Authorized Certification Official (ACO) – A federal or state department of agriculture inspector who is officially trained and credentialed to conduct export inspections and issue Federal Phytosanitary Certificates.

Export Certificates – these are documents that attest to the phytosanitary condition of plants or plant products and are issued by an ACO. Three types of export certificates are issued by ACO”s in the United States: PPQ Form 577, Phytosanitary Certificate; PPQ Form 578, Export Certificate, Processed Plant Products; and, PPQ Form 579, Phytosanitary Certificate for Reexport.

Export Certificate, Processed Plant Products, PPQ Form 578 – an accountable certificate used to o certify eligible processed products for which PPQ Form 577 or PPQ Form 579 cannot be issued. The intended purpose of the Export Certificate, Processed Plant Products is to assist U.S. exporters whose shipments may be placed in jeopardy is such a document is not issued.

Federal Phytosanitary Certificate, PPQ Form 577, (FPC) – an accountable inspection certificate used to certify domestic plants and unprocessed or unmanufactured plant products for export. The purpose of the FPC is to certify that plants and plant products conform with the current phytosanitary requirements of the importing country.

Federal Phytosanitary Certificate for Reexport, PPQ Form 579 – used to certify that, based on an original foreign phytosanitary certificate and/or an additional inspection, the plants or plant products officially entered the United States, are considered to conform to the current phytosanitary regulations of the importing country, and have not been subjected to the risk of infestation or infection during storage in the United States.

Import Permit – An official document authorizing importation of a commodity in accordance with specified phytosanitary import requirements.  The Import Permit (IP) is issued to the consignee who is the importer in the receiving country--not to the exporter. If the exporter has a copy of the permit, the exporter would have received it from the importer. Also, if the IP is in a foreign language, it must be translated in the United States and notarized as a true translation.