Seeds for your garden can need a phytosanitary certificate even when they fit in a pocket. Great Britain's traveller guidance specifically lists tomato, chilli and sunflower seeds from the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein as requiring one. A small packet is not automatically exempt. GOV.UK seed list.
This guide covers personal planting material and flowers entering England, Scotland or Wales, with sources checked on 26 September 2026. Northern Ireland needs a separate check. For groceries rather than gardening, use our Great Britain food guide.
Start with the species, not the packet size
Before buying, photograph the botanical name, variety, origin and seller's label. Make separate entries for seeds, rooted plants, bulbs, cuttings and cut flowers. A garden-centre shopping bag can contain several different regulated products.
Write down both where the material was produced and where you will travel from. If a packet was produced in one country and sold in another, provide both facts when asking the plant-health authority for advice. Do not silently replace the production origin with the airport you use.
A useful enquiry is: “I want to carry three unopened packets of Solanum lycopersicum seed from France to England for planting at home.” “Can I bring souvenirs?” leaves the authority without the information needed to classify them.
Our UK seeds and planting-material reference is a shorter lookup; the practical task here is arranging the right documents before purchase.
Coming from the EU, Switzerland or Liechtenstein
GOV.UK requires certificates for plants for planting and named seed types. The list includes several familiar vegetables as well as sunflower, alfalfa and certain oil or fibre crops. Read the actual species list instead of assuming that all seeds have identical treatment. Products not requiring a certificate must still be for your own use and free of pests and disease. EU-group plant guidance.
Consider a hypothetical purchase of two 5 g tomato-seed packets and one 10 g sunflower-seed packet. The calculation is 5 + 5 + 10 = 20 g, or 0.02 kg. That helps describe the consignment. It does not cancel the certificate requirement for those named seeds.
If the seller cannot arrange the necessary process before you leave, a practical alternative is to record the variety name and buy it from a supplier serving your destination. Do not buy first on the assumption that a retail receipt will be enough.
Coming from elsewhere
The guidance for countries outside that group requires a phytosanitary certificate for plants and plant products, including plants for planting, cut flowers and foliage. A decorative bouquet therefore needs a different check from a box of processed food. GOV.UK other-country guidance.
For example, when considering flowers bought during a trip to Türkiye, ask the florist for a list of the flowers and decorative greenery before placing the order. Send that list to the relevant plant-health authority. A mixed bouquet described only as “roses” might omit foliage that also needs assessment.
Removing the soil, drying the leaves or changing the packaging is not a reliable way to establish eligibility. Ask about the product in the condition in which you will actually carry it.
Understand the 2 kg inspection trigger
For more than 2 kg of plants for planting, GOV.UK says you must arrange an arrival inspection by a plant-health inspector. This is an additional procedure, not a 2 kg duty-free allowance or permission to bring uncertified plants below that weight. Inspection requirement.
As a worked example, planting material weighing 1.25 kg plus 0.90 kg totals 2.15 kg: 150 g above 2 kg. Plan the inspection rather than rounding the total down. If pots, growing medium or packaging make the relevant weight unclear, ask the authority how to calculate it before booking the arrangements.
Get the document before travelling
A phytosanitary certificate records an official plant-health assessment. Travellers obtain it from the plant-health authorities in the country they travel from. It is not the same as a shop invoice or a gardener's statement that a plant looks healthy. GOV.UK certificate instructions.
Keep the product list, certificate and any inspection arrangements together. Match the names and quantities against the actual bag before departure. If you substitute a different plant at the last minute, resolve the paperwork again rather than assuming it covers the replacement.
Finally, check the airline's carriage arrangements separately for fragile plants and bulky flowers. A plant-health document answers the border question; it does not reserve cabin space. This guide does not clear protected species, commercial consignments or an unidentified seed mixture.