International Health Certificate Agreement Form

Regulations for a pet traveling outside of the continental United States is governed by the nation the pet is traveling to. Those regulations and requirements may change at any time without notice. The requirements and forms may be complex and may not be readily available to us. It is the responsibility of the pet owner to obtain written documentation and complete the requirements needed for the country of travel. Sometimes this requires forms to be completed by your vet and endorsed by the USDA. It is also imperative that you inform us of all countries that your pet will be traveling to by plane and car. Pet travel requirements can be obtained from www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel or the embassy or consulate of the country of destination. Vaccination requirements, microchip requirements, and rabies titer requirements are especially important.

Currently rabies titer tests (FAVN) take 3 months to get back. In some cases, you may have to wait up to a month before a titer can be drawn if a rabies vaccine has been given within the last 30 days. If you will be traveling to a country that is at high risk for dog rabies, the CDC has special requirements for your pet to re-enter the United States. Your pet must travel through a port of entry with a CDC quarantine station, which is only offered at certain airports. You can find additional information on the CDC website.

If proper requirements are not completed and/or documents are improperly completed, the pet may be subject to additional costs including, but not limited to, additional treatments and/or a quarantine period as required by the country of destination. You should plan for the final health certificate to be issued within 10 days of your travel departure date. If you feel you need assistance coordinating your pet’s travel documents, pet transportation companies are available such as Animal Land Pet Movers. We highly recommend using pet movers for countries that require multiple steps & tests like Japan, New Zealand, Korea, etc. Pet movers can also assist clients with applying for permits, such as import permits.

We take our guidance from the United State Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. (USDA-APHIS) However, ultimately it is the pet owner’s responsibility to ensure all requirements have been completed correctly and in a timely manner.

We make no claim of warranty, suitability or acceptability for international health certificates beyond our completion of the forms provided by the owner. We do not warranty in any way that the form used is the correct form required by the nation or nations at the time of endorsement or at any time of travel. We do not guarantee in any way that the pet will not be quarantined or refused entry.