What Is the PPQ 587 Permit and How Do You Apply?

The PPQ 587 permit is a free USDA authorization that lets you import plants, seeds, and certain plant products into the United States. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issues it after reviewing what you plan to bring in, where it’s coming from, and what pest risks it carries. You apply online through the APHIS eFile portal before your shipment leaves the foreign country, and the same portal handles tracking, renewals, and amendments later on.

What the Permit Covers

Federal regulations under 7 CFR Part 319 govern which plant materials require a permit to enter the country.¹ The PPQ 587 is the general-purpose import permit. It covers nursery stock (live plants, bulbs, cuttings, and other material intended for propagation), certain fruits and vegetables meant for consumption, seeds, and related plant products. If your import is admissible through normal trade channels, this is almost certainly the form you need.²

Two other APHIS forms handle situations the PPQ 587 does not. The PPQ 546 is a post-entry quarantine agreement for species that must be grown under supervised conditions after arrival so inspectors can monitor them for pests or disease.³ The PPQ 588 is a Controlled Import Permit for restricted or otherwise unauthorized plant material, generally used by researchers or laboratories.⁴ Filing on the wrong form can get your shipment seized at the border, so pick the right one at the start.

Check That Your Plant Can Come In at All

Before you fill out anything, confirm what you want to import is actually allowed. APHIS runs the Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements (ACIR) database, a free online tool where you select your commodity type and country of origin to see the exact requirements.⁵ It covers plants for planting, fruits and vegetables not for propagation, wood products, pest organisms, soil, and miscellaneous items like tools or packaging that could carry pests. Running this search first saves you from applying for a permit on something that is outright prohibited.

Some species carry special conditions even when they aren’t fully banned. Plants listed under “Not Authorized Pending Pest Risk Analysis” (NAPPRA), for example, may be importable only if the exporting country holds a specific exemption, and you’ll need a phytosanitary certificate on top of your PPQ 587.⁶ Plants shipped in growing media trigger additional certificate requirements too. ACIR flags all of this.

Information to Gather Before You Apply

The application asks for specific data points, and getting them right the first time avoids weeks of back-and-forth. Federal regulations spell out what the completed application must contain:⁷

Scientific name (genus and species) of every plant. Common names aren’t accepted because the same name can mean different species in different countries. The USDA’s Germplasm Resources Information Network is a reliable place to confirm nomenclature.⁸
Approximate quantity, measured by weight, volume, or unit count.
Country of origin, meaning where the plants were grown or harvested, not where a middleman shipped them from.
U.S. port of entry. For propagative material, this generally must be near one of the APHIS plant inspection stations.
Means of transport: mail, air freight, ocean freight, or personal baggage.
Expected arrival date. The regulation says to submit at least 30 days before the shipment arrives.
Your full name, U.S. address, and phone number as the person responsible for the import.

Each line item on the form corresponds to one species from one country. Three species from two countries is six line items. Structuring it that way from the start prevents delays.

The Small Lots of Seed Shortcut

If you’re importing a small quantity of seeds, you may qualify for a streamlined process that waives the phytosanitary certificate. You still need a PPQ 587 permit, but the exporting country doesn’t have to issue a certificate if every one of these conditions is met:⁹

No more than 50 seeds or 10 grams per packet per species, and no more than 50 packets per shipment.
The seed isn’t a federal noxious weed, parasitic plant, or NAPPRA-listed species.
The seed doesn’t need fumigation, irradiation, or other phytosanitary treatment, and it isn’t coated, pelleted, or embedded in growing media or tape.
Each packet is labeled with the seller’s name, the scientific name, and the country of origin. An invoice with the same details plus a seed lot code travels with the shipment.
Seeds are free from pesticides and packaged to prevent spillage.

One detail catches people out: small quantities of tomato and pepper seeds are specifically excluded from this program. Those always require the full phytosanitary certificate regardless of quantity.⁹

How to Submit the Application

The primary channel is APHIS eFile, the agency’s online permit portal.¹⁰ You’ll need a USDA eAuthentication account to log in.¹¹ Once you’re in, fill out the application in the system and submit it electronically. The portal also lets you track status in real time.

APHIS still accepts paper applications by mail. Send them to USDA/APHIS/PPQ/Permit Unit, 4700 River Road, Unit 136, Riverdale, MD 20737. Paper works, but staff has to key in your data by hand, so approvals take longer. Either way, submit before your shipment leaves the country of origin.

There’s no application fee. APHIS processes PPQ 587 permits at no charge. The one exception involves plants listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) being imported commercially, which requires a separate $70 Protected Plant Permit (PPQ 621).¹²

What Happens After You’re Approved

The 30-day pre-arrival window in the regulations is the rough baseline for processing.⁷ Straightforward applications for common, low-risk species move faster. Applications involving NAPPRA species or unusual origin combinations take longer. APHIS notifies you of the decision by email (or mail, for paper filers), and the approved permit arrives as a digital file or physical certificate. Most PPQ 587 permits stay valid for three years and cover multiple shipments of the same materials during that period.

Every issued permit comes with “Permit Conditions” that legally bind how you handle the shipment. These typically require a phytosanitary certificate from the exporting country, specific packaging and marking, and sometimes mandatory pest treatment.

Phytosanitary Certificates

For most plants intended for planting, the exporting country’s plant protection agency must issue a phytosanitary certificate confirming the material meets U.S. entry requirements.⁷ The certificate must at minimum identify the genus, and when imports of specific species or cultivars are restricted, it must identify those too. Your permit conditions will state whether an additional declaration is required, such as confirmation that plants in growing media meet APHIS program standards.⁶

Mandatory Treatments

Depending on the pest risk, your permit conditions may require the shipment to undergo a specific treatment. Common options include fumigation (typically methyl bromide), cold treatment holding fruit pulp at a prescribed low temperature for a set period, hot water immersion at 115°F to 118°F, and irradiation at minimum absorbed doses that vary by pest. Treatment must be performed and documented before the shipment clears inspection.

Inspection, Labels, and Package Markings

Most live plants and propagative material must clear through one of the 16 APHIS plant inspection stations located at or near major ports of entry across several states and territories.¹³ When your shipment arrives, Customs and Border Protection transfers it to the nearest station for inspection and document review. Only after the station clears it does the material move on to you.

Each package needs a green-and-yellow shipping label (PPQ Form 508) attached to the outside. You download the labels from your permit page in APHIS eFile.¹⁴ Each package also needs two waybills: an international one directing the shipment to the inspection station, and a domestic one inside the package directing it onward to you.

The outer container of every shipment must be marked with the contents and quantity, the country and locality where the plants were grown, the shipper’s name and address, your name and address as consignee, the shipper’s identifying mark and number, and your permit number.⁷ Missing any of these is one of the fastest ways to get a shipment held.

Renewing or Amending the Permit

Because the permit lasts three years, you’ll eventually need to renew if you’re still importing. Both renewals and amendments go through APHIS eFile. To renew, find your existing permit on the My Activity page, choose “Renew Permit,” review the copied application, and resubmit. Amendments (adding species, changing your address, updating quantities) follow the same workflow with “Amend Permit” instead, plus a reason for the change.¹⁵

One boundary worth knowing: you cannot change the permittee on an existing permit. If the responsible party has changed, submit a brand-new application.

What Happens If You Skip the Permit

The consequences for importing plant material without authorization, or ignoring permit conditions, are steeper than most people expect. The Plant Protection Act sets civil penalties reaching $90,708 per violation for an individual and $453,537 per violation for a business, with combined-proceeding caps rising into seven figures when willful violations are involved.¹⁶ Criminal penalties run up to one year in prison for knowing violations, five years if the material is imported or moved for sale, and up to ten years for a second conviction.¹⁷

At the border itself, Customs and Border Protection can assess a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a first-time failure to declare agricultural products, with commercial violations assessed at much higher rates.¹⁸ The shipment can also be seized and destroyed at your expense. The permit is free, so there’s no financial reason to skip it.

1
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 319 – Foreign Quarantine Notices
2
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Controlled Import Permits: Frequently Asked Questions
3
United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. PPQ Form 546 – Agreement for Postentry Quarantine State Screening Notice
4
U.S. Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. PPQ Form 588 – Application for Controlled Import Permit to Import Restricted or Not Authorized Plant Material
5
USDA APHIS. Agricultural Commodity Import Requirements
6
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Plants with Special Requirements and Prohibited Plants
7
eCFR. 7 CFR Part 319 Subpart H – Plants for Planting
8
USDA-ARS. Germplasm Resources Information Network
9
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Seeds With Special Requirements and Prohibited Seeds
10
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. APHIS eFile
11
USDA eAuthentication. Changes to eAuth Login
12
USDA APHIS. Guidance to Applicants for Permits to Import Plant Material
13
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Plant Inspection Stations
14
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Import Regulated Soil Require Black, White, Green, Yellow Label
15
USDA APHIS. APHIS eFile – How to Apply for PPQ 587 Import Permits
16
eCFR. Adjusted Civil Monetary Penalties
17
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 7734 – Penalties for Violation
18
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bringing Agricultural Products Into the United States