United States
Singapore
Pet relocation from the United States to Singapore
Singapore puts the United States in Schedule II. That means a rabies titer test at least 90 days before export, two AVS licenses, a booked inspection at Changi and, for many families, no quarantine at all, provided the timing lines up.
At a glance
Rules on this page apply to: dogs and cats.
- US category
- Schedule II under AVS (Singapore's Animal & Veterinary Service), including pets from Hawaii and Guam.
- Titer test
- At least 0.5 IU/ml, drawn 90 days to 12 months before export.
- Minimum age
- 12 weeks at the time of export.
- Licenses
- Dog or cat license on PALS, then an import license (S$50, or S$100 express).
- Quarantine
- None if the pet lands within 5 days of you and has lived with you over 6 months; otherwise at least 10 days.
- Realistic lead time
- About 4 months for an adult pet starting from scratch.
Who this guide is for
This page is for families and employees moving a pet dog or cat from anywhere in the United States, including Hawaii and Guam, to live in Singapore. It covers the rules that apply to a personal import under the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) of Singapore's National Parks Board, and the US side of the paperwork.
If you are coming from California or elsewhere on the West Coast, our guide on moving pets from California to Singapore adds route-specific notes. If your pet lived in another country during the last six months, the rules may differ; tell us before anything is booked.
What we coordinate
We build the timeline backward from your arrival date, check every vet record against the AVS conditions, prepare the license applications, and line up the USDA endorsement of the health certificate. We book the carrier and the Changi inspection, and we coordinate the AVS-recognised pet agent that clears your pet on arrival. Ground transport, boarding and home delivery are provided through local partners where available.
What you keep control of: your own vet visits, the date you land, and decisions such as whether to accept home quarantine if your dates move.
Moving to Singapore with a pet?
Get My Free Quote (opens the enquiry form in a new tab)Dogs and cats: what differs
Dogs and cats follow the same Schedule II conditions: microchip, rabies vaccination, titer test, core vaccines and parasite treatment. The differences are in the details:
- Core vaccines. Dogs need distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus; cats need calicivirus, herpesvirus and panleukopenia, at least two weeks before export.
- Banned breeds. Singapore bans Pit Bull types (including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier and American Bulldog), Akita, Boerboel, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Neapolitan Mastiff, Tosa, Perro de Presa Canario and their crosses.
- Cats. First- to fourth-generation Bengal or Savannah crosses are banned; fifth generation onward needs documentary proof.
- Housing limits. In an HDB flat you may keep up to two cats, or one dog of an approved breed. Non-HDB homes allow up to three cats or dogs combined. Check this before you sign a lease.
The Akita and the American Bulldog are common in the US and are both banned in Singapore. There is no permit route around the ban.
Timeline: start about four months out
The 90-day wait after the titer blood draw sets the pace. For an adult pet with no usable records, the critical path is:
- ISO microchip, then rabies vaccination (same visit is fine if the chip goes in first).
- At least 28 days later, the blood draw for the titer test.
- At least 90 days after the draw, the earliest export date. The draw stays usable for 12 months.
- Licenses on the AVS side: a few working days, but the import license is only valid 90 days, so it is timed close to the flight.
- In the last 2–7 days: parasite treatment and the health certificate exam, then USDA endorsement.
That adds up to roughly four months from a standing start. Pets with a valid rabies vaccination and a recent titer can move much faster. Our guide on how early to prepare explains how to set the order of vet visits.
Microchip
AVS requires a microchip meeting ISO 11784 or ISO 11785 (Annex A), and the number must appear on every vaccination and treatment record. If your pet carries an older non-ISO chip, the owner or agent must provide a reader. In practice we usually recommend adding an ISO chip and making sure the vet records it before the rabies vaccination that the titer test will rely on.
Rabies vaccination
Pets from Schedule II countries must have a valid rabies vaccination with an inactivated or recombinant vaccine acceptable to AVS, kept current according to the manufacturer's schedule. AVS does not publish a list of approved brands; it refers to the exporting country's competent authority. US one-year and three-year vaccines are both used; what matters is that the vaccination is valid on the day of export and that the titer sample was drawn at least 28 days after the primary vaccination or last booster.
Rabies titer test
The rabies neutralizing antibody titer must be at least 0.5 IU/ml. The sample is drawn at least 28 days after vaccination, and not less than 90 days and not more than 12 months before export. The test must be done at a WOAH reference laboratory for rabies or at a lab approved by the competent authority of a Schedule I or II country. We confirm the laboratory with you before the blood draw, because a result from the wrong lab cannot be fixed later.
A lapse in rabies vaccination after the draw can invalidate the result. Keep boosters on schedule until you leave.
AVS licenses
Singapore uses two licenses, applied for in this order:
- A dog or cat license on AVS's Pet Animal Licensing System (PALS).
- An import license through the GoBusiness Licensing Portal: S$50 for normal service (issued two working days after a complete application) or S$100 for express (one working day). It is valid for 90 days from issue and cannot be extended.
Mixed-breed dogs need a color photo showing the face and body. If your pet will need home quarantine, AVS approval for it must be in place before the import license application. Singapore Customs may also require a GST permit or relief waiver before the inspection can be booked.
Health certificate
AVS requires its own Schedule II veterinary certificate, dated no more than seven days before export and valid for seven days. A USDA-accredited veterinarian examines the pet within that window and certifies at least six months' residence in the US (or since birth), the microchip, the rabies vaccination and titer, core vaccines, and parasite treatment given 2–7 days before export. APHIS states that the same certificate is used for all US-origin pets, including those from Hawaii and Guam.
USDA APHIS endorsement
The certificate must be endorsed by an official government veterinarian, which in the US means USDA APHIS. Accredited vets submit it through APHIS's Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS); APHIS can endorse it digitally and return it electronically. The printed, endorsed certificate travels with your pet. Because the whole window is seven days, we schedule the vet exam and the endorsement together. Our explainer on the USDA pet health certificate walks through VEHCS.
Airlines
Airline policies change, so we confirm the carrier, aircraft and mode for your pet before anything is paid. One example from an airline's own page: Singapore Airlines carries cats and dogs at least three months old as checked baggage, does not accept pets on SQ21 (Newark) or SQ23 (New York) but does on SQ25 from New York, and sends any pet whose combined weight with its crate exceeds 32 kg through a cargo agent. It also refuses a list of breeds, including many snub-nosed dogs and cats, and asks for contact at least two weeks before departure.
Snub-nosed pets face the tightest limits on long-haul routes; see brachycephalic pets.
Cabin, checked baggage or cargo
AVS accepts pets arriving as manifested cargo or as accompanied or excess baggage; its arrival instructions even describe pets that traveled in the passenger cabin. Whether your pet can fly that way depends on the airline, route and aircraft, and on transpacific flights cabin travel is often not offered. Larger dogs usually travel as cargo. Whatever the mode, the crate must meet IATA standards; see our IATA crate guide.
If the routing transits a Schedule III country, AVS requires a captain's declaration; we plan routings to avoid surprises there.
Arrival at Changi
Air arrivals are inspected at Changi Animal & Plant Quarantine (CAPQ) at the Changi Airfreight Centre. The inspection is booked through AVS e-services, with the import license number and flight details, at least five working days before arrival; arriving without an appointment costs S$133 per hour or part thereof.
All import clearance for personal pets goes through an AVS-recognised pet agent, whether the pet flew as cargo or as baggage. CAPQ is not inside the passenger terminal and owners cannot enter it. Pets that do not need quarantine are then driven home by the agent. Crates larger than 82 × 64 × 58 cm must be collected personally at CAPQ.
Quarantine
For a Schedule II pet imported under a personal license, there is no post-arrival quarantine if both conditions are met:
- the pet arrives less than five days after you enter Singapore; and
- the pet has lived at the same residential address as you for more than six months.
If either condition fails, the pet serves at least 10 days of home quarantine, approved in advance, wearing a smart collar tag billed at S$29 per animal per day. Commercial imports go to AVS's Animal Quarantine Centre for at least 10 days. This is why we plan your flight and your pet's flight together: a delayed owner arrival can trigger quarantine.
What drives the cost
AVS's fees are published (import license S$50 or S$100; home-quarantine tag S$29 a day; unbooked inspection S$133 an hour). The larger costs vary with your situation:
- airline mode and the size and weight of the crate;
- vet visits, titer test and laboratory fees in your US city;
- the USDA endorsement fee and the agent's clearance at Changi;
- boarding if your dates force a gap, and home delivery.
We quote on your actual pet, route and dates. For the general picture, see pet relocation costs from the USA to Asia.
Common mistakes
- Drawing the titer sample too late: under 90 days before the flight means postponing.
- Booking the owner's flight a week before the pet's, which removes the quarantine exemption.
- Applying for the import license too early: it expires after 90 days and cannot be extended.
- Assuming an Akita, American Bulldog or Staffordshire Terrier mix can come "with a permit". It cannot.
- Signing an HDB lease before checking whether your dog's breed is allowed there.
- Forgetting the return trip: if you may bring a dog back to the US later, read the Singapore to USA guide.
Questions about this route
Does my dog or cat need quarantine in Singapore if we come from the US?
Not if your pet meets all the Schedule II conditions, arrives less than five days after you, and has lived at the same address as you for more than six months. Otherwise AVS requires at least 10 days of home quarantine for a personal import.
How long before the move should the titer test be done?
The blood is drawn at least 28 days after the rabies vaccination and between 90 days and 12 months before export. Most families draw it four to six months before the move to keep a margin.
Are pets from Hawaii or Guam treated differently?
AVS lists the USA in Schedule II without separating Hawaii or Guam, and USDA APHIS states that the same Singapore certificate is used for all US-origin pets, including Hawaii and Guam.
Can I clear my pet at Changi myself?
No. AVS states that all import clearance for personal pets must go through an AVS-recognised pet agent, whatever the travel mode. We coordinate that agent for you.
Can my pet fly in the cabin to Singapore?
Sometimes, depending on the airline and route, but many long-haul carriers do not offer it. Singapore Airlines, for example, carries pets as checked baggage or through a cargo agent. We confirm the options for your pet's size and your dates.
Official sources
The requirements on this page come from these authorities.
- NParks AVS — Importing dogs and cats into Singapore (last updated October 19, 2026)
- NParks AVS — Veterinary conditions for dogs/cats from Schedule II countries (DOGCAT 83-2, 01-04-2026), incl. import clearance notes
- USDA APHIS — Pet travel from the United States to Singapore (last modified June 25, 2026)
- Singapore Airlines — Travelling with pets
- CDC — Entry requirements for U.S.-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries (Apr. 28, 2026)
Requirements last verified against these sources on .
Requirements change. Before anything is booked, we confirm each one again with the authorities, the airline and your veterinarian for your pet and your dates.
Going the other way?
Other destinations
Moving to Singapore with a pet?
Tell us your pet, your US city and your target date. We will check the titer timing first and tell you honestly whether your date works.
Takes a few minutes. No account needed.