Moving specified plants, plant pests, pathogens and soil

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:

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 [email protected] for further information.

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

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.

Authorisation for soil and other organic material