Q.01

Where do I find the FSIS export library?

The FSIS Export Library is on the USDA FSIS website as the Import & Export Library: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/import-export/import-export-library. To get there from the FSIS homepage, go to Inspection → Import & Export → Import & Export Library.

Approach: I searched the official FSIS website. It refused my direct requests this time, so I could not open the library page, the export directive or the Constituent Update. The location comes from the FSIS URLs that came up in an fsis.usda.gov search, not from reading the pages.

From the search results, which I haven't checked against the pages:

  • What it holds: country-specific export requirements for meat, poultry and egg products that the importing country has officially sent to FSIS. These include certificate requirements, letterhead and transit certificates, facility requirements and labeling requirements.
  • How to search it: you can filter by country, product or date. It also covers which countries and products are eligible for import into the U.S.
  • Related page: "Eligible U.S. Establishments by Country" sits under the same library, at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/import-export/import-export-library/eligible-u-s--establishments-country.
  • Change since FY2026: the FSIS Constituent Update of September 26, 2025 says that from early fiscal year 2026, detailed animal health restrictions on U.S. meat, poultry and egg exports move from the Export Library to the USDA APHIS website. For those restrictions, check APHIS as well as FSIS.
  • For inspectors: FSIS export directives tell inspection program personnel to check the Export Library before signing each export certificate.

Sources:

Q.02

How do I check what a country requires for US meat exports?

Look up the destination country in the FSIS Export Library. Then follow its link to APHIS, because since April 1, 2026 the Library links out to an APHIS page for animal disease restrictions instead of listing them itself [1]. The Library holds country-specific requirements that the importing country has officially communicated to FSIS, on top of the baseline federal export rules in 9 CFR part 322, 381.104-381.111, part 552 and 590.407 [2].

Approach: I read FSIS Directive 9000.1 (Export Certification, Rev. 3), FSIS Notice 17-26 (April 15, 2026) and FSIS Notice 11-26 on PHIS export procedures. Together they describe how FSIS inspectors use the Library to certify a shipment.

What to check in the destination country's entry

  • Certificates and statements: which supplemental documents are needed (letterhead certificate, foreign country certificate, transit certificate, manufacturer's declaration). Always use the latest letterhead version posted in the Library [2].
  • Transit countries: if the shipment passes through another country, check that country's transit requirements too [2].
  • Marking and signing details: whether pallet or container stamping is allowed, name formatting, ink colour, and whether a Veterinary Medical Officer has to sign [2].
  • Establishment eligibility: some countries keep an eligible establishment list. Your establishment must be on it, the list must exactly match your PHIS establishment profile, and your labels must match the list. Don't ship until the importing country has accepted your establishment and updated the list. The entry may also set how your establishment number is formatted on the 9060-6 application and the order of statements [3].
  • Facility, documentation and labelling requirements for that country [3].
  • Certificate rules: some countries prohibit replacement certificates or edits to the Remarks section or the 9060-5B continuation sheet. In those cases you need a new original application [3].

Points to keep in mind

  • Requirements change often: check the Library before every shipment. You can sign up through FSIS's GovDelivery email service to be notified when the Library is updated [2].
  • Country or product not listed: inspectors issue a standard export certificate with no supplemental statements. Not being listed doesn't mean the country accepts the product. The Library doesn't cover every country that may accept U.S. product [2].
  • The risk outside the Library is yours: inspectors only verify what the Library states. FSIS is not responsible if a shipment is rejected at the border for reasons the Library doesn't clearly state. You also have to supply any documents inspectors need to confirm the Library requirements are met [2].
  • Temporary animal health restrictions: a restriction with fixed start and end dates, such as a temporary HPAI county restriction, doesn't by itself block approval of the FSIS Form 9080-3 application, provided all other Library requirements can be met [3].

I can pull the FSIS notices for a specific destination next if useful. The datasets include, for example, notices on the PHIS export module for Singapore and for Argentina and Chile.

Q.03

What is FSIS Form 9060-5 used for?

FSIS Form 9060-5 is the Meat and Poultry Export Certificate of Wholesomeness. FSIS issues it with each shipment of federally inspected and passed meat or poultry products intended for export [2]. Inspection personnel have to verify that a valid 9060-5 exists for each shipment [3].

Approach: I read FSIS Directive 9000.1 (Export Certification, Rev. 3), FSIS Directive 13000.5 (PHIS Export Certification, Rev. 1) and FSIS Notices 11-26, 04-26 and 23-26.

The 9060-5 series

  • 9060-5: meat and poultry. 9060-5S: Siluriformes fish and fish products. 9060-5EP: egg products. FSIS calls all three the "export certificate" [2].
  • 9060-5B: the continuation sheet. It carries on the certificate's Remarks section when there isn't enough room. It holds information required by the Export Library, such as attestations, additional statements, slaughter or processing establishments, lot numbers and replacement certificate details [4].
  • 9060-6: a separate form, the Application for Export Certificate. The exporter files it, and the 9060-5 is issued once the application is approved [3].

What the certificate certifies and contains

  • A checked box confirming that the animals received ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection. On the 5S and 5EP versions, the box instead confirms that the fish or egg products were inspected and passed [2].
  • The following blocks, which must match the application [2]:
    • certificate number
    • Consignor/Exporter
    • Exp. Est. No.
    • Description of Product-Name of Product
    • Shipping/Identification Marks
    • Net Weight of Lot and Number of Packages in Lot, plus the totals
    • Est. No. on Product
  • Country-specific statements from the Export Library, entered in the Remarks section or on the 9060-5B. Only the statements the Library requires may go there [2].
  • Where the importing country accepts a Unique Identifier instead of the USDA export mark, the Remarks section or 9060-5B must say: "The products covered by this certificate are marked with the Unique Identifier X#X#X#X#X#X#X#X#." [2].

How it is issued in PHIS (FSIS's electronic Public Health Information System)

  • For countries in the PHIS export module, inspection personnel sign 9060-5 series certificates digitally. The exporter prints them on plain paper with the PHIS watermark, and the printout travels with the shipment. Once a country joins the module, FSIS stops issuing wet-signed 9060-5 certificates and letterhead certificates on security paper [3].
  • For PHIS countries that accept a digital signature, no letterhead certificates are used. PHIS prints the exporter's selected Export Library statements in the 9060-5 Remarks section or on the 9060-5B [4]. This switch applied to Singapore from January 12, 2026 [5] and to Argentina and Chile from June 1, 2026 [6].
  • If a certificate is replaced in PHIS, only the last replacement is valid. Some countries prohibit replacements, edits to the Remarks section or any edits to the 9060-5B; in those cases you need a new original application [3].
  • Casings are an exception. Their export certification still happens outside PHIS, under FSIS Directive 9000.2 [4].
Q.04