International Health Certificates
Going out of the country? As a federally accredited veterinarian practice, we can issue travel and acclimation certificates for your healthy pet so they can travel internationally with you.
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.
We will work with you to determine the health certificate requirements based on your travel destination. Since requirements are determined by each country and can change frequently, we suggest you 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
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.
Thank you for choosing SouthCare Animal Medical Center as your USDA APHIS accredited veterinary facility. Moving or traveling with your pet can be complex as well as stressful and there may be animal health requirements specific for your destination. Our travel specialist can help you make sure that your pet meets the governmental regulatory demands that are constantly changing to travel internationally.
Factors to consider may include meeting the rigorous time frames for obtaining a health certificate, updating vaccinations, diagnostic testing, or administration of medications and treatments. For this reason, we request that you work closely with us during this important process. You may be required to attend up to 2 thirty-minute sessions with our specialist prior to your pet's visit to review the required steps, verify the accuracy of the documents involved and obtain all the information needed. Please see below the elements that you and the travel specialist will be reviewing during each consultation:
First Travel Specialist Consultation (Consultation Fee $73.10)
Explain the process of taking pets outside of the United States
Collect previous medical records
Review Details of Trip (Departure, Destinations, Requirements)
Examine Printed Health Certificate for the specific destination
Discuss Medical Requirements for Travel to specific destinations and schedule appointments if needed.
Provide USDA Checklist
Obtain information from airline to determine what requirements they may have, if any.
Review the USDA endorsement process for certification of prepared documents and fees (at least $38.00 per pet depending on if testing is needed in addition to endorsement).
Review the process of mailing the health certificate and documents via FEDEX to the USDA office at pet owner's expense. (For in-person certificate endorsement an appointment is required)
