Anyone growing plants for sale in Ohio needs to have their plants inspected for pests — the idea is similar to not moving firewood to prevent the spread of insects … if you are going to be sending plants elsewhere, it is a good idea to ensure you are not also exporting ecosystem destroying bugs!

Relevant definitions are found in ORC 927.51— including what constitutes ‘nursery stock’ — and ORC 927.55 lists exceptions where a license/inspection is not required. It appears that you do not need a license to sell plants that cannot overwinter in Ohio (I see the logic there — if a bug or disease impacts PlantX and PlantX is only going to last a few months … we probably don’t need to worry about rampant spread of that bug or disease) or plants in bloom (that’s an odd exception — but explains how the folks I see selling chrysanthemums in the Autumn do so without a license). While there is a dealer license, that is for resellers and nurseries do not appear to need a dealer license. A nursery, instead, can get a license for additional sales locations.

The nursery license is about $100 a year (plus $11 per acre of production space), and you can apply for a permit online at https://www.apps.agri.ohio.gov/NILS

There is an annual inspection of the growing facility and plants — presuming the inspection doesn’t identify any serious pest or disease infestations, a certificate is issued. The certificate must be displayed in the nursery.

If selling plants for resale (wholesale or resale), then a copy of the certificate must be included on each box/package sent out. If you plan to ship plants outside of Ohio, other states may require a phytosanitary certificate from the Ohio Department of Agriculture. If you plan to ship outside of the United States, there’s an additional federal phytosanitary certificate process through the US Department of Agriculture.