Overview

We understand that your pet is family, and that when you travel, you want them right by your side. As a federally accredited veterinarian practice, we can issue travel health certificates (Certificate of Veterinary Inspection) for your healthy cat, dog, or other animal so that they may travel internationally with you.

Why does my pet need a certificate to travel?

Only pets in good health are permitted to travel by plane or boat. The country you are traveling to may have specific health requirements that must be met before your pet can enter. Certain health requirements may include: up to date vaccinations, a passing health exam, etc. Health certificates ensure that your pet is healthy to travel and isn’t susceptible to transferring diseases to other pets or people.

When should I start the process?

Certificate timing varies greatly by country: For example, rabies-free territories such as Australia and New Zealand take six months. We strongly encourage checking the APHIS website as early as possible.

How can I obtain an international health certificate?

Before you start the process, you need to determine the destination country and dates of travel. You can check the current pet travel health requirements for your destination country on the USDA website: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/pet-travel/take-pet-to-foreign-country

Requirements are determined by each country and can change frequently. We absolutely recommend using a pet travel service to ensure all services and paperwork are done with accuracy in relation to the country being visited. There are several options out there for companies that specialize in pet travel. Our practice highly recommends using Jet-A-Pet, we found their team to be knowledgeable, communicative, and thorough.

We will perform a health exam to determine if your pet has any sign of disease or health risks that could pass along to others while traveling. We will also ensure that your pet has all required vaccinations to travel. Once all requirements are met, we will issue a certificate indicating that your pet has been cleared to travel.