Guidance

Export agricultural machinery

You may need a plant health certificate to export used farm machinery outside the EU.

This guidance was withdrawn on

This page has been withdrawn because it’s out of date. For current information read Export plants and plant products from Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Your used agricultural machinery may need to travel with a plant health (phytosanitary) certificate when you export outside the EU.

You don’t need to do anything inside the EU.

Check with the plant authority in the country that you’re exporting to to find out if used farm machinery needs a certificate.

Make sure you ask to receive an official document to explain the rules in that country and how to comply. This will help UK inspectors to prepare your export correctly.

You apply a different way in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Apply for a plant health certificate

You must apply for your machinery to be inspected, either:

Fees

The fees for export inspections change on 1 October 2019.

The fees are £63.80, with a minimum fee of £127.60. The fees are payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection and any associated activities. These associated activities include the time it takes inspectors to travel to your site and any administration relevant to that inspection, subject to the minimum fees.

An additional fee of £15.76 is charged if you submit an application for an export in paper form rather than online.

Issue of a phytosanitary certificate fee is £25.52 per certificate.

Laboratory examination fee is £33.56 per sample tested.

Amendment of a certificate at the request of an exporter is £15.76.

Reduced fees

You can apply for a 50% discount for the first £1,500 of APHA services in a financial year if either of the following apply:

  • you’re not registered for VAT
  • your certified exports were worth less than £5,000 in the last financial year
Published 7 November 2016
Last updated 24 March 2020 + show all updates
  1. Updated the fees section.

  2. Updated HH36A form

  3. Updated fees section due to fee changes on 6 April 2018.

  4. First published.