Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
APHIS
The agency of the United States Department of Agriculture responsible for protecting the health and value of American agricultural and natural resources. Its published work is organised around animals, plants, trade and travellers, covering both animal health and plant health functions.
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Government level
- Federal
- Authority type
- Plant health authority
- Status
- Active
Visit the official websitehttps://www.aphis.usda.gov
Responsibilities
Each item below is recorded from the authority’s own published material, not inferred from its name.
- Plant healthStatutory
Maintains plant health as one of its two core programme areas; the agency states it protects the health and value of America’s agricultural and natural resources.
Source: USDA APHIS — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- Animal healthStatutory
Maintains animal health as one of its two core programme areas.
Source: USDA APHIS — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- Agricultural tradeStatutory
Publishes a dedicated trade programme area covering agricultural import and export.
Source: USDA APHIS — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
- Phytosanitary inspectionStatutory
Operates as an inspection service, including requirements applying to travellers bringing agricultural material into the United States.
Source: USDA APHIS — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Sources and verification
Official aphis.usda.gov “About APHIS” page resolved with HTTP 200 (last modified 15 May 2026) and states that “APHIS has been protecting the health and value of America’s agricultural and natural resources” for more than 50 years, with site programme areas for Animals, Plants, Trade and Travelers.
Verified 2026-08-19 against https://www.aphis.usda.gov/about · domain classification: Official subdomain
Important limitations
- APHIS is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture; this record describes the agency, not the parent department.
- The specific statutory authorities under which APHIS acts are set out in United States law and are not enumerated here.