Health Certificates for Dogs and Cats

Signature Veterinary Services’ veterinarians are USDA-accredited to issue health certificates for pets for both interstate and international travel. If you plan to travel with your pet outside of California or to another country, then you’ll need a USDA-certified certificate of veterinary inspection, also called a health certificate. This proves to border, customs, and airline officials that your pet meets all their travel requirements and is fit to travel without infecting other pets or people, and also certifies that your pet won’t introduce new diseases or parasites to another state or country.
Obtaining a health certificate can be a lengthy and daunting process, and we recommend contacting Signature Veterinary Services as soon as you know your travel plans.

How to Get USDA-Certified Health Certificates for Pet Travel

Domestic Travel

Most states require pets to have a recent physical examination, a current rabies vaccination, and to be either heartworm-free or on a preventive medication. Be sure to research your airline’s individual requirements.

International Travel

Obtaining a certificate for international travel can take months, depending on your destination’s requirements. During your pet’s appointment, you’ll need the following information:

  • Pet's name
  • Age
  • Species
  • Breed
  • Color
  • Verification of good health
  • Proven parasite-free
  • Complete vaccination record
  • Origin country
  • Destination country
  • Whether pet will travel with a person, alone, or as cargo
Obtaining an international health certificate for pet travel can take months. Research the process and plan your travel accordingly to allow sufficient time to complete the steps involved..

Certify Your Pet from Home

Pet owners are responsible for ensuring their pets meet all the requirements of the states and/or countries they plan to visit and the airlines they’ll be flying. Prior to your pet’s certification appointment, we recommend visiting your airline’s website to view a list of their unique requirements and also visiting the USDA animal certification website to view requirements for states and countries.

Our veterinarians will help you through the process to ensure your pet’s international or domestic travel certificate is on-schedule and all requirements are satisfied. We minimize stress and maximize convenience by providing our services right outside your home.

To schedule your pet’s at-home certification appointment, we welcome you to contact us today.