Exceptions to Permitting Requirements for the Interstate Movement of Certain Plant Pests

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) facilitates the import and interstate movement of live arthropods (e.g. insects, arachnids, myriopods, crustaceans), microorganisms and weeds that are plant pests and/or may be potential biological control organisms via permits that prescribe safeguards to prevent harm to U.S. agricultural and natural resources.  

APHIS revised the regulations in 2019 that govern the movement of plant pests to align the regulations with current policies, remove outdated requirements, streamline the permit process for low-risk organisms, and update requirements for the import of foreign soil.

• Final Rule 

Effective August 9, 2019, the organisms listed below may be moved interstate within the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. Territories and Possessions) without further restriction under 7 CFR part 330.204.

Native and Naturalized Plant Pests

Permits for interstate movement of the listed plant pests may not be required for the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. Territories and Possessions) as long as:

• the organism(s)/ isolates of the organism(s) are pure cultures collected within the contiguous United States,
• or are the offspring of individuals collected within the contiguous United States,
• and the movement is free of host materials, parasitoids, pathogens, microorganisms and contaminants.

Arthropods listed below must meet the above conditions as well as the following: 

• Arthropod colonies of the species on the list that were imported from foreign countries and subsequently maintained in the United States are considered as U.S. isolates in this regulatory context (this applies mostly to the insect feeder trade).
• The organism(s) is(are) not resistant, or putatively resistant to proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis.

The table is categorized by bacteria, cockroaches (feeder insect trade), fungi, insects, mites, nematodes, and viruses.

Invertebrate Organisms for the Biological Control of Weeds

Permits for interstate movement of contamination free cultures of the listed biological control organisms are no longer required for the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. Territories and Possessions). Permits are still required for importation of the listed organisms.

Invertebrate Organisms for the Biological Control of Invertebrate Plant Pest 

Permits for interstate movement of contamination free cultures of the listed biological control organisms are no longer required for the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. Territories and Possessions). Permits are still required for importation of the listed organisms.

Interested parties may petition APHIS to request a plant pest or a biological control organism be added to the list of organisms that may be imported into or moved in interstate commerce within the contiguous United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and all U.S. Territories and Possessions) without restriction under 7 CFR part 330. Interested parties can also request the reinstatement of permitting requirements by removing a species from the list of organisms allowed for interstate/domestic movement. The process by which interested parties may petition APHIS can be found in 7 CFR part 330.204(b) and (c).