Domestic & International Health Certificates
Whether you’re traveling within the USA or internationally, Companion River North has a USDA-accredited veterinarian who can issue travel health certificates to ensure your pet is healthy and ready to travel.
Why Does My Pet Need a Health Certificate to Travel?
Health certificates are official documents confirming that your pet is healthy enough for travel and will not pose a health risk to other animals or people.
Animal health requirements can vary greatly, depending on whether you are traveling domestically or internationally. Airlines may also have their own specific pet travel requirements. To make sure you’re fully prepared, it’s important to check both the destination country’s and airline’s pet travel guidelines.
We recommend reviewing these resources for both domestic and international travel:
- USDA | APHIS – Interstate Pet Travel Guidelines
- Airline Policies
- Country-specific Import/Export Requirements (for international travel)
When Should I Start the Process?
We encourage you to contact us as soon as your travel dates are confirmed. The process for obtaining health certificates, especially for international travel, can take time as additional documentation may be required.
- Domestic Health Certificates: These must be issued within 10 days of travel.
- International Health Certificates: Depending on your destination, additional vaccinations or treatments may be required, and certificates must be issued well in advance of travel.
It’s important to note that pets must be at least eight weeks old and fully weaned before traveling. Check the APHIS website or the embassy/consulate of your destination country for specific details.
How Do I Obtain a Domestic or International Health Certificate?
- Check travel requirements: Confirm whether a health certificate is required for your destination (domestic or international) by checking with your airline and reviewing state or country-specific travel regulations.
- Schedule an exam: Your pet must pass a health exam and be up to date on vaccinations, including rabies.
- Complete the Health Certificate Owner Questionnaire: Fill this out prior to your appointment to help us determine the best course of action based on your travel destination.
- Issuance of certificate: Once all requirements are met, we’ll issue the health certificate for domestic travel or prepare the necessary international documents, which may include additional steps such as microchip identification or parasite treatments.
International travel often requires extra documentation, including a valid rabies certificate, veterinary treatment records, and sometimes a specific health certificate form approved by the destination country.
We recommend starting early to ensure we can meet all requirements.