Plant passports for nurseries and young plants: duties and records
Trading plants for planting in the EU requires registration and a plant passport. Duties, passport content and records to keep for three years.
Key points
- Duty: plants for planting and expressly listed seeds need a plant passport when moved within the EU.
- Exception: direct supply to end users is exempt, but not distance sales and not supply into protected zones.
- Issuing: only by registered operators authorised by the competent authority.
- Registration: report changes within 30 days; in Germany, update registration data every year by 30 April.
- Records: receipts and deliveries per trade unit and examinations must be kept for at least three years.
- Passport: a rectangular label with the EU flag, "Plant Passport" and fields A to D.
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Since December 2019 the EU has applied its new plant health law, Regulation (EU) 2016/2031. For nurseries, young plant producers, perennial growers and fruit farms with their own propagation, the consequences are noticeable: almost all plants for planting need a plant passport when moved within the EU, and whoever issues one must be registered and authorised, monitor their stock and document the flow of goods. This article summarises what applies, what is on the passport and which records you must keep for three years. The examples draw on guidance from German plant protection services, but the rules come from EU law.
Which goods need a plant passport
According to the plant protection service of Brandenburg, the plant passport requirement covers all plants intended for planting and expressly listed seeds. This includes woody plants, fruit trees, perennials, young vegetable and ornamental plants, pot plants for planting out and tubers or bulbs for planting.
No plant passport is needed when goods are supplied directly to end users, for example in farm-gate sales to private customers. This exception does not apply to distance sales, i.e. shipping after an online or telephone order, or when the recipient is located in a protected zone. Movements within one site or between nearby sites of the same registered operator also need no passport.
Registration
Under Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, authorities keep an official register. Among others, operators authorised to issue plant passports, exporters with phytosanitary certificates and importers of goods requiring a passport must be registered. The plant protection service of Brandenburg names these ongoing duties:
- report changes to company details within 30 days
- update registration data, such as activities, sites and plant genera, every year by 30 April
- keep traceability records per trade unit
- retain these records for three years
Small quantities supplied directly to private end users do not trigger registration, except in distance sales.
Duties before issuing
Plant passports are issued by authorised operators under the supervision of the competent authority. Authorisation requires knowledge of the rules, examination procedures and measures against pests. Before issuing, according to the plant protection service of Brandenburg:
- monitor production processes and movements of goods
- examine for regulated pests on a risk basis and at appropriate times
- have examinations carried out by trained staff
- keep examinations with date and result for at least three years
The Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia additionally describes the duty to identify and monitor critical points on the premises. If an infestation is found or the conditions are no longer met, no passport may be issued, passports already issued must be invalidated, and the authority must be informed.
What is on the plant passport
The plant passport is a rectangular label whose layout is set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2313. The EU flag is at the top left and "Pflanzenpass / Plant Passport" or the equivalent in the national language at the top right. Below follow:
- A: botanical name of the species, optionally with the variety
- B: registration number of the issuing operator, starting with the country code, such as DE
- C: traceability code, a letter, numeric or alphanumeric code for the consignment, lot or trade unit
- D: country of origin as a country code or name of the third country
The details must be unalterable and durable. For movement into protected zones there is the protected zone plant passport with the addition "PZ" and the codes of the pests concerned.
Replacing a plant passport
If a trade unit is split or recombined, the passport may be replaced as long as traceability is maintained, the plant health requirements are met and the characteristics of the goods have not changed. The original passport must be kept for three years.
Traceability in practice
The key question during an inspection is: where did this lot come from, and where did it go? Each lot therefore needs a unique identifier that appears on the passport as the traceability code. It helps to record per lot:
- receipt with supplier, date, quantity and the supplier's plant passport
- own propagation with mother plants, date and quantity
- examinations with date, examiner and result
- deliveries with recipient, date, quantity and passport issued
- destruction with reason and quantity
Quantities should balance: receipts and own propagation minus deliveries and destruction give the stock.
Common mistakes
- shipping to private customers after an online order without a plant passport
- traceability code on the passport, but no lot with that code in the records
- examination carried out but not documented with date and result
- annual update by 30 April missed
- trade units split, original passport not kept
How to proceed on the farm
- Check registration: are activities, sites and genera correct? Put 30 April in the calendar.
- Label lots: give every lot a unique code.
- Define checkpoints: where and when is each pest examined?
- Record the flow of goods: receipt, propagation, delivery and destruction per lot.
- Secure retention: keep records, examinations and replaced passports for three years.
Plant health in PhytAI
PhytAI keeps lots with movements: produced, received, delivered and destroyed, with the stock per lot. Examinations are recorded with date and result: free, suspect or infested. A passport can be prepared when the lot's latest examination was free; PhytAI shows the date so that the issuer can judge the interval. The label is generated with fields A to D, for protected zones with "PZ" and the pest codes. Checkpoints remind you of due examinations, the annual update by 30 April appears as a notice, and all records are kept with three years' retention. In case of infestation, PhytAI points out that issued passports are invalid. Authorisation and the decision on the passport remain with the business.
Frequently asked questions
Do goods for my own farm shop need a plant passport? Not for direct supply to private end users on site. For shipping after an order, yes.
How long is a plant passport valid? The passport accompanies the trade unit. What matters is that the goods meet the requirements when it is issued and remain traceable.
Where do I get authorisation? From the plant protection service of your region, which also keeps the register.
Sources
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- Plant protection service Brandenburg (ISIP): Pflanzenpasspflicht, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- Plant protection service Brandenburg (ISIP): Registrierung von Unternehmern, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
- Chamber of Agriculture North Rhine-Westphalia: Neues EU-Pflanzengesundheitssystem, retrieved 17 Sep 2026
This article reflects the situation on the date shown, based on the sources named, and is not legal advice. Laws, approvals, official decisions and the guidance of the competent authorities prevail.