Phytosanitary certificate

A phytosanitary certificate is an official document attesting that a consignment of plants or plant products meets the importing country’s plant-health requirements and is free from regulated pests. It is issued by the exporting country’s National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) by a technically qualified, authorized officer, following the model and rules in ISPM 12 under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). The certificate states the product, origin, treatment, and an additional declaration where the importer requires one, and carries the NPPO’s official stamp. Border plant-health inspectors check it on arrival, and consignments without a valid certificate are detained, treated, re-exported, or destroyed.