USDA Health Certificate Endorsement
All pets registered in the United States must have USDA endorsement of their dog and cat's health certificates
All resident pets leaving the United States need a health certificate issued in the United States with an official USDA endorsement stamp. This also includes pets who are traveling through the US whose destination country health certificates have expired.
This endorsement is issued by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) VS (Veterinary Services) Area Office in the State in which your accredited veterinarian resides. Depending on your pet's destination country, this form could be a USDA health certificate, an APHIS 7001 form or your destination country's health certificate.
The following is the procedure for acquiring USDA endorsement.
Have an accredited veterinarian complete the health certificate for the country you are visiting. If you do not have the health certificate for the country your pet is traveling to, you can find it at the Pet Travel Store.
Your accredited veterinarian will complete the form including vaccination information and reflect that your pet is parasite-free and in good health. The accredited veterinarian must then sign it in blue ink. Note that all veterinary certificates which must be endorsed must carry the veterinarian's USDA certification number.
There is a fee of $38.00USD per form which includes rabies vaccination; however, your pet's destination country may allow more than 1 animal to be listed on a form. If your vet uses separate forms for each animal, there will be a separate fee per form. For countries where there are rabies titer or blood tests, there is an additional cost of between $121.00 and $173.00USD per pet depending on the number of tests or non-rabies vaccinations. (1-2 will be $121.00 | 3-6 will be $150.00 | 7 or more will be $173.00) Additional pets included on the same form are between $7.00 and $14.00USD.
You can carry the original of the form to the USDA/APHIS/VS Area Office in your state and they will endorse and stamp them. If you intend to visit, know that many offices require appointments.
If the Area office is not located nearby, you can send the forms by mail. You will need to include:
- Original health certificate(s)
- Original rabies titer or other test results
- Rabies certificate (recommended, especially if your pet will need to produce support for prior vaccinations not administered by your current veterinarian.)
- The payment in the form of credit card information or money order.
- A self-addressed, expedited postage-paid envelope for returning the form to you.
We strongly recommend using expedited service both ways that offers delivery tracking.
Each state has a USDA/APHIS/VS area veterinarian. You can find the nearest USDA State office.
For additional information, call the USDA Veterinary Services office at 301-851-3300. Public inquiries should be directed to the nearest APHIS/VS Area Office.
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