The Plant Protection and Weed Control Program can inspect your used agricultural machinery that is destined to California. The machinery is expected to be cleaned of soil, plant debris, straw, cobs, etc. to the way it was when it was first manufactured. Not only the outside needs to be cleaned but all internal parts need to be cleaned also. A typical combine will take around 40 man-hours to thoroughly clean it.
Once you have cleaned your machinery; fill out the online application for export inspection. Shortly thereafter an inspector will contact you and set up a time for the inspection.
Inspection Day:
You will need to have the clean machinery available for inspection. Please leave any shields off the machinery, because you will be asked to remove them to facilitate the inspection. You will also need the shipping information - the destination, serial numbers, and past history of the machinery - where it was used and when it was last used.
A machinery inspection can take less than 5 minutes if the machinery is obviously dirty or up to 3 hours if the inspector needs to guide your staff on where to clean. A typical inspection runs around an hour for an exceptionally clean piece of machinery. Multiple inspections may be required if the machinery is presented to the inspector in a dirty condition. The person requesting the inspection will be billed for the inspection time, mileage and travel time whether the machinery passes or fails inspection. So it is to your advantage to have it show room clean and ready when we show up for the inspection.
Certification:
Once your machinery passes inspection you will be issued a State Phytosanitary Certificate that will need to be presented at the California border. The original certificate will be sent with the machinery and the certificate is valid for 30 days. There is also a document charge for this certificate.