ePermits: Providing Online

Access to Permit

Applications

As part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s

(USDA) overall eGovernment initiative to transform

and enhance the delivery of its programs, services,

and information, the Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service (APHIS) launched its new electronic permitting system (ePermits). ePermits is a

Web-based tool that gives customers the ability to

apply for a permit, check its status, and view it online.

Submitting applications and receiving permits via the

Internet will save customers a tremendous amount of

time and effort on one of APHIS’ more paper-intensive processes. This new process also enables

Federal regulatory officials to issue, track, and rapidly

verify the validity of import permits, thus reducing

data-entry, processing, and delivery time and

expense.

Current Release

The ePermits system is a large initiative that has

been in development for several years and is being

implemented in multiple phases. Currently, ePermits

customers can apply for the following Plant

Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and Biotechnology

and Regulatory Services (BRS) permits online:

• PPQ Form 526—Application for Permit to Move

Live Plant Pests or Noxious Weeds 

• PPQ Form 585—Application for Permit to Import

Timber or Timber Products

• PPQ Form 587—Application for Permit to Import

Plants or Plant Products

• PPQ Form 588—Application for Permit to Import

Plants and Plant Products for Experimental 

Purposes

• PPQ Form 621—Application for Protected Plant 

Permit to Engage in the Business of Importing, 

Exporting, or Reexporting Terrestrial Plants

• Biotechnology Notifications

Veterinary Services (VS) is in the process of

finalizing its system and plans to launch its ePermits

section on July 3, 2006. The following VS permits will

be available online at that time:

• VS 16-3—Application to Import or Transport

Controlled Material or Organisms or Vectors

• VS 16-7—Additional Information for Cell Cultures

and their Products (supplement to VS 16-3)

• VS Notification of On-Hold Shipment

In addition to online applications, ePermits also

features a payment engine that allows customers to

pay permit application fees, when applicable, as part

of the online process. This feature is designed and

operated in a way to ensure the privacy and confidentiality of applicant information. The system collects, maintains, uses, and disseminates information

only as authorized by law and, as necessary, to carry

out agency responsibilities.

More Advances Underway

The ePermits system is an ongoing effort to

improve citizens’ knowledge of and access to USDA

by enhancing service delivery and improving internal

efficiency by promoting technology-based solutions.

The next phase will bring even more services to

accommodate our customers. Expected in late 2006,

ePermits will feature these additional permit applications:

• PPQ Form 525—Application for Permit to 

Receive Soil,

• PPQ Form 546—Agreement for Postentry

Quarantine State Screening Notice,

• PPQ Form 586—Application for Permit to 

Transit Plants and/or Plant Products through the 

United States.

• BRS Form 2000—Application for the Importation,

Interstate Movement, and Field Testing of 

Genetically Engineered Organisms.

The next phase of ePermits will also include a

feature to generate and print shipment labels containing barcodes. When a Federal inspector scans these

barcoded labels, he or she can immediately confirm

that the permit associated with that label is valid.

This capability will result in improved turnaround

times and reduces the chance that the inspector will

reject the shipment because the permit can’t be verified.

The implementation of what is known as the

State concurrence process for PPQ and BRS-issued

permits will be another feature of ePermits in the

near future. The State concurrence process will

enable PPQ and BRS to send a permit application to

applicable States so they can review the application

and comment on it. For example, if a specific State is

experiencing a plant disease outbreak, it may request

that APHIS place special conditions on a permit,

such as restricting the importation of specific items

from other States that could hamper eradication

efforts. Managing the traffic of the State concurrence

process online will expedite communications that previously entailed facsimile and overnight mail.
User Registration

To comply with government-wide initiatives,

ePermits users are required to complete a registration

process called eAuthentication. USDA’s

eAuthentication is a new system used by USDA agencies that enables individuals to obtain user-identification accounts that allow access to certain USDA Web

applications and services through the Internet. The

Web-based service identifies and validates USDA

customers before they can use participating USDA

Web-based business applications. This system provides a unique user-identification code that a USDA

Web user can present to any participating USDA Web

site, therefore reducing the burden on customers to

register for and maintain separate identities with every

online system. To learn more about USDA’s

eAuthentication, please visit

<http://www.eauth.egov.usda.gov>.

For More Information on ePermits

You can learn more at

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov/permits>.

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in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status,

familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic

information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program.

(Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20250–9410, or call (800) 795–3272 (voice) or (202) 720–6382

(TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.