International & Interstate Pet Travel Certificates
As soon as you know that you will be traveling, please contact the hospital to see if we are able to help. Regulations with airlines can change with short notice, and each country has different requirements related to vaccines, health stats and quarantine. We are no longer able to provide USDA travel certifications but we may be able to help with other travel certifications. For the local veterinarians that can do USDA travel please check the USDA website.
Once the veterinarian in charge of your pet’s travel has the required documentation and regulations, we will have you schedule appointments as needed for any vaccines, treatments or exams to certify your animal as fit to fly and travel.
Even if you are traveling in the United States, airline regulations change depending on the time of year. Animals traveling in the hold of a plane are subjected to changes in temperature depending on season and destination. There can be restrictions on breeds that are able to fly at certain times and under certain circumstances, and airlines can change their requirements at any time.
Just as when traveling with a pet abroad, scheduling an appointment for domestic travel as soon as your plans are set is the best course of action. Contact your carrier for a list of regulations and be sure to bring it with you. If you are changing carriers, be sure to contact each airline you will be using, as their regulations and requirements can differ. It can take several weeks, months, or occasionally even longer depending on the destination.
If you are planning to travel outside the 48 contiguous states, there can be additional paperwork–treat travel to Alaska and Hawaii as travel outside the country. United States territories and possessions should be considered as foreign travel as well as far as animal transport is concerned. If you are traveling to a country that is rabies free like Hawaii or Japan, it takes about 6 months of planning and vet visits to certify your pet for travel. Once again, please check the USDA website if you need a USDA travel certification. The USDA APHIS website will give you a good idea of the requirements for each country.