Thanks Gastil, I'm definitely a newbie. Tried to get permits online from the USDA but their system doesn't work with my mobile which is my only internet access. Karl On Feb 22, 2013 11:25 AM, "Gastil Gastil-Buhl" <gastil.buhl@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Karl, > > It took me awhile to figure out how to import so Im happy to pass along > what I learned, most of which I got from this pbs list. > > Yes any seed coming from outside the US needs a permit. But you do not > need a big-deal/real permit if your order qualifies as a "Small Lots of > Seed". > There are limits and restrictions. > > http://aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/… > > > I have ordered twice from Silverhill Seeds and once from Gordon > Summerfield. Both of them are familiar with the process. Only I was the > newbie. All three orders arrived without any problem. It does take awhile, > but then, if you grow bulbs from seed you are necessarily a patient person. > > 1. Go to the APHIS website and get an online account > 2. Download, print, and fill in the form* > 3. Mail it in. ( I dont recall if I did that electronically or on paper.) > 4. They corresponded with me via email, not a form letter but an actual > person there, re some details. > 5. Receive your yellow/green stickers and Small Lots of Seed permit in the > mail > I think it might have taken one month, possibly 3 weeks. > 6. Photocopy the permit. Make a copy to send to each place you will be > ordering from. > Some places, like Silverhill, will keep your permit and a supply of > stickers in their file cabinet ready for when you order more. > So send them as many as you expect to use in the 3 years your permit lasts. > 7. Get an account with UPS or FedEx. I use UPS. > 8. Paper mail some stickers, a copy of your permit, and your UPS account > number to the place you wish to order from. > 9. They will follow very specific steps in preparing your order, such as a > list of all the species and each seed packet labeled with the species. > If it is someone doing this for the first time, send them the instructions. > 10. They mail the package directly to the USDA Inspection Station printed > on your yellow/green stickers. > 11. The inspection station then forwards the package on to you using your > UPS account. > > Later if you need more permits just email or phone them and they'll mail > them to you in about a week. > > *I had some trouble filling out the form. > You do not have to guess all the countries you will order from. Just list > a few you expect. Your permit will cover any country. > I dont know why, but it was hard for me to choose my Inspection Station > city. I chose San Diego and they've worked great so far. > > Others have mentioned that if you will be ordering recalcitrant Amaryllid > seeds, the kind that like to sprout precociously, ask the exporter to put a > note in the package explaining that those really are seeds and that this is > normal. Otherwise a plant inspection station might mistake them for plants, > not sees. > > - Gastil > > > _______________________________________________ > pbs mailing list > pbs@lists.ibiblio.org > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php > http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/ >