Export Registration Instructions

Exporter Registration - Who Needs to Register?

The United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA) requires anyone whose business buys, handles, weighs or transports 15,000, or more, metric tons of grain for sale in foreign commerce to be registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) before they ship grain overseas.

Those required to register are also required to provide information on any person considered to have an ownership interest of 10 percent or more in the business.  See 7.U.S.C. 87f-1.

Those who are registered by December 15 will be included in the FGIS Registered Grain Exporters Directory, which is generally released in early January.  Registrations completed after December 15 may not appear in the January release of the directory but will be added upon FGIS approval.

Special Note for Exporters of Grain to China

All grain exporters, regardless of the volume they ship, must be registered and listed on the General Administration of Customs China’s (GACC) website to export grain to China. FGIS provides the Registered Grain Exporters Directory to GACC through the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). The directory is typically published on GACC’s website as the “List of registered companies exporting grain from the United States to China” and is commonly referred to as “the GACC List.”

The Chinese government may refuse entry to any grain shipment from an exporter that does not appear on the GACC List. Therefore, if you plan to export grain to China, please register as instructed below and be thorough and accurate in registering your export operations and locations, whether you are the main entity (person), a subsidiary, a DBA, or operating under a type of inspection and weighing waiver.

Exporting Grain to China Under Waiver

Entities planning to operate under an authorized waiver, in addition to notifying FGIS of their intent to operate under a waiver, must register with FGIS to be included on the annual listing provided to GACC.

FGIS will send quarterly grain exporter registration updates, which include changes to the Directory and Grain Exporting Locations report, to FAS after the initial annual directory is published. 

Entry Challenges

Entry challenges within China should be referred to USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Please contact AgBeijing@usda.gov for assistance. For importation challenges with other foreign countries please contact FAS -Overseas Offices.

Voluntary Registration of Grain Exporters

Grain exporters who are not required to register with FGIS may still choose to do so by following the same instructions as an entity that is required to register (See “How to Register”).

Publication

FGIS will list the U.S. entities registered to buy, handle, weigh, or transport grain for sale in foreign commerce on the AMS website. The list will include entity name, business address, and phone number. Any other facilities/addresses marked for public release will be published on the Registered Grain Exporting Locations report. 

Update to application

The FGIS Delegations/Designations and Export Registrations (DDR) system no longer processes Financial Management Modernization Initiative payments for export registration; all applicants must use Pay.gov to pay the registration fee. As a reminder, FGIS has added a feature to the registration application that allows applicants to identify which locations should be published. Entities that choose to identify multiple locations in their registration submission should consider the company name(s) and address(es) that will be used on export documents to ensure they will match what is included on the FGIS Registered Grain Exporters Directory and Registered Grain Exporting Locations report.

Related Topics

Contact information:  FGISQACD@usda.gov

Please see the instructions for how to register below. Returning registrant's instructions are listed first, and then additional instructions for new applicants follow. New applicants will need to be verified by creating a Login.gov account, so do not delay your efforts. 

To register as an Exporter, please see the instruction links below:

    1. To gain access to DDR, a Login.gov account is required for the contact person responsible for submitting the registration.
      1. Visit Login.gov
      2. Select Create an Account.
      3. Complete the Login.gov prompts for customers.
    2. Once you have Login.gov account, request a MyFGIS Number through “MyFGIS”.
      1. Select Login via eAuth.
      2. Enter your Username and Password.
      3. You will land on your ‘MyProfile’ page, which documents all of your access.
      4. Select ‘Create New Organization’ from the Organization access area.
      5. Complete the information requested on the resulting screen (mandatory fields are noted with an asterisk).
        1. Select your type of business if registering an organization.
        2. Select private individual as appropriate.
      6. Select ‘Create New Organization’.
      7. You will return to your ‘MyProfile’ page, and your newly registered name will appear next to the assigned MyFGIS Customer number.   This is your Customer Number that identifies your company in DDR.
      8. From the left hand menu, you can navigate back to FGISonline home to find DDR.
    3. DDR access is now automatic after the profile is created and 'level 2' is now 'Login.Gov' and 'identity verified'.
    4. Once you have access to DDR, you can now submit an Application for Registration through DDR.
      1. Visit FGIS Online
      2. Enter your Username and Password.
      3. Select “Delegation, Designation, and Export Registration (DDR)”.
      4. Select “My Information”.
      5. Under Customer, you will see your Customer name and number.
      6. On the Right hand side under “I Want To”, submit a new application for: Select “Export Registration”.
      7. Complete the Application Screen by Screen (Green circles at the top of the application means the section is complete and, red circles at the top of the application means the section is incomplete).
        1. For section 6 of the application: FGIS only publishes business addresses on the public directory. If there are additional addresses that need to be included on the public directory, please select yes to the question “Publish as an Export Location”. The system is defaulted to no for all addresses added in this section.

      8. Once you complete all required information, the last screen will provide a summary of information you entered and, the amount owed for filing the application. See bottom tab for Pay.gov instructions. 

        After making the payment please make sure you go back to DDR to submit your application for processing.

      9. Please check the Certification Box, as appropriate.
      10. Select the “Submit” button.
    1. Visit FGIS Online
    2. Log in with your Login.gov username and password.
    3. Select Delegation, Designation, and Export Registration.
    4. Click My Information.
    5. Under “My FGIS Information”, you should see your company’s name under Customer.
    6. Under USDA Approved, under Action click EXPORT REGISTRATION.
    7. Update the application (Green circles at the top of the application means the section is complete and, red circles at the top of the application means the section is incomplete).
      1. Note for section 6 of the application: FGIS only publishes business addresses on the public directory. If there are additional addresses that need to be included in the public directory, please select yes to the question “Publish as an Export Location”. (The system is defaulted to “No” for all new addresses.)
      2. Once you complete all required information, the last screen will provide a summary of information you entered and, the amount owed for filing the application. See bottom tab for Pay.gov instructions.

        After making the payment please make sure you go back to DDR to submit your application for processing.
    8. Please check the Certification Box, as appropriate.
    9. Select the “Submit” button.

  • Pay.gov is a secured web-based application that allows online payments to Federal Government Agencies.

    Pay.gov accepts the following payment methods:

    1. Bank Account Automated Clearing House (ACH), and ACH payments are processed through the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    2. Debit and credit card(s) (American Express, Discover, Diners Club, Master Card, and Visa)
    3. PayPal Account
    4. Amazon Account

      Submit your payment online
       
    5. Select Preview Form or Continue Form button.
    6. Complete the following information and submit the form.
      1. Cash on Delivery
      2. Company Name, Address, City, State Zip Code, Email, Point of contact information
      3. Customer account number or case I.D.: From DDR application
      4. Payment Amount Line 1: From DDR application
      5. Click Continue

        Note: Please make sure you return to DDR, input the tracking number, and submit your application for processing.