How Much Does It Cost to Ship a Pet from the USA to Singapore?
A dog or cat moving from the United States to Singapore comes with one of the best-kept facts in pet travel: the US is treated as a Schedule II country, so most pets that meet the rules serve no quarantine at all. The government side is small and published, an AVS import licence at SGD $50, or SGD $100 for express processing, plus Singapore’s dog or cat licence. A rabies titer test is part of the preparation, and freight on this lane is priced per booking. Figures checked August 2026.
Airline freight, and why the crate decides it
Airlines price live animals on chargeable weight: whichever is greater, the actual weight or a volume figure worked out from the crate. For pets the volume figure almost always wins, which is why crate size drives the flight cost more than the animal does. The volumetric divisor is the industry standard 166 cubic inches per pound.
No carrier publishes a live animal tariff for the Singapore lane, so freight is priced per booking once the crate size and dates are known. For scale, published long-haul lanes carry minimums of $690 to $720 plus a $150 processing fee, and a large crate frequently bills at 60 to 70 kilograms of chargeable weight. Our cost estimator shows how the other lines add up while freight is quoted.
Whichever carrier takes the booking sets its own hold conditions, crate rules and pet charges, and those vary more between airlines than the fares do. Our list of the airlines that carry pets internationally covers which carriers accept live animals out of the US, and our comparison of US airline pet policies puts the big carriers side by side.
The rest of the bill
| Cost | Amount | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| AVS import licence | SGD $50, or SGD $100 express | AVS Singapore |
| Dog or cat licence | Required before travel, issued by AVS | AVS Singapore |
| USDA export endorsement | $160 per certificate, in the 1 to 2 test band with the titer | USDA APHIS |
| Rabies titer test, lab fee | $79 to $90 | Laboratory |
| IATA crate | $65 to $378 depending on size | Retailer |
| Vet exam, certificate, blood draw | Set by your clinic | Your vet |
| Quarantine | Usually none for US pets meeting the Schedule II conditions | AVS Singapore |
The endorsement sits in the $160 band because the titer counts as a lab test. Two pets on one certificate share the endorsement, with a small per-pet addition.
Two rules sit outside the money and can stop a move outright. Your pet must be at least twelve weeks old at the time of export. And Singapore prohibits the import of Pit Bull variants, the Akita, the Boerboel, the Dogo Argentino, the Fila Brasileiro, the Neapolitan Mastiff, the Tosa, the Perro de Presa Canario and crosses of any of them. There is a second layer worth knowing even for breeds that are allowed: specified dogs cannot be kept in an HDB flat at all, and only one is permitted in a non-HDB residence. Check the breed and the housing before you book.
What is not included here
Your vet sets their own fees. The examination, the certificate paperwork and any blood draw are priced by your clinic and vary between practices. Ask your vet directly. Every laboratory we checked states plainly that the draw is the clinic’s charge, not theirs.
Ground transport at either end is quoted per route. Our coordination fee is included in the total we quote you and itemized on your invoice.
What moves the price
Crate size is the single biggest lever, because it drives chargeable weight. Direct routings cost more per kilogram than they look but remove transfer handling. Season matters too: summer heat embargoes narrow booking windows, and winter cold rules do the same on some routings. Two pets on one certificate share the USDA endorsement, while each extra pet adds its own crate and freight.
Figures and sources
Import rules and licence fees from AVS Singapore. Endorsement fees from USDA APHIS, US to Singapore. Government fees change, so each line links to the authority that publishes it. Checked August 2026.
Want this priced for your pet and dates?
Send us the route, the breed and roughly when you want to travel. Request a quote and we will reply with an itemized plan, a timeline and clear next steps.
For entry rules and the full paperwork timeline, see our guide to pet shipping requirements for Singapore.
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