How to check a plant passport
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To check a plant passport, read the label: it should show the EU flag, the words "Plant Passport" and four readable elements, A to D, with B starting with a two-letter country code. There is no public EU database of plant passports. If something looks wrong, ask the seller first, then the plant protection service.
What the label says
A plant passport is a small label with the EU flag, the words "Plant Passport" and four elements marked A to D. In a protected zone the title reads "Plant Passport – PZ", with the name of the pest right below it.
- A — Botanical name: The plant's botanical name: its species, and sometimes its variety.
- B — Operator: Two letters for the country, a hyphen, then the registration number of the business that issued the passport. In Italy, this is the business's RUOP code.
- C — Traceability: A traceability code that links the plant to its lot in the issuer's records. A barcode or QR code may sit next to it.
- D — Country of origin: The country of origin, as a two-letter code.
On the example above: A says the plant is Olea europaea, the olive. B, IT-09-12345, is a business registered in Italy; in Italy that number is the RUOP code, and 09 is the regional code Tuscany uses. C, 2026/OL/118, is the lot the plant belongs to in that business's records. D, IT, says it was grown in Italy.
Reading the label, part by part
Is there an official database?
No. Each EU country keeps its own register of the businesses allowed to issue plant passports. Some regions publish their list as a document, but there is no search where you type in a passport and learn whether it is genuine. The Dutch government says it plainly: there is no public database of phytosanitary registration numbers or traceability codes. Source: Ondernemersplein, in Dutch
Official checks are carried out by each country's plant protection service.
What you can check yourself
- The title reads "Plant Passport", next to the EU flag.
- All four elements, A to D, are there and readable.
- Element B starts with a two-letter country code and a hyphen.
- Element A matches the plant you have.
- Bought online? Plants for planting sold at a distance need a passport even when you are the final user. Bought in a shop for your own garden? The shop does not have to give you one (Reg. (EU) 2016/2031, Art. 81).
Which labels look wrong but are fine?
- Element C is missing. It may be left out for plants for planting already prepared for sale to the final user, with no risk of spreading quarantine pests, unless the species is on a Commission list (Reg. (EU) 2016/2031, Art. 83(2)).
- The country in D differs from the one in B. B is where the issuing business is registered and D is where the plant was grown: a Dutch business can issue the passport for olive trees grown in Italy.
- The business in B is not the grower. B is the business that issued the passport: the grower, or a business further along the chain that replaced the original passport with its own (Art. 93).
- There is no A, B, C or D at all. Certified seed, seed potatoes and certified propagating material, such as fruit plants and vines, carry the passport inside their official certification label (Art. 83(5)).
- The title reads "Plant Passport – PZ", with a pest's scientific name or code under it. That is the version for plants going into, or moving within, a protected zone.
Which labels do not meet the rules?
- A label without the EU flag. Passports in the old format stayed valid only until 14 December 2023 (Impl. Reg. (EU) 2017/2313, Art. 4).
- A passport that is not clearly set apart from the price or care instructions on the same tag, or that cannot be read without a magnifying glass (Impl. Reg. (EU) 2017/2313, Art. 2).
If something looks wrong
- Ask the seller first. Every business that issues or receives plant passports must record who supplied each plant and who it went to, and keep those records for at least three years (Art. 69).
- If you are still in doubt, contact the plant protection service of the country in element B. In Italy, that is the Servizio fitosanitario of the region.
Passports issued with FloraPass
A passport issued with FloraPass can carry a QR code and a verification code like FP-7K4M2-QX9RT8. Enter the code on our verification page to see whether FloraPass issued the passport and whether it is still valid. It does not inspect the plant, and it does not tell you whether the issuer is authorised: that is the plant protection service's job.
Do you grow plants and sell them to other businesses? Share your availability and ship with the passports done — FloraPass is free for 30 days.