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Shipping Requirements for Importing

Regulated Soil Requiring Black,

White, Green, Yellow Labels

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A shipping label is a tag that identifies an individual shipment. These labels direct

the shipment to a designated port of entry or Plant Inspection Station (PIS) where

shipments are inspected and cleared by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and/or

a United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS) inspector. The permittees permit

will state in the conditions if a shipping label is required.

Labels may be issued to the permittee for the importation of regulated articles. Such

labels may contain information about the shipment's nature, origin, movement

conditions, or other matters relevant to the permit and will indicate that the

importation is authorized under the conditions specified in the permit.

All packages for transport must minimally consist of inner/primary and

outer/secondary package, both in a securely sealed tertiary container so that all are

effective barriers to prevent escape or unauthorized dissemination of the listed

regulated materials. The inner/primary package will contain all regulated materials

and must be cushioned and sealed inside a secondary container in such a way that
both remain sealed during shock, impact, and pressure changes that may occur. The

outermost/tertiary shipping container must be rigid, strong enough, and sealed to

withstand typical shipping conditions (dropping, stacking, impact from other freight,

etc.) without opening. Imported shipments of 3lbs or less that will be treated at a

Plant Inspection Station (PIS) must have an original, Green and Yellow label (PPQ

Form 508) attached to the exterior of each shipping package. Shipments being

routed directly to USDA approved facilities require Black & White label (PPQ Form

550) Packages without labels on the exterior may be refused entry even if the labels

are enclosed. Each label is individually numbered with a distinctive barcode. The

permittee must request the appropriate shipping labels at the issuance of permit.

Shipping labels and detailed instructions for using the labels will be emailed to the

permittee as an attached PDF to the email address on record. The PPQ 508 and 550

shipping labels are required for importation, but not for domestic movement within

the mainland U.S. In addition, PPQ 550 shipping labels are not needed for soil that

originates in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.

However, shipments from the U.S. Virgin Islands must be sent to APHIS-PPQ in

Puerto Rico for inspection and clearance. In order to ship the package to PPQ in

Puerto Rico, please follow the instructions in the following paragraph and use two

waybills. One waybill to direct the shipment to the PIS and the other to direct the

shipment to the permittee from the PIS.

You can obtain your green and yellow as well as your black and white labels through 

APHIS eFile. Simply log into APHIS eFile, navigate to My Activity and search for your

permit. On the permit details page, view and download your labels in the Labels

section. If you need additional assistance for green and yellow labels, please email:

GreenandyellowPlantslabelrequest@usda.gov. For black and white labels, contact:

BlackWhiteGreenYellowlabelrequest@aphis.usda.gov

A PPQ Form 508 shipping label requires two waybills; one international waybill to

direct the shipment to the PIS, and a domestic waybill that will direct the shipment

to the permittee from the PIS. A domestic waybill should be placed inside the

package. Shipments routed directly to a USDA approved facility require PPQ Form

550 shipping label and one waybill to direct the shipment to the permittee. If the

addresses don’t match, the package may be refused entry by CBP. The information

on the waybill will include the following: carrier account number or postage in order

to forward the package to the final destination. Your name, permit number, label
number, delivery address, and telephone number of the permit holder for delivery

following inspection.

Hand Carry

Permitted articles may be hand carried into the United States only if certain

requirements are met. First, hand carrying must be requested in the application and

authorized in the permit conditions. The permit conditions will list the specific steps

that must be taken in order to hand-carry the articles into the U.S. The applicant

may request that someone else be allowed to hand carry the organisms but the

person must be identified on the permit. The authorized hand-carrier must follow the

permit conditions pertaining to the hand-carried shipment.