How Does the Permit Process Work?
Your business may require a USDA permit if your product contains ingredients derived from plants or animals. Our experienced staff can evaluate your product and quickly determine whether USDA will require a permit.
Once we have identified the need for a particular permit, our team can then complete the application and negotiate with USDA to define the permit terms and scope, ensuring that USDA provides just the permit you need, and in a timely fashion.
Generally, getting a permit requires three steps. First, an application must be completed and application fee paid. Second, USDA reviews the application, examining the safety of the ingredients to ensure that the product allows no disease-vectors to enter the United States. Third, the applicant must ensure that any foreign health certifications, related to permit application, have been properly completed, authenticated, and collected.
Sometimes, USDA decides a product does not need a USDA permit. In these cases, USDA issues a Letter of No Jurisdiction, which officially states that the product does not require an APHIS permit. This Letter of No Jurisdiction is as important for clearing a Customs-hold or a USDA entry exam as a USDA permit when a permit is required.
The team at USDAPermits.com can navigate through the permit process to successfully obtain a USDA permit for your product, or to obtain a USDA Letter of No Jurisdiction to expedite U.S. Customs entry clearance.
How to Get a Permit
1. Our team will evaluate your product’s ingredients to determine whether your company needs a USDA import permit or not.
2. If your product requires a permit, based on information you provide us, we will gather the necessary documents and information, prepare an application and submit it to the appropriate office at USDA.
3. If your product does not require a permit, we can discuss with you the commercial and operational advantages of obtaining a Letter of No Jurisdiction.
4. For the permit application, we will negotiate with USDA to ensure that the specific requirements of the application are satisfied and the language of the permit meets your business needs.
5. USDA will issue the permit once it has determined that the application requirements have been satisfied.
