USDA Updates Forms for Protecting Endangered Plants and Seizures
Published Date: 2/27/2026
Notice
Summary
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is updating and extending its paperwork rules for protecting endangered plants and handling seized items. This affects anyone dealing with endangered terrestrial plants, making sure the info collected stays clear and up-to-date. You’ve got until April 28, 2026, to share your thoughts—no extra fees, just smoother rules!
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Protected-plant permit requirement
If you are in the business of importing, exporting, or reexporting terrestrial plants listed at 50 CFR 17.12 or 23.23, you must obtain a protected plant permit from APHIS under 7 CFR part 355 to engage in that business. The requirement applies to persons who sell, barter, collect, or otherwise exchange or acquire the plants as a livelihood or enterprise for gain or profit, but does not apply to carriers or customhouse brokers.
Recordkeeping and documentation duties
Entities with protected plant permits must complete applications and engage in information activities such as appealing permit denials, marking containers, notifying APHIS of shipments, validating documents, creating and maintaining import/export/reexport records, and submitting related reports. These recordkeeping and documentation tasks are required parts of the regulations APHIS enforces under the Endangered Species Act and CITES.
Forfeiture procedures and remedies
If plants or other property are subject to forfeiture under the Endangered Species Act or the Lacey Act, affected entities may file with APHIS a waiver of forfeiture procedures, a claim, a request for return of property, or a petition for remission or mitigation of forfeiture. These procedures are part of the regulations at 7 CFR part 356.
Paperwork burden estimate and reduction
APHIS estimates the public burden at 0.096 hours per response, with an estimated 1,097 annual respondents, 137 responses per respondent, 149,876 total annual responses, and 14,436 total annual burden hours. APHIS states it has amended the collection by decreasing the number of responses and that total burden hours reported decreased due to moving PPQ Form 368 to the new Common Form Information Collection.
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