Electronic Phytosanitary Certificate and the APHIS Core Message Set

Background 

The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) has established multiple working groups to 

oversee the development of the ePhyto system. This system was developed by the IPPC to 

facilitate the exchange of phytosanitary certificates between National Plant Protection 

Organizations (NPPO’s) of participating countries using a centralized hub. With this centralized 

hub, phytosanitary data is exchanged between foreign government managed systems or via a 

Generic ePhyto National System (GeNS) supported by the IPPC. Ultimately, ePhyto system(s)

create a uniform, harmonized format by which government-to-government data exchange can 

occur. This practice also assures legitimate trade by preventing fraudulent certificates, which can 

occur when paper phytosanitary certificates are used. 

For customs brokers, the ePhyto can facilitate entry processing. If brokers know an ePhyto has 

been issued, they can enter the certificate number in the APHIS Core message set, thereby 

eliminating the need to upload the ePhyto into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) 

Document Image System (DIS) or present the original. Use of ePhyto’s will prevent time delays 

compared to when inspectors need to verify authenticity of a paper certificate or DIS upload due 

to the secure nature of the documents. Other advantages include near-real time processing so

documents can be shared earlier, and necessary updates do not require the time and resources 

needed for couriering the paper document. 

To facilitate the use of ePhyto in the importation process, APHIS and CBP have developed a 

process by which an ePhyto can be declared within the APHIS Core message set. Once declared, 

the ePhyto will validate the country of origin and phytosanitary number allowing a PDF version 

of the data to be displayed in the DIS for review by inspectors. 

How do I know I have an ePhyto? 

Often a customs broker may not know that the phytosanitary certificate that they receive with a 

shipment is in fact an ePhyto that has already been transmitted to APHIS through the ePhyto 

system. By learning how to identify that the phytosanitary certificate is an ePhyto, the broker can 

save time in processing the entry and clearing the shipment. 

The first step in submitting an ePhyto through the APHIS Core message set is to identify whether 

the country issuing the certificate participates in the ePhyto program. A list of participating 

countries, and if they send ePhytos to APHIS, can be found at the following website: Trading 

Partners Participating in Electronic Phytosanitary Certification (ePhyto). A trading partner that is 

capable of sending ePhytos to APHIS, may choose not to send an ePhyto for a shipment. This 

could be due to limitations with the country’s ePhyto system, outages, or other reasons. 
The next step will be determining if the phytosanitary certificate that was procured is an ePhyto. 

Countries using the GeNS system will have standardized ePhytos (found in appendix A). If 

issued by GeNS, the certificate will contain a QR Code in the upper left hand side of the 

document. Countries not using GeNS have developed their own certificates. In appendix B, 

APHIS will provide standard certificate numbering for those countries providing that 

information. However, importers, exporters and foreign providers should know if the certificate 

provided is an ePhyto. 

How to submit an ePhyto in the APHIS Core message set

A properly filed APHIS Core message set is necessary for an ePhyto to populate within the DIS. 

The DIS is integrated with the ePhyto system and receives all ePhyto’s sent by NPPO’s. For the 

inspecting officer to view and utilize an ePhyto, data must be matched between what was 

declared by the filer and what was sent via the ePhyto data stream. In the APHIS Core message 

set, ePhyto is reported within the PG13/14 License, Permit, Certificate, and other (LPCO) . The 

filer must appropriately report the two-letter country code of the NPPO that issued the ePhyto 

(PG13 data element “Location”), LPCO Type equal to AE1, LPCO issued date, LPCO 

commodity quantities, and LPCO (ePhyto) number. 

If the ePhyto number is incorrect or does not match the country from which it was issued, the 

Entry will reject and receive an error code of “PGG.” This code will be accompanied by the 

statement “missing or invalid ePhyto Sanitary Certificate type per PGA.” In addition, if an 

ePhyto has been previously used, a warning error code of “PGH” will display a message “ePhyto 

Sanitary Certificate Number declared on Separate Entry.” When encountering a PGH error, 

please verify whether the correct number was entered. If the number is valid, the filer may

contact the APHIS help desk at 1-833-481-2102 or email the APHIS ACE team at

ace.itds@usda.gov for assistance. When encountering a PGH error, determine if you have used 

the ePhyto previously, and if not, contact the local CBP Agriculture Specialist for more 

information. 
Appendix A – Example of two formats for GeNS-issued ePhyto as a PDF
PHYTOSANITARY CERTIFICATE No. 200416025317417

FROM: Plant Protection Organization of TO: Plant Protection Organization(s) of

I. DESCRIPTION OF CONSIGNMENT

Name and Address of Exporter Declared Name and Address of Consignee

Name and Description of Transport Declared Point of Entry

Distinguishing Marks

II. COMMODITIES

1 Name of Produce and Quantity Place of Origin

Number and Description of Packages Distinguishing Marks

ADDITIONAL DECLARATION

ADDITIONAL OFFICIAL PHYTOSANITARY INFORMATION

INSPECTION INFORMATION

Import Permit Number: Date of Inspection:

TREATMENT

This is to certify that the plants, plant product or other regulated articles described herein have been inspected and/or tested according to appropriate official 

procedures and are considered to be free from the quarantine pests, specified by the importing contracting party and to conform with the current 

phytosanitary requirements of the importing contracting party including those for regulated non- quarantine pests.

Place of Issue: Name of authorized officer:

Date: Signature:

Version 1.9.0 Page 1 of 1

Additional 

Logo

Official Logo

NPPO Name

Department Name Line 1

Department Name Line 2
Appendix B – Non-GeNS Number Formatting by Country

Below is a list of countries not using GeNS and their respective standard formats. Countries with 

a blank ePhyto number do send ePhytos to the United States from their own systems, but do not 

have a standard format. Please consider this as a guide to help identify an ePhyto but formatting 

used by some countries may vary from what is reported here.

Country ePhyto Format Notes

Argentina ARCFXXXXXXX

Brazil

Chile

Colombia CFE-XX-XXXXXX-XX

Cook 

Islands

Costa Rica

Faroe 

Islands

France PHYTO.FR.XXXX.XXXXX

XX

French 

Guiana

Hong Kong BXXXXX

Indonesia

Italy PHYTO.IT.XXXX.XXXXXX

X

Kenya KEPHIS/X/XXXXXXX/XXX

X

Korea, 

Republic of

Mexico E-XX-XXXXXXX

Morocco XXXX/ONSSA/DRX/XXXX

XXXXXXXXX/XXXX

Series in red is not a defined set of 

characters. 

Netherlands

New 

Zealand

NLXXXX/XXXXXX/XXXX

X

Series in red is not a defined set of 

characters. 

South 

Africa

NPPOZA/XXXX/XX/XXXXXXSeries in red could be only 1 character.

Spain UE ES / XXXXXXXXB