Pets traveling internationally from the United States (US) to most countries must have USDA health certificate endorsement. This also includes pets who are traveling through the US whose destination country health certificates have expired. There are exceptions to this requirement.
- Pets with current EU Pet Passports whose most recent rabies vaccination was administered in the European Union and is recorded in the EU Pet Passport.
- Pets traveling to countries that do not require USDA endorsement.
The 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 practices. Depending on your pet’s destination country, this form could be a USDA health certificate, an APHIS 7001 form or your destination country’s specific health certificate.
Endorsement Procedure
Have a USDA-accredited veterinarian issue the health certificate for the country you are visiting. Find the health certificate for the country your pet is traveling to.
Your USDA-accredited veterinarian will complete the health certificate including:
- Number and species of pets*.
- Breed, sex, age and color or animal identification.
- Name and address of the owner OR the kennel of origin.
- Origination and destination countries.
- Vaccination information including manufacturer, dates of vaccination, lot numbers and expiration dates.
- Veterinary attestations
- That your pet did not originate from an area where rabies has occurred or is under quarantine for rabies.
- That your pet has not been exposed to rabies.
- That your pet is healthy and shows no signs of contagious diseases.
*Note that some health certificates are only valid for one pet.
The veterinarian must then sign it in any other ink than black (red, blue, etc.). All veterinary certificates which must be endorsed must carry the veterinarian’s USDA certification number.
There is a fee of $101.00 USD per form which includes your pet’s rabies vaccination certificate; however, your pet’s destination country may allow more than one 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 required, there will be an additional cost of $160.00 USD for 1-2 tests and $206 for 3-6 tests. There will be additional charges for multiple pets.
The USDA prefers that the health and test certificates be submitted electronically via the Veterinary Export Health Certificate System (VEHCS). If your veterinarian is trained in system, it is preferred because, if there is an error, your veterinarian can correct it quickly and resubmit the form. This makes a big difference when the validity of the health certificate is short.
If the form is submitted electronically, the endorsed forms must be returned to you in paper form from the USDA via expedited mail. There are some countries that will accept digital endorsement.
If your vet is not VEHCS trained, you can send the forms by mail to your State USDA office. You will need to include:
- USDA checklist for endorsement
- 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.)
- Flight itinerary
- 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. Find the nearest USDA State office.
Related: More information about health certificates
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