Hatching Eggs

Since 1 January 2021 consignments of Hatching Eggs exported to the UK (excl. NI) must be pre-notified to the new UK IT system - Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System (IPAFFS) and accompanied by a health certificate issued by the Department.

The process for exporting hatching eggs is outlined below:

1. The exporter must secure the services of a the UK (excl. NI) based importer who will need to register with IPAFFS and submit advance notification of the import at least 24hrs in advance.

2. Following pre-notification on IPAFFS by the UK importer, a Unique Notification Number (UNN) is generated. The UK importer will have to give this UNN to the Irish exporter who must in turn submit it to the certifying official veterinarian (OV) in Ireland for inclusion in the Export Health Certificate (EHC).

3. Exporters will need to continue to apply for EHCs through the Department’s Regional Veterinary Offices (RVOs). The exporter will need to provide the necessary information to the certifying OV to allow them to generate the EHC.

4. Exporters must allow five working days for EHC completion.

5. Once the EHC is generated, it is signed and stamped by the certifying OV and the original is provided in hard copy to the exporter. The exporter should make arrangements to collect the EHC from the local Regional Veterinary Office (RVO).

6. The IE exporter should email a scanned copy of the EHC to the the UK (excl. NI) importer.

7. The the UK (excl. NI) importer should upload the EHC to IPAFFS.

8. Currently, there are no fees charged to exporters for the provision of certification for hatching eggs.

In the event that you have any queries in relation to this matter, please email VIT@agriculture.gov.ie