Traveling with a pet is mostly paperwork, and the paperwork is unforgiving. Requirements are set by the destination, not by us, and a certificate that is filled out incorrectly or issued outside the valid window will be refused at the border.
Start as early as you can. Some destinations need months of preparation.
Domestic Travel
Most airlines and most US states want a health certificate issued within ten days of travel. That means an exam close to your departure date. Check your specific airline’s rules as well as the state’s, because they differ and the airline’s are often stricter. APHIS lists the rules for each state under interstate pet travel.
International Travel
This is where the timelines get long. Depending on the country, you may need:
- A microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination, or the rabies vaccine won’t count
- A rabies titer test drawn a set number of days after vaccination, with a waiting period of up to three months afterward
- Specific parasite treatments given inside a narrow window before departure
- USDA endorsement of the certificate, which now happens electronically for most countries
- Import permits arranged in advance
Rabies-free destinations have the longest and least forgiving processes. USDA APHIS publishes the current requirements for each one, and it’s worth reading yours early:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- United Kingdom
- Every other destination — choose your country from the list
Hawaii belongs on that list too. It’s rabies-free and intends to stay that way, so although it’s a US state rather than a country it runs its own quarantine program, with its own timelines, through the Hawaii Animal Quarantine Station. Getting your pet released at the airport rather than held means meeting those requirements months ahead, not weeks.
Booking a Travel Appointment
Travel paperwork doesn’t belong on the end of a routine visit. We book health certificates as a dedicated hour, which is what it takes to go through your destination’s current requirements with you, examine your pet, complete the forms correctly, and start anything that has to happen on a fixed schedule.
Give us your destination and travel date when you book, so we’ve read the requirements before you walk in.
How We Help
Our veterinarians are USDA-accredited, qualified to complete international health certificates and submit them to the USDA for endorsement. We’ll work backward from your travel date to build the schedule.
Every country sets its own rules, and those rules change without much notice — a test that was accepted last year may not be this year. We check your destination against the USDA APHIS Pet Travel site every time, right before we issue the certificate, so what you travel with matches what the border is asking for that week.