A great place to start is the APHIS pet travel website for domestic travel or your destination country’s embassy for international travel. While many of the continental United States have similar requirements, Hawaii and Alaska have more unique regulations.

Additionally, each country will also have a specific set of health requirements that the animal must meet before they are allowed to enter the country.

Different countries have varying timelines for when you need to complete certain requirements such as vaccinations, physical exams, blood tests, etc. The sooner you start researching and informing us of your plans, the better!

Some countries have tight timelines such as obtaining an international health certificate within 10 days of travel.

We’ll work with you within the required time frame to make sure you get the health certificate just right.

If this is the case, you’ll need to mail the health certificate to the APHIS VS Service Center in Flowood, Mississippi.

Be sure to also include your pet’s rabies vaccination certificate, import permit and test results (if required by your destination country), payment for endorsement, and a return shipping label.

More information can be found here.

Once you have your pet’s health certificate and its endorsement (if needed) it’s important to check with the airline you’re using for their animal transport regulations.

Furthermore, if you’re traveling by rail or by sea, check with the railroad company or cruise line! The airline, rail line or cruise ship may have specific regulations beyond the health certificate that need to be met before your pet is allowed to board.

Finally, for pet travel by car, it’s important to ensure your pet or large animal is properly secured in your car or trailer, and that you take breaks as needed.