Certification Programs

Export of greenhouse-grown plants to Canada is simplified by the revised U.S.-Canada Greenhouse Certification Program (GCP). A cooperative greenhouse certification program has been in place between the United States (as the USCGP) and Canada (as the CGCP) since 1996. The program facilitates the trade of greenhouse-grown plants between the United States and Canada by allowing authorized facilities to use an Export Certification Label (ECL, also called a “GCP Sticker”) in lieu of a phytosanitary certificate. To improve the consistency and effectiveness of the program (previously called the USGCP), APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) have revised the program requirements. This revised program will replace the previous agreement (USGCP) over a 2-year transition. The GCP also joins the Canadian Greenhouse-Grown Certification Program (CGCP) and the USGCP into one program. The Technical Requirements document outlines the responsibilities of the participating facilities and of APHIS and CFIA under the revised GCP.

• Technical Requirements (654.77 KB), U.S.-Canada Greenhouse-Grown Plant Certification Program

Background information on the greenhouse program, an overview of the revised Technical Requirements, and a questions and answers document are provided below to assist participants in meeting the requirements.

• Background: U.S.-Canadian Greenhouse-Grown Plant Certification Program
• Overview and Highlights of the Revised Technical Requirements
• Questions and Answers

The comments and concerns identified by stakeholders during the 2014 consultation period were taken into account during the revisions.

To facilitate an orderly transition to the revised program, APHIS, CFIA, and their cooperators are providing training and assistance to participants. Authorized Facilities in the United States can continue to use their existing USGCP export certification labels to ship to Canada through the transition period. At the end of the transition period, USDA and APHIS will collect the export certification labels and interfacility stamps of any facilities that have not completed the transition to the GCP.

• USDA Approved Facilities Authorized to Participate in GCP (GCP, Revised 2016)
• CFIA Approved Facilities Authorized to Participate in GCP (GCP, Revised 2016)

For More Information

For more information, or if you have questions about the GCP, please send inquiries to ppqexportservices@usda.gov.