diff --git a/command/import.go b/command/import.go
index 1f0e18602..ddb416d59 100644
--- a/command/import.go
+++ b/command/import.go
@@ -112,9 +112,16 @@ func (c *ImportCommand) Run(args []string) int {
 		return 1
 	}
 
+	// Check for user-supplied plugin path
+	if c.pluginPath, err = c.loadPluginPath(); err != nil {
+		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Error loading plugin path: %s", err))
+		return 1
+	}
+
 	// Load the backend
 	b, err := c.Backend(&BackendOpts{
-		Config: mod.Config(),
+		Config:     mod.Config(),
+		ForceLocal: true,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		c.Ui.Error(fmt.Sprintf("Failed to load backend: %s", err))
diff --git a/command/import_test.go b/command/import_test.go
index da31fe03d..057ab560b 100644
--- a/command/import_test.go
+++ b/command/import_test.go
@@ -2,9 +2,14 @@ package command
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/helper/copy"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/plugin"
+	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/plugin/discovery"
 	"github.com/hashicorp/terraform/terraform"
 	"github.com/mitchellh/cli"
 )
@@ -466,6 +471,72 @@ func TestImport_targetIsModule(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// make sure we search the full plugin path during import
+func TestImport_pluginDir(t *testing.T) {
+	td := tempDir(t)
+	copy.CopyDir(testFixturePath("import-provider"), td)
+	defer os.RemoveAll(td)
+	defer testChdir(t, td)()
+
+	// make a fake provider in a custom plugin directory
+	if err := os.Mkdir("plugins", 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if err := ioutil.WriteFile("plugins/terraform-provider-test_v1.1.1_x4", []byte("invalid binary"), 0755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	ui := new(cli.MockUi)
+	c := &ImportCommand{
+		Meta: Meta{
+			Ui: ui,
+		},
+	}
+
+	// store our custom plugin path, which would normally happen during init
+	if err := c.storePluginPath([]string{"./plugins"}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	// Now we need to go through some plugin init.
+	// This discovers our fake plugin and writes the lock file.
+	initCmd := &InitCommand{
+		Meta: Meta{
+			pluginPath: []string{"./plugins"},
+			Ui:         new(cli.MockUi),
+		},
+		providerInstaller: &discovery.ProviderInstaller{
+			PluginProtocolVersion: plugin.Handshake.ProtocolVersion,
+		},
+	}
+	if err := initCmd.getProviders(".", nil, false); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	args := []string{
+		"test_instance.foo",
+		"bar",
+	}
+	if code := c.Run(args); code == 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error, got: %s", ui.OutputWriter)
+	}
+
+	outMsg := ui.OutputWriter.String()
+	// if we were missing a plugin, the output will have some explanation
+	// about requirements. If discovery starts verifying binary compatibility,
+	// we will need to write a dummy provider above.
+	if strings.Contains(outMsg, "requirements") {
+		t.Fatal("unexpected output:", outMsg)
+	}
+
+	// We wanted a plugin execution error, rather than a requirement error.
+	// Looking for "exec" in the error should suffice for now.
+	errMsg := ui.ErrorWriter.String()
+	if !strings.Contains(errMsg, "exec") {
+		t.Fatal("unexpected error:", errMsg)
+	}
+}
+
 const testImportStr = `
 test_instance.foo:
   ID = yay
diff --git a/plugin/discovery/find.go b/plugin/discovery/find.go
index 51839ccad..127670080 100644
--- a/plugin/discovery/find.go
+++ b/plugin/discovery/find.go
@@ -53,13 +53,13 @@ func findPluginPaths(kind string, dirs []string) []string {
 			continue
 		}
 
-		log.Printf("[DEBUG] checking for plugins in %q", dir)
+		log.Printf("[DEBUG] checking for %s in %q", kind, dir)
 
 		for _, item := range items {
 			fullName := item.Name()
 
 			if !strings.HasPrefix(fullName, prefix) {
-				log.Printf("[DEBUG] skipping %q, not a plugin", fullName)
+				log.Printf("[DEBUG] skipping %q, not a %s", fullName, kind)
 				continue
 			}
 
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func findPluginPaths(kind string, dirs []string) []string {
 					continue
 				}
 
-				log.Printf("[DEBUG] found plugin %q", fullName)
+				log.Printf("[DEBUG] found %s %q", kind, fullName)
 				ret = append(ret, filepath.Clean(absPath))
 				continue
 			}
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ func findPluginPaths(kind string, dirs []string) []string {
 				continue
 			}
 
-			log.Printf("[WARNING] found legacy plugin %q", fullName)
+			log.Printf("[WARNING] found legacy %s %q", kind, fullName)
 
 			ret = append(ret, filepath.Clean(absPath))
 		}