.S. port of arrival.
Permit and Shipping (Fields 5–8)
Field 5 is the USDA-APHIS-PPQ permit number, if one is required as a condition of entry. Field 6 is the port of departure in the country of origin. Field 7 is the CBP customs entry number. Field 8 is the consignor or shipper abroad, with a physical address and an international phone number including country code.
Location and Origin (Fields 9–12)
Field 9 is the present location where the commodity will be physically inspected. Field 10 is the country, province or state, and specific locality where the commodity was grown. Inspectors use these two entries together to match the shipment against known pest risk areas. Field 11 applies only if the shipment stopped at a previous U.S. port before its current location. Field 12 is the CBP in-transit bond number for shipments moving under an in-bond entry.
Product Description and Signature (Fields 13–16)
Field 13 is the core of the form. In the table, list the marks, bill of lading or container number, quantity, net weight, and the commodity arriving under the notice. The instructions ask for the “commodity” rather than a Latin binomial, though using an accepted common or scientific name reduces confusion during inspection. Field 14 is the signature of the importer or licensed customs broker certifying accuracy. Field 15 is the signer’s full business address and phone. Field 16 is the date signed, formatted dd/mm/yyyy.4United States Department of Agriculture. Instructions for Completing PPQ Form 368 Notice of Arrival to Import Plants or Plant Products
How and When to Submit
The regulation requires you to submit Form PPQ-368 “immediately upon arrival” of the shipment through “a U.S. Government electronic information exchange system or other authorized method.”3eCFR. 7 CFR 352.7 – Notice of Arrival In practice, that means one of three channels.
APHIS eFile
APHIS eFile is the primary electronic option. You will need a USDA eAuthentication (eAuth) account before you can log in; if you do not have one, select “Create Account” on the eFile site to register. Unverified accounts are walked through an identity verification step before any submission goes through.5APHIS. APHIS eFile Overview Once inside, you can apply for permits, submit notices of arrival, and track filings from a single dashboard.6Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Welcome to APHIS eFile
ACE Core Message Set Through Your Broker
If your customs broker files entries in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), the broker can transmit APHIS-required data with the electronic entry using the APHIS Core Message Set. This does not replace Form 368 on its own. The Notice of Arrival is classified as an LPCO document (code A32) and must still be uploaded into the ACE Document Imaging System.7CBP. APHIS Supplemental Trade Guide – Appendix APH-A
Paper to the Plant Inspection Station
Paper filing is still allowed. Send the completed form to the Plant Inspection Station handling your port of arrival; contact that station directly for the correct mailing address or fax number. APHIS warns that paper filings “may result in slower customs review and additional costs.”8U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Filing APHIS Core Message Set Data in ACE
There is no separate federal filing fee for the Notice of Arrival itself. APHIS does charge Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection user fees tied to mode of transport, but those apply to the inspection process broadly, not to submitting this form.9APHIS. Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection (AQI) User Fees Explained – A Small Entity Compliance Guide
What Happens After You File
APHIS uses the information on the form to schedule the port inspection. CBP officers verify your notice against the carrier’s manifest and customs entry, and an APHIS inspector physically examines the shipment to confirm it matches the descriptions on the form and meets the conditions of the permit.
Three outcomes are possible. The shipment may be released into the United States. It may be sent to a treatment facility if a pest risk can be handled through fumigation, irradiation, or another approved treatment. Or, if the biological risk is unacceptable, APHIS may order it destroyed or re-exported at the importer’s expense.10Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 7 CFR Part 352 – Plant Quarantine Safeguard Regulations Failing to file the notice before cargo reaches the Plant Inspection Station is one of the most common causes of delay, and APHIS has issued reminders to importers on that specific point.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. APHIS Reminds Importers to File APHIS Core Message Set Before Sending Cargo to Plant Inspection Station to Avoid Delays Storage and demurrage fees accrue at the port while a shipment waits, and those charges vary by facility.
Penalties for Not Filing
The Plant Protection Act gives USDA broad enforcement power. An individual who violates the act, including by failing to file required import documentation, faces a civil penalty of up to $50,000 per violation. For a first violation by an individual moving regulated articles with no commercial motive, the cap is $1,000. Businesses and other non-individual entities face up to $250,000 per violation, and all violations in a single proceeding can reach $1,000,000 if any were willful.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 7734 – Penalties for Violation
APHIS can also cancel the underlying import permit, stopping future shipments under it until a new permit issues, and noncompliant shipments already at the port may be re-exported at the importer’s expense.13Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Domestic Irradiation Import Compliance Agreement For most importers, the real cost of a missed or incorrect notice shows up not in fines but in held cargo, storage charges, and time spent resolving a hold with APHIS and CBP at the same time.