Pet Transport in Los Angeles, CA
We provide international pet transport to and from Los Angeles, planned around the weather, the season and your destination’s entry rules. A move to or from another state goes by road with a partner driver or on a domestic flight.
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- Export and import paperwork
- Check-in at LAX
- Door-to-door relocation
- Meeting your pet at the arrival airport
Every dog over four months old kept in the City of Los Angeles must be licensed.
Prefer to talk it through? Call 1-877-540-0555
Los Angeles at a glance
How a move from Los Angeles works- Flights from
- Los Angeles International (LAX)
- Door-to-door pickup
- Roughly one to two hours’ drive of Los Angeles
- Airline guides
- Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta and United Airlines
- Export paperwork
- USDA endorsement through VEHCS
- Service area
- West Coast and Alaska
Pet Relocation from Los Angeles
Moving a pet through Los Angeles is rarely simple. Between the traffic, the summer heat, and the marine-layer fog that drifts in off the coast, timing is everything.
How a Move from Los Angeles Works
Choose the pet relocation services an LA move needs, from one airline booking at LAX to the full trip from your front door.
Flights and check-in
We book your pet’s flights from Los Angeles International (LAX), set the dates around the weather, the season and each airline’s rules for pets, and handle the check-in with the airline on travel day.
Door to door, when you book it
Door-to-door pet transport adds the road legs. A partner driver collects your pet from home, anywhere within roughly one to two hours’ drive of Los Angeles, and handles the check-in personally, and we meet your pet at the arrival airport. We do not run local rides to the vet, groomer or daycare.
Paperwork for a move abroad
For a move abroad, the paperwork starts with the destination. APHIS’s export page, read September 16, 2026, says to verify your destination country’s entry requirements every time you plan to travel, and that a USDA-accredited veterinarian submits the health certificate for USDA endorsement on your behalf. APHIS calls VEHCS the fastest route to endorsement, says processing there is staffed Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time outside federal holidays, and says there is no in-person or drop-off service. We prepare the file with you, including an import permit where the destination country asks for one, and check each document against its rules before your pet flies. Our destination guides cover the rules country by country.
Arriving
Moving a Pet to Los Angeles
Coming from another state? The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s animal importation FAQ, read September 23, 2026, wants documentation of a current rabies vaccination for any dog of four months or more, and says a domestic dog entering the state must be healthy. In the city itself, the LA Animal Services licensing page, read the same day, says a dog license is valid only with a current rabies vaccination certificate from a licensed veterinarian. A dog coming from another country also has to meet CDC’s entry rules, which our guide to the CDC dog import form sets out.
How the service works from start to finish is on our pet transport services page.
Flying a Pet Out of Los Angeles
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
is the main airport for many Los Angeles pet travel routes, including domestic flights and international connections. Planning ahead helps with check-in timing, crate compliance, and seasonal limitations.
Optional: other airports that may fit some routes:
Depending on the itinerary, some travelers also consider Hollywood Burbank (BUR) or Long Beach (LGB) for certain domestic trips.
Airlines that fly pets from Los Angeles
Each airline named on this page publishes its own rules for animals. Our guides set out what each one says:
Alaska Airlines: cabin fees, carrier rules and its seasonal embargoes.
American Airlines: cabin, cargo and PetEmbark.
Delta: cabin rules, fees and who it ships pets for.
United Airlines: what it publishes for dogs and cats.
How Our Pet Transport Process Works
Consultation
We collect pet details, route, timing, and destination requirements.
Travel Plan
We outline milestones, route options, and document timing.
Pre Travel Preparation
We guide crate/carrier setup and travel-day readiness.
Transportation coordination
We coordinate schedules and handoffs with the partners involved.
Arrival Support
We share arrival-day steps and settling guidance after travel.
Our Pet Transport Services
Air Pet Shipping
We plan flight routing, confirm airline acceptance, and coordinate airport procedures for pets traveling by air through Los Angeles.
Ground Pet Transport
Ground transport is arranged with realistic timelines that account for Southern California traffic patterns and seasonal congestion.
International Pet Transport
International relocations include documentation planning, airline coordination, and destination entry requirements from Los Angeles.
Door to Door Relocation
Door to door relocation coordination aligns ground transport, air travel, and arrival planning into one organized timeline.
Types of Pets We Transport
Dog Transportation
Dogs are the moves we plan most often. We match the crate to your dog’s size, book around airline rules and seasonal heat limits, and route around the LA traffic so nothing turns into a last-minute scramble on travel day.
Cat Transportation
Cats travel best when the day stays calm and the waiting is short. We choose airline-approved carriers, sort out the cabin-or-cargo question early, and plan the schedule so your cat spends as little time at the airport as possible.
Bird Transportation
Birds need a little more care: species-specific paperwork, airline approval, and travel that holds a steady temperature. We walk you through the health certificates and routing so nothing slips through the cracks.
Small Mammals
Rabbits, guinea pigs, and other small pets travel in approved carriers on carefully timed routes. We confirm that the airline will accept your pet well before the date, so there are no surprises.
Reptiles and Exotic Pets
Reptiles and exotic pets each come with their own rules. We review the airline policies and temperature requirements one by one and build a route that genuinely suits your animal, not a one-size-fits-all plan.
Our Service Areas Near Los Angeles
We provide pet transportation services throughout Los Angeles County, including Santa Monica, Pasadena, Burbank, Long Beach, Torrance, Glendale, and surrounding communities. In addition, Pet Travel Advisors coordinates pet relocation nationwide across the United States.
Moves from elsewhere in California come under our West Coast and Alaska service area, with San Diego and San Francisco among its cities.
Ready to start?
Book the whole move, or only the parts you need.
What to Expect When Shipping a Pet Through Los Angeles Airport (LAX)
Who actually handles your pet at LAX
Swissport runs the cargo warehouse at 5781 West Imperial Highway, and that is where a pet booked on Alaska Air Cargo Pet Connect is dropped off and collected. Drop-off and collection run 24 hours a day, every day.
American Airlines Cargo is the other option here, through its PetEmbark service. Delta ships pets only for active US military and State Department Foreign Service personnel with permanent change of station orders. United publishes its own policy on its pets page.
Customs and Animal Reception
For international arrivals, LAX’s customs services include protocols for pets, such as quarantine clearance and document verification. Pet owners can coordinate with airport staff on customs for pets arriving from abroad.
Temperature limits and ground handling
Airlines decide whether a pet flies, not the airport. American transports warm-blooded animals when ground temperatures are between 45F and 85F. Below that it requires a letter of acclimation signed and dated by a licensed veterinarian, which covers 20F to 44F, and it will not carry an animal at all below 20F. Alaska Air Cargo says many of its stations have seasonal temperature embargoes for animal shipments over a summer season that generally runs from May 1 to October 16. Between drop-off and loading your pet waits in the cargo handler building rather than a dedicated animal terminal, so the acceptance window and the handler opening hours are what a travel date has to be built around.
Questions about moving a pet to or from Los Angeles
Request a QuoteFrequently Asked Questions
Is there a best time of year to move a pet from Los Angeles?
Los Angeles’s departures are timed for each move on the weather, the season and airline availability, and we watch the forecast at both ends of the route.
Do you handle international pet moves from Los Angeles?
Yes. Los Angeles International (LAX) has strong international service, and we coordinate overseas moves from Los Angeles end to end, mapping the route, preparing the destination country’s import paperwork, and timing travel around the airline’s schedule. See our destination guides for country requirements.
Do you offer door-to-door pet transport from Los Angeles?
Yes. Many Los Angeles families want the whole move handled, so we can arrange ground pickup from your home, the airport hand-off, and delivery at the other end. One coordinator stays with the journey from your Los Angeles door to the destination.
How is the cost of a Los Angeles pet move decided?
Every Los Angeles move is priced on its own, because the route, airline fees, your pet’s size and crate, the season, and the destination’s rules all change the total. Tell us where and when, and we’ll put together an estimate: request a quote. For a closer look at what drives the price, see our guide to pet shipping costs.