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Animal Products E-cert Help Files

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I gain access to E-cert?

Getting access to AP E-cert

Can I change my password?

Yes. Click on the 'Personal Details' link from within E-cert. Passwords must be at least 7 characters long and contain at least one digit or special character. We recommend that you change your password every 6 weeks, and use a password that cannot be easily guessed. DO NOT use your name, or the name of a member of your family (including pets), birthdays, your street address, your phone number or any other similar name. Do not have the browser remember your password as anyone else using your machine can use E-cert with your log-in and could get your access suspended.

If you have forgotten your E-cert password or cannot access the E-cert system user fill in this form and submit: User ID and password problems

I am told to click the Back button, and when I do so some of the data I had entered has gone. What happened?

Unfortunately, Internet Explorer has a problem where forms may get cleared of data entered when you navigate away from the form in the same window. Because it hadn't been submitted, the data in the input form had not been saved to E-cert and it cannot be retrieved when you click the back button. The safest way to preserve the data is to open a new window (Ctrl + N) before following any links to other pages within the same window. When you have finished with the new window you can close it and go back to the old window which still has the input form as you left it.

The following may help but it does not always. Make sure that your browser is set to 'refresh Every time you open your browser' rather than Every visit to the page or Automatically. To do this click on the Tools menu and click Internet Options. In the dialog box section for ‘temporary internet files’ click the Settings button and click the circle next to ‘Every time you start internet explorer’. This means you may need to actively click Refresh when you use one of the pre-defined searches on the navigation bar.

Have you thought about using batch files? This enables you to work on your files, saving copies as you edit them, and then only submit the file when you are ready. If there are errors, you can amend the batch file and resubmit it. Also, you can use one batch file as the basis for another, saving re-entering things which are common to most or all of your certificates. See Batch File Format for more information.

I have just raised a certificate, and now I can't find it. I know I raised it - I printed the screen immediately after I raised it.

Are you logged onto the correct system? Certificates that have been raised on the E-cert Training do not transfer to the Live system and vice versa.

Has the ED been exhausted? Exhausted EDs do not show up on any of the shortcut links on the navigation bar. You need to search for exhausted EDs explicitly from the search screen.

How long ago was it raised? When you click a link from the navigation bar, for industry users only certificates last updated within the last 30 days are displayed. If it was last updated before that, you will need to use the search screen.

How do I know when I should use E-cert?

The first place to look for information on what certificate should be used is the Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMAR) page: www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/publications/omar/index.htm. Select the country from the drop down list and look up the product in the OMAR or the list of OMAR notifications.

These pages are password protected. To get access to these pages, complete and submit an Application to View Protected Documents form.

If the country has no OMAR or its OMAR has no requirements for the particular product, the New Zealand default electronic export certificates can usually be used in accordance with section 20 of the Official Assurance Programme (OAP): www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/publications/manualsguides/oap/index.htm

If you are still unsure, check with your local NZFSA VA person.

I get different or conflicting instructions from different NZFSA VA people when I use E-cert? Sometimes a certificate is accepted and other times certificates which are the same are resubmitted.

NZFSA VA wish to provide a consistent set of standards and are taking efforts to ensure that all their people know how to consistently interpret the rules. Inconsistency in application of certification requirements should be addressed through the provisions of TD 01/198. This can be found at www.nzfsa.govt.nz/animalproducts/publications/tds/01-198.htm. Sometimes the specifications change and what was an acceptable certificate one time may not be acceptable the next time.