OBTAINING THE SMALL LOTS OF SEEDS PERMIT
1) To begin your application for a Small Lots of Seed import permit, go to: https://efile.aphis.usda.gov/s/
Under Ready to Apply? ‘Select an option’ and choose PPQ-587 (5th option down, after Live Dogs Permit):
Click: Get Started.
2) Log in with your User ID and Password. If you do not already have an account, you can easily register for a Customer eAuth Account by clicking on Create Account (lower left option with the + sign) and entering the information needed. If you have questions check out the eAuth FAQ page https://www.eauth.usda.gov/eauth/b/usda/faq
3) Logging in takes you back to the original screen in Step 1, but now includes a ‘Your Activity’ section. You will use the ‘Select an option’ drop-down box again to select PPQ-587 and click on Get Started.
4) You will arrive at the Applicant/Permittee Contacts page: Make sure your details are correct. If not, use the Edit button to make corrections.
The one question on this page is: Will you be the permittee? Choose whether the permit will be in your name, or another’s. Click on Save and Next.
5) You will be taken to the Intended Use page:
Complete the answers as follows:
- Intended Use: Plants for Planting
- Commodity Type: Small Lots of Seed
- Application Reference Name: A short descriptive name for this application, that would help you search for it or distinguish it from other applications in the future (I used “SLS permit”)
Click on Save and Next….
6) You will arrive at the Select Articles page:
Under Step 1: Find and Add Articles:
- Select a plant part: Seed is the only option (of course)
- Country/Region of Origin:
Begin typing a country, then choose from the dropdown options. The name of the country will appear in the block in the right-hand column. You may include multiple countries on this permit. One by one, keep adding all the countries that you plan to import from.
If, in the future, you wish to add another country (or more), you will be able to amend your permit and add that country.
Then go to: - Find Article: Type in “Various eligible taxa”
Click on Add Article(s) to Application and the Countries and Articles from Step one will move to…
Step 2: Review and Refine Application Articles:
Scroll down to Review and Refine Application Articles. Remove any countries you do not want, or accidental redundancies (it happens).
If all the countries are as you wish, Click on Save and Next
7) You will arrive at Upload Files page: You do not have or need any supporting documentation to upload, so check box: I don’t have any files to upload. Click on Save and Next.
8) This will take you to the Certify & Submit page: Review that all information is correct or Edit, if necessary.
Scroll down to Confirm Information accuracy & Accept Regulations.
Click on the 2 boxes: I hereby certify…
Save and Exit (for a future date) or Submit.
You will be shown a page that says that your application has been submitted, and you will receive an immediate email to confirm it.
Within minutes, you will receive another email informing you that your permit has been issued, with the permit as an attachment and also a link to sign in and view and print your permit PDF and the green/yellow shipping labels that must accompany the permit.
9) To go back later to make changes to your permit or to download the permit or green & yellow Plant Inspection Station labels to print out, go to https://efile.aphis.usda.gov/s/ . Sign in with your User ID and password and you will be taken to the same Welcome page as in step 1 above, but with Your Activity visible. Click on blue View All Activity.
10) This will take you to your My Activity page. Click on View Details for the permit (the status should show as “Issued”).
11) This will take you to a page with all the activity for that Permit number. Here you can View Permit PDF and download it to your computer to print out.
From the More Actions button, you can amend, transfer or cancel the permit.
Down on the lower left is the Plant Inspection Station(PIS) Labels section. From here click on the download icon for the inspection station you want labels for – note there are two pages of stations listed.
The labels will be formatted 4 to a page and will have the same label number (#1) and inspection station per page. This setup makes it easier for you to manage your PIS labels.
Labels are now automatically provided electronically for each permit; one for each inspection station. You can use the same label for each package sent to the same station by printing multiple copies of that label. A PIS label can be used multiple times over the permit’s lifetime; it does not expire once used.
The Plant Inspection Station, after completing the inspection of the seeds, will return the shipment to their local post office. The US Postal Service recognizes their chain of custody for the seed shipments that enter the US through the mails and forwards the seeds to the permit holder at the address enclosed with the seeds, at no additional cost.
Once the permit and the green and yellow label has been sent to you please forward this to us via email: sales@seedsyndicate.net