Pet relocation for military PCS moves

An independent company, not a military program

Yunifly is a private pet relocation company. We have no affiliation with the Department of Defense, any service branch or any installation, and nothing on this page is an approval or an endorsement from them.

We also cannot tell you what your move will be reimbursed for. Your finance or transportation office decides that under the Joint Travel Regulations. What we provide is planning, coordination and clear itemized paperwork you can bring to them.

What we coordinate for PCS families

• A timeline built backward from your report date, with a straight answer on whether your pet can travel with you or needs to follow later.
• Veterinary documentation guidance: the order of microchip, rabies vaccinations, titer test and health certificates, and the dates each one has to fall on. Your veterinarian, military or civilian, performs the exams and signs the documents.
• Advance notifications and import applications where the destination requires them, such as Japan's 40-day notice.
• Flight options alongside the Patriot Express: commercial routings, travel mode and booking arrangements for your pet's size and breed.
• Crate guidance to the airline's and IATA's requirements (crate guidance).
• Arrival coordination, and, through local partners where available, ground transport or boarding while you are in temporary lodging.
• Itemized quotes and invoices, so your claim is easy to document.

Orders to Japan: start the day you get them

From the US mainland, Japan applies its rules for non-designated regions. Dogs and cats need an ISO 11784/11785 microchip, at least two rabies vaccinations given after the chip, and a rabies antibody result of at least 0.5 IU/ml from a laboratory Japan designates. The pet must arrive at least 180 days after that blood draw, and the Animal Quarantine Service must be notified at least 40 days before arrival. A pet that does not meet the rules can be detained for up to 180 days or sent back.

In practice, a pet starting from zero needs more than six months. If your orders give you less, we tell you at once and plan the alternatives: a later flight for the pet, or care through partners where available until it can travel.

On the US side, APHIS says that for active-duty personnel a dog or cat health certificate issued only by a military veterinarian can be used for Japan without APHIS endorsement; retirees need APHIS endorsement (APHIS Japan page). We confirm which applies to you.

Full route details: USA to Japan.

Orders to South Korea

Korea's Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency requires dogs and cats from countries that are not rabies-free to have an ISO microchip (or the owner brings a reader), a rabies antibody test at or above 0.5 IU/ml within 24 months of the blood draw, and a health certificate issued by the exporting country's government. There is no long waiting period: a pet whose documents are verified and who passes the clinical check can be released on the day of arrival. A failed or missing titer can mean a hold, at the owner's expense.

Because there is no waiting period, Korea can be planned in weeks rather than months, but the lab result still has to come back before the flight. Route details: USA to South Korea.

Getting your pet there: Patriot Express and commercial options

Many PCS families fly on the AMC Patriot Express. Military OneSource notes that pet spaces on it are limited and booked first come, first served, with reservations possible 90 to 120 days before departure, and suggests asking your transportation office early.

When the flight is full, commercial options matter, and some are narrower for civilians than for service members. Delta, for example, currently ships pets as cargo only for active US military and State Department Foreign Service staff traveling on PCS orders, does not accept snub-nosed dogs or cats, and does not ship pets when ground temperatures are too hot or too cold (Delta's page). Other airlines' policies change; we confirm the carrier, aircraft and mode for your pet at booking.

More on modes: airline and cargo arrangements.

What the military may reimburse

The Defense Travel Management Office announced that, as of January 1, 2024, service members on a PCS may be reimbursed for one household pet, a cat or a dog: up to $550 for a move within the continental US and up to $2,000 for a move to or from a location outside it, for expenses such as pet transportation or quarantine fees. The authority is the Joint Travel Regulations, paragraph 050107. Military OneSource adds that relocation costs for an additional pet are at your own expense.

These are government limits, not our prices, and eligibility in your case is decided by your service. We give you an itemized quote up front and itemized invoices afterward.

Coming back to the US

Leaving Japan or Korea has its own export steps, which we schedule against your departure date: Japan to USA, South Korea to USA.

For the US side, a dog that has only been in rabies-free or low-risk countries, such as Japan and South Korea, needs to be at least 6 months old, microchipped and covered by a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. Dogs that spent time in a country on CDC's high-risk list, such as the Philippines or Thailand, face stricter rules, and for some of them only certain US airports work (US airports for pets). Cats have no federal rabies requirement but may face state or airline rules. See US pet import.

Housing, quarantine and installation rules

Installations set their own rules on pet numbers, breeds and housing, and quarantine arrangements differ by base. Your transportation office and your installation's own pet page are the authority here. We fold their requirements into the plan once you know your duty station, and our checklist for families is in pet travel for military families.