Apply for approval to export animals and animal products to Great Britain
Source: gov.uk (2025-02-07)

Guidance for competent authorities applying to Defra for market access to export animals and animal products to Great Britain, or to amend existing trading conditions.

This guidance is for competent authorities in countries (or territories) that export, or wish to get approval to export, animals and animal products to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). In this case, a ‘competent authority’ is an official body recognised by its national government as being responsible for either or both:
- the development and implementation of the country’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory and assurance systems
- the country’s international trade in animals and animal products
Countries must have approval to export animals and animal products to Great Britain. Check the list of approved countries. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-to-great-britain-approved-countries-for-animals-and-animal-products)

Approval to export animals and animal products to the EU does not include Great Britain – you must apply to the UK government for approval to export to Great Britain.

To export a specific commodity to Great Britain, you must also have:
- establishments that are approved to export the commodity (for more information, read the ‘Amend the list of approved establishments’ section below)
- a residue control plan if the commodity is for human consumption (for more information, read about what a residue control plan is for (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/submit-a-residue-control-plan-for-exports-to-great-britain))
If you are an exporter, food business or trade body, you cannot apply for approval to export animals and animal products to Great Britain. Contact the responsible competent authority in the country of export.

EU SPS rules apply in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-windsor-framework). For information about getting approval to export to Northern Ireland, contact xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx).

Market access requests

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for assuring that imports of animals and animal products meet the UK’s biosecurity standards.

Defra co-ordinates with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) (https://www.food.gov.uk/) on market access requests. The FSA is responsible for assuring that imports of animal products for human consumption comply with Great Britain’s food safety legislation.

If you are the responsible competent authority in an exporting country, you should contact Defra to make a market access request. This can be to:
- apply for country listing
- amend your existing trading conditions
Applying for country listing means you are seeking approval to export a commodity to Great Britain that you do not currently have approval to export.

Amending your existing trading conditions means your country already has approval to export a particular commodity to Great Britain, but you want to change the terms of your market access. For example, if you want the UK to recognise regionalisation.

Read about regionalisation in the ‘If you have an animal disease outbreak’ section below.

A market access request can be for more than one type of commodity.

Prepare to submit a request

Before you submit a request, check whether your country already has approval to export the commodities to Great Britain and, if so, what the existing trading conditions are. Check the list of approved countries. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-to-great-britain-approved-countries-for-animals-and-animal-products) For full information about trading conditions, you may need to refer to the relevant footnotes and information keys.

You should also check:
- if you already have a residue control plan in place (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-to-great-britain-approved-countries-for-animals-and-animal-products) for each commodity for human consumption included in your request
- if you have ‘approved establishments’– read the ‘Amend the list of approved establishments’ section below
- the import requirements for each commodity
For information on import requirements, read:
- guidance on importing animals and animal products into Great Britain (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-on-importing-live-animals-or-animal-products)
- the relevant commodity-specific import information notes (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/import-information-notes)
- the relevant health certificate (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/health-certificates-for-animal-and-animal-product-imports-to-great-britain)
If you cannot meet the import requirements, you should not submit a request.

What to provide in your request

Your request should state:
- the commodities you are seeking approval for
- whether they are intended for human consumption
- whether this is an amendment to existing trading conditions
- that you can fulfil the legal requirements for exporting the commodities to Great Britain
- any other relevant information
If you wish to ask for recognition of regionalisation or compartmentalisation, read the ‘If you have an animal disease outbreak’ section below.

Provide a residue control plan for commodities for human consumption

You will need to include a residue control plan and test results for any commodity for human consumption in your request.

For example, if you currently have approval to export milk products not for human consumption to Great Britain, and you wish to amend your trading conditions so that you can export milk products for human consumption, you will need to include a residue control plan for milk.

Read more about submitting a residue control plan. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/submit-a-residue-control-plan-for-exports-to-great-britain)

Submit your request

Once you have prepared your request, email it to Defra’s UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx). As part of your request, you will need to provide a residue control plan and test results for any commodities for human consumption.

We will respond within 20 working days to set out the next steps. We may ask you to provide additional information.

Complete a market access questionnaire

We (Defra) may ask you to complete a market access questionnaire – for example, if your request is for country listing for a commodity for human consumption.

The questionnaire may ask you to provide information on:
- your animal health and food safety legislation, and how you implement it and ensure compliance
- the structure of your responsible competent authorities
- your official animal health and food safety controls for imports and exports
Assessment process

If you are requesting country listing, we (Defra) will first carry out a desk-based assessment. We may also do so for requests to amend existing trading conditions.

A desk-based assessment may involve conducting risk assessments and considering:
- your residue control plans and test results, if you submitted any
- your market access questionnaire, if we asked you to complete one
- evidence that shows you can meet Great Britain’s import requirements
- previous assessment findings
- publicly available information
We may conduct an in-country audit to verify the findings of the desk-based assessment. The audit may involve:
- meetings with the competent authority and veterinary services
- visits to relevant facilities involved in the primary production, production, processing, distribution and storage of the relevant commodities
Our assessments and audits meet internationally recognised standards, including World Organisation for Animal Health (https://www.woah.org/en/home/) (WOAH) and Codex Alimentarius (https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/en/) standards and guidelines. We also comply with World Trade Organisation obligations and the UK’s trade agreements.

Market access decision and specific conditions

The length of the decision-making process depends on the individual circumstances. The decision will be based on evidence and risk, and will be in compliance with World Trade Organisation obligations.

Once the decision-making process is complete, we (Defra) will let you know the outcome. If the decision is to approve your request, we will update the list of approved countries (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exporting-to-great-britain-approved-countries-for-animals-and-animal-products). You may need to meet specific conditions under which exports to Great Britain will be authorised.

Update the list of approved establishments

Exports of animals and animal products (except honey) must come to Great Britain from establishments that are approved by the exporting country. The approval must be for the commodity that’s being exported.

Approved establishments must meet:
- your domestic public and animal health requirements
- Great Britain’s import requirements
EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland should maintain information about approved establishments using TRACES, the EU’s digital certification and management platform (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/tracesnt/login). The EU uses this information to update the UK’s list of approved establishments.

Other countries with approval to export animals or animal products to Great Britain must submit a request to Defra to update the UK’s list of approved establishments.

Request an update to the list of approved establishments. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/approved-establishments-amendment-request-forms)

Once we have received amendments, we aim to update the list of approved establishments (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/595901f1-b613-475e-a32b-c02c0085675d/establishments-approved-to-export-animals-and-animal-products-to-great-britain) within 5 working days. We will also update this information on the import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-of-products-animals-food-and-feed-system). Establishments can start exporting from the date they are added to the list.

When an importer or import agent raises an import notification for a consignment of goods on IPAFFS, they must include details of the approved establishment. If the establishment is not approved for the commodity that is being imported, the goods will be held at the border.

Maintaining your market access

If you have approval to export products of animal origin for human consumption to Great Britain, every year you must submit an updated residue control plan and test results for each approved commodity for human consumption.

Read more about submitting a residue control plan. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/submit-a-residue-control-plan-for-exports-to-great-britain)

You must also make sure that you have supplied up-to-date information about:
- approved establishments in your country – read the ‘Amend the list of approved establishments’ section above
- any proposed or planned changes to official controls for imports and exports
- any changes in risk, such as an animal disease outbreak
If you have an animal disease outbreak

If you have approval to export animals or animal products to Great Britain and there is a notifiable animal disease outbreak in your country, you must tell the UK government. Ways to do this include:
- contacting the UK Chief Veterinary Officer
- emailing the UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance at xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx)
As a result of an outbreak, the UK government may amend your existing trading conditions on the basis of risk – for example, by:
- implementing import restrictions
- establishing additional conditions you must meet or guarantees you must provide for imports to continue
Once the disease has been eradicated, you should tell the UK government and include evidence to support this.

You can submit a request to the UK government for recognition of disease-free status for a particular disease. Defra will carry out an assessment of the evidence and, with the Scottish and Welsh governments, may agree to recognise disease-free status.

If WOAH have recognised your country as being free from a particular disease, you must still submit a request to the UK government if you wish to gain recognition from the UK. Defra’s assessment may include the information you submitted to WOAH.

You should also tell the UK government if you are planning to use vaccination for a notifiable disease, as this may affect your existing trading conditions.

Recognition of regionalisation or compartmentalisation

If you have an animal disease outbreak, you can ask for recognition of ‘regionalisation’ or ‘compartmentalisation’. You can also ask for this if you have not had a disease outbreak.

Regionalisation is where an area of a country is recognised as being free from a particular disease. Under a regionalisation agreement, exports from disease-free areas are allowed even if there are restrictions in place in other areas of the country.

Compartmentalisation provides assurance that animals under agreed biosecurity conditions are free from a particular disease even if there is an outbreak of that disease within the country.

Read about current restrictions on imports of animals and animal products into Great Britain due to animal disease outbreaks. (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/imports-and-exports-of-animals-and-animal-products-topical-issues)

Approval to export live aquatic animals not for human consumption

If you wish to get approval to export live aquatic animals not for human consumption to Great Britain, contact the UK Office for SPS Trade Assurance: xxx@xxx.xx (mailto:xxx@xxx.xx). You can also read guidance from the Fish Health Inspectorate for England and Wales (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-or-export-live-fish-and-shellfish) or Scotland (https://www.gov.scot/policies/fish-health-inspectorate/imports-and-exports/).