USDA Health Certificate for Pets: Requirements, Timeline, and Cost

A USDA health certificate is not something your regular vet can issue alone. It has to be completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and then endorsed by USDA APHIS, and that endorsement is the step that turns a clinical note into a government document. Endorsement runs $101 to $275 per certificate depending on how many blood tests your destination requires, and APHIS charges nothing at all to endorse for a service dog. Most destinations want it endorsed within 10 days of departure, so the vet visit, the endorsement and the flight all have to land inside a short window. Electronic submission through VEHCS usually takes 1 to 3 business days.

A USDA-endorsed health certificate is an official government document that confirms your pet meets the destination country’s entry requirements and is fit to travel. Nearly every international pet move departing the United States needs one. Which form it is depends on where you are going, and that distinction matters more than it sounds: see the section on APHIS Form 7001 below.

Your veterinarian fills out the certificate after examining your pet. Then the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reviews and endorses it. Without this endorsement, most airlines will not accept your pet for international cargo travel, and the destination country’s customs will reject the animal at arrival.

You need one for almost all international pet travel from the US. This includes moves to:

Some domestic moves also require a health certificate (often called a certificate of veterinary inspection or CVI), though these do not need USDA endorsement. Check your airline’s requirements for domestic travel.

Each country has its own rules for what must appear on the health certificate. Some require specific blood tests, parasite treatments, or vaccination timelines. Check our destination guides for country-specific details, or contact us and we will map out exactly what your destination requires. USDA APHIS publishes the official requirements for every destination in its pet export country lookup, which is what we check against.

Only a USDA-accredited vet can complete an international health certificate. Not every vet has USDA accreditation, so confirm this before scheduling. You can search for accredited vets in your area through the USDA APHIS website.

The vet will examine your pet, verify microchip, confirm vaccinations are current, and complete the health certificate form for your destination country.

After your vet completes the certificate, it goes to your local USDA APHIS Veterinary Services office for review and endorsement. This is the step that makes it an official government document.

You can submit in person at the APHIS office or use the USDA’s VEHCS (Veterinary Export Health Certification System) for electronic submission, which is faster. Processing typically takes 1 to 3 business days, though it can take longer during busy periods.

This is the part where timing gets tight. Most countries require the health certificate to be issued and endorsed within a specific window before travel. For EU countries, the certificate must be endorsed within 10 days of departure. Other countries have their own windows.

If the certificate expires before your pet travels, you have to start over. This is one of the most common problems in international pet shipping, and it is entirely preventable with the right planning.

APHIS does not set your destination’s rules. It endorses that your paperwork matches them, which is why the honest answer to “what does APHIS require” is always “what does your destination require”. In practice destinations fall into four groups, and working out which one you are in tells you most of what you need to know.

The first group is countries that publish their own certificate, and many do. Where one exists, APHIS is explicit that it is the only health certificate your pet needs to enter that country, so your veterinarian completes that form rather than a general one.

The second group publishes requirements but no form of its own. Here the requirements are documented on a general certificate and APHIS endorses that instead.

The third group requires an import permit as well as a certificate. The permit is issued by the destination rather than by APHIS, and it usually has to exist before the health certificate is issued rather than after it.

The fourth group requires a rabies titer test and a waiting period. Rabies-free and rabies-controlled destinations add a blood test at an approved laboratory and a wait measured in months rather than weeks. On these routes the certificate is the last step rather than the first, and the flight is arranged around the laboratory result.

One constant applies to all four. APHIS tells owners to verify the requirements every time they travel, because they can change at any time. A checklist that was correct for a move last year is a starting point, not an answer.

Form 7001 is the most misunderstood document in this process, and the misunderstanding costs people money.

It is a general health certificate. It is not the international health certificate for most destinations, and it is not a universal substitute for one. APHIS puts it plainly: where a country-specific health certificate exists on the APHIS pet travel pages, that certificate is the only one your pet needs to enter the destination country.

Where 7001 earns its place is with airlines. If the carrier wants paperwork and does not specify a form of its own, 7001 is what satisfies boarding. So on a typical international move you can end up holding two documents doing two different jobs: the destination country’s certificate for entry, and 7001 for the airline. That is normal, and it is not a duplication to be argued out of.

For a move between US states, where no destination certificate exists, 7001 is often the whole answer.

Your veterinarian submits the certificate through VEHCS, the Veterinary Export Health Certification System. You cannot submit it yourself. APHIS receives it from a USDA-accredited veterinarian on your behalf, which is one of the practical reasons the accreditation matters rather than being a formality.

What happens next depends on your destination, and this is where two moves with identical paperwork end up on different timelines. For countries on the VEHCS acceptance list, the whole process runs electronically: issuance, submission, endorsement and return of the certificate. For countries that are not on that list, the APHIS endorsement office prints the certificate, ink-signs and embosses it by hand, and returns it by mail or holds it for collection in person.

That difference is measured in days, and on a certificate that many destinations expect to be endorsed within ten days of departure, days are the whole game. Ask which path your destination takes before you book the veterinary appointment, not after it.

The total cost for a USDA health certificate typically breaks down as:

Total: roughly $225 to $550, depending on your vet’s fees and the endorsement band and submission method.

The validity window is the most important thing to understand. Here are common destination requirements:

The practical challenge: your vet visit, the USDA processing time, and the travel date all have to line up inside a narrow window. If APHIS takes 3 business days to process, and your destination requires endorsement within 10 days of travel, you need to schedule the vet visit carefully.

Going to a vet who is not USDA-accredited is the most common delay. The certificate will not be accepted for endorsement.

Using the wrong form is another. Different countries have different bilateral health certificate forms. The EU form is different from the Australia form, which is different from the Japan form. Your vet or relocation advisor needs to use the correct one.

Getting the vet visit too early is the timing mistake. If you go to the vet two weeks before travel but APHIS takes three business days, you are fine for most destinations. But if you go three weeks early and the endorsement expires before departure, you start over.

Missing a required treatment is also common. Some destinations require specific parasite treatments (tapeworm treatment for the UK, for example) to be administered and recorded on the certificate within a set timeframe.

When you work with Pet Travel Advisors, we manage the entire health certificate process. We identify the correct form for your destination, coordinate the vet visit timing to land inside the validity window, handle the USDA submission, and make sure every required vaccination, test, and treatment is documented correctly before your pet reaches the airport.

Request a quote and we will put together a detailed plan and price for your specific route.

Prefer to talk? Give us a call at 1-877-540-0555.

Everything on this page was checked against USDA APHIS in September 2026:

Only if they are USDA-accredited. Many vets are, but not all. Call your vet’s office and ask specifically about USDA accreditation for international pet travel. If they are not accredited, they can refer you to one who is.

Typically 1 to 3 business days when submitted electronically through VEHCS. Paper submissions sent by mail can take longer. During peak travel seasons (summer, holiday periods), allow extra time.

You will need to get a new examination, a new certificate, and a new USDA endorsement. There are no extensions. This is why timing the vet visit correctly is critical.

Yes. Each animal traveling internationally needs its own health certificate and USDA endorsement.

No. A standard veterinary health certificate (CVI) is issued by your vet for domestic travel. A USDA health certificate is the same document after it has been reviewed and endorsed by the USDA APHIS office. The endorsement is what makes it valid for international travel.

A land crossing into Canada skips the endorsement step entirely. If you are driving rather than flying, our guide to driving your pet across the US-Canada border sets out what Canada asks for at the booth and what the CDC asks for on the way back.