Plant passports for Etsy, eBay, Vinted and Facebook Marketplace sellers
Many small plant sellers start on a marketplace rather than their own website. The plant passport rules are the same wherever the order comes from. Here is how they apply to each platform.
Short answer
The platform does not change the rule. If you regularly sell plants for planting for profit and post them to buyers, each parcel needs a UK plant passport, whether the order came through Etsy, eBay, Vinted, Facebook Marketplace or your own shop. Marketplace orders are distance sales, so the exemption for customers who pay in person does not apply. The passport is the seller’s job: the platform does not issue one for you.
The same rule applies on every platform
Official guidance does not name marketplaces. It is about how the sale happens. Selling through a "distance contract", such as online, by phone or by mail order, means a passport is needed "even if that final user is buying for personal use" (Defra FAQ Q2.9). The exemption for sales to home gardeners only covers "customers paying in person" (GOV.UK).
Two questions decide it: are you a professional operator, meaning you sell plants regularly for profit, and are you posting plants for planting to the buyer? If both answers are yes, each parcel needs a passport.
Platform by platform
How the rule usually plays out on the platforms small sellers use most:
| Platform | Passport needed when you post plants? |
|---|---|
| Etsy | Yes for a plant shop with regular sales. Etsy order exports can be turned into labels, see the Etsy guide. |
| eBay | Yes for a shop or regular plant listings. A one-off garden clear-out is closer to a hobby. |
| Vinted | Yes if you sell plants regularly for profit. Occasional personal sales are unlikely to make you a professional operator. |
| Facebook Marketplace and groups | Yes for posted orders if you sell regularly. If the buyer collects and pays in person, the in-person exemption can apply. |
| Instagram, TikTok and other social selling | Yes. Defra lists a social media account devoted to trading plants as a sign of a professional operator. |
Marketplaces have their own rules for selling plants and seeds. Those sit on top of the law. Following a platform’s policy does not replace a plant passport, and a platform allowing a listing does not mean a passport is not needed.
Collection sales
GOV.UK exempts retail sales to customers paying in person. A Facebook Marketplace buyer who collects the plant and pays you on the doorstep fits that description. The guidance does not deal with a sale agreed and paid online and then collected, so if collection is a large part of your sales, ask APHA how they see it.
APHA checks online sellers
APHA reviews online plant sellers. In a 2024 review it found that more than 20% of the top 100 online plant sellers were not authorised to issue plant passports (APHA blog).
Once authorised, you can join the GOV.UK list of authorised distance plant sellers. Buyers can use it to check a seller, and mentioning it in your shop description can reassure customers.
Labelling marketplace orders
Each parcel needs one passport that lists every species inside it (Defra FAQ Q2.8). For distance sales it can go on the outside of the parcel, or on the packing slip if that travels inside the parcel with the plant. Keep it inside its own border, separate from the rest of the slip. The label requirements and the free template show the layout.
Selling on several platforms usually means several order lists. Plant Passport Ops imports Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce or any CSV order export, matches each product to its botanical name and code, prints labels for the batch and keeps the records you need for 3 years.
Change ahead: under the UK–EU SPS agreement, the government says EU plant passports will replace UK plant passports, with the agreement intended to take effect in mid-2027 (subject to negotiations). Until new guidance is published, the UK rules on this page apply. See EU plant passports in 2027.
Common questions
Does Etsy or eBay issue plant passports?+
No. Plant passports are issued by sellers who are authorised by APHA (or SASA in Scotland). The marketplace only handles the listing and payment.
Do I need a plant passport to sell one plant on Vinted?+
Probably not, if it is an occasional personal sale. The rules apply to professional operators, who sell plants regularly for profit.
Can I print the plant passport on my Etsy packing slip?+
Yes, if the packing slip travels inside the parcel with the plant and the passport is clearly separate from the rest of the slip, with its own border and the "UK Plant Passport" heading.
Do I need a passport if a Facebook Marketplace buyer collects the plant?+
Not if they pay in person when they collect it. GOV.UK says no passport is needed for retail sales to customers paying in person.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Issuing plant passports to trade plants in Great Britain
- Defra Plant Health Portal: Plant passport FAQ
- Retained Regulation (EU) 2016/2031, Article 81 (exemption for final users)
- Defra Plant Health Portal: Am I a professional operator?
- APHA Science blog: Protecting online plant buyers (January 2025)
- GOV.UK: Join the list of authorised distance plant sellers
- GOV.UK: SPS agreement, horticulture industry: preparing your business
This guide summarises official guidance for Great Britain as of 12 Oct 2026. Rules can change, so check the linked GOV.UK pages or contact APHA (Scotland: SASA) for your own situation. Plant Passport Ops does not grant official authorisation or provide legal or regulatory advice. It helps sellers organise label and record workflows based on the information they enter.
Make plant passport labels from your orders
Connect Shopify or Etsy, or import a WooCommerce or CSV order export, fill in the passport details once and print labels in batches. Free for 20 passports a month.
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