USDA PPQ 587: Importing Plants into the US
What the PPQ 587 permit covers, how to file it in APHIS eFile, and how Green and Yellow labels route your consignment through a US inspection station.
Importing live tropical plants and rare aroids into the United States from Indonesia is fully legal and routine, provided commercial nurseries and retail buyers follow Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR 319.37). The United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) enforces strict biosecurity to safeguard American agricultural ecology against foreign pests.
The 12-Plant Exemption Rule vs Commercial Wholesale
For individual collectors and small orders, USDA regulations permit the entry of up to 12 admissible live plants without a formal USDA import permit, provided that the shipment is accompanied by an authentic official Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the exporting country's government authority (Indonesia's Balai Karantina Pertanian / Barantan). However, for commercial nurseries ordering 13 or more plants, an official USDA Import Permit (PPQ 587) is legally mandatory.
Step 1: Submitting USDA eFile PPQ 587
Acquiring a USDA PPQ 587 permit is 100% free and completed online via the USDA eFile portal (efile.aphis.usda.gov). The permit is typically issued within 5 to 14 business days and remains valid for three years. When applying, list "Indonesia" as the country of origin and specify botanical families such as *Araceae*, *Apocynaceae* (Hoyas), and *Polypodiaceae* (Ferns).
Step 2: Green and Yellow Shipping Labels (PPQ 508)
Once your PPQ 587 permit is granted, you can download pre-printed electronic Green and Yellow shipping labels (Form PPQ 508). Each label directs your DHL Express or air-freight consignment directly to a designated USDA Plant Inspection Station (PIS)—such as Miami (MIA), Jamaica/JFK (New York), Los Angeles (LAX), or Atlanta (ATL)—prior to final delivery to your commercial nursery.
Step 3: Phytosanitary Certificate and Invoice Matching
At Foliaria, our export team attaches the original Barantan Phytosanitary Certificate, three copies of the commercial invoice, and your USDA permit labels directly inside a transparent waterproof exterior pouch on Box 1 of your consignment. Our bare-root wash protocol removes the soil and organic substrate that inspection counters routinely hold consignments for.
Continue with the commercial pages
The regulatory and commercial detail behind this guide, in the pages buyers actually work from.
- How to import plants from IndonesiaThe full document-to-door sequence: bare-root preparation, Barantan certification, destination permits, inspection and arrival.
- Wholesale import FAQMinimums, mixing, payment, paperwork, freight and arrival condition, answered in one place.
- Export compliance protocolsWhat Foliaria prepares before dispatch, and what the importer has to clear on their side.
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Build Your Export Consignment
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