International Health Certificate for Personal Pets

Many countries, including those of the European Union, have a health certificate that is specific to their country. However, there are countries that do not have an approved health certificate.

If there is not a health certificate for the country you are visiting, then you should use the International Health Certificate USDA-APHIS 7001 form if you are traveling from the United States. It is officially known as United States Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals. This form is available with all of our pet passports when appropriate. For all resident pets leaving the United States, these health certificates must be endorsed by the USDA along with proof of rabies vaccination and rabies titer and echinococcus tests and treatments, if applicable. See more information about USDA certification.

If your destination country does not have a health certificate and you are traveling from a country other than the United States or Canada, you can use our veterinary health certificate or inquire to your vet if they have one.

Pet Health Certificate

The international health certificate should be issued by your veterinarian as near to the date of travel as possible. Every country has limits as to when the certificate expires.

The certificate should indicate the following:

• Name of pet
• Breed
• Color
• Age of Pet
• Country Of Origin
• Your name/address/phone number as the owner of your pet

The certificate should state that your pet is healthy and free of parasites.

The certificate should show the vaccinations and treatments that your pet has been given including the type, the manufacturer, and the batch number if possible.

Generally, the rabies vaccination must be given at least 30 days before travel but not more than 12 months before travel, although some countries are different. No matter what country your pet is traveling to, you must enter that country before your pet's most recent rabies vaccination has expired.

Vaccinations

There are three rabies vaccines being administered to pets, a one, two and three year vaccines. Be sure to check the rules for the country you are traveling to as not all countries recognize the two and three year vaccine. If you are traveling to a country that does not recognize the three year vaccine, your pet may need to have a booster shot even though the two or three year vaccination has not expired. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and have your pet vaccinated. In any case, puppies, kittens and ferrets should not be vaccinated for rabies prior to 3 months of age. (12 weeks of age if your pet is entering the European Union.)

Many countries such as South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and others also require other vaccinations and blood tests. You need to consider the specific regulations for the country your pet is entering. Find the regulations of your destination country here.

Translation

Some countries also require that the certificate should be translated into the language of that country. Many South and Central American countries are examples of this.

Traveling to the European Union

You must use the new non-commercial or commercial EU health certificates depending on whether you or your designated representative are traveling with or within 5 days of your pet or your pet is traveling alone. 

Need More Assistance?

To the best of our ability, we ensure that recommendations given on PetTravel.com reflect the current regulations.

If you have questions, you can post them directly to our Facebook page, blog, forum. We will answer them as soon as we can.