Veterinary documents and permits for US–Asia pet moves

What we coordinate, and what your veterinarian does

Your own veterinarian examines your pet, gives the vaccines, draws blood and signs the health certificate. Government authorities endorse certificates and issue permits. Our job is everything around that:

• A written calendar built backward from your travel date: which appointment, test and form, in which order, by which date.
• Checks before each step, so that a vaccine, a lab or a form is right before it is too late to change.
• Import permits and advance notifications prepared and filed where the destination requires them.
• Export paperwork on the Asian side when the pet travels to the US.
• Coordination with your veterinarian on the destination's certificate and the USDA endorsement.
• Timing with the flight, since many certificates are only valid for a short window (pet air cargo and flights).

We do not perform veterinary care, and no one can shorten a waiting period that a government sets. What we can do is make sure you start early enough, in the right order.

Leaving the US: accredited veterinarian and USDA endorsement

According to USDA APHIS, the process starts with a USDA-accredited veterinarian, who helps you meet the destination's requirements and submits the health certificate to APHIS for endorsement on your behalf.

APHIS describes two routes in its process overview: the veterinarian submits through the online Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS), or the paperwork is mailed to a USDA endorsement office. Use one, not both. Because the submission can be made online, the US city you leave from matters much less for the paperwork than it used to.

Destinations differ in what they accept. For Japan, APHIS states that dog and cat certificates (Form AC for pets leaving from states other than Hawaii and Guam) are digitally endorsed (APHIS Japan page). Where a destination does not accept the digital endorsement, the original endorsed paper certificate is returned by express mail and travels with the pet. The destination may also accept a certificate only for a limited time after the veterinarian signs it, so the date is planned around the flight.

The full USDA explainer is in our guide to the USDA pet health certificate; the service view is on US pet export.

What destinations in Asia ask for

Japan The MAFF Animal Quarantine Service requires, for pets from non-designated regions such as the US mainland: an ISO 11784/11785 microchip; at least two rabies vaccinations given after the chip; a rabies antibody titer of at least 0.5 IU/ml from a laboratory Japan designates; arrival at least 180 days after the blood sample; and notice to the arrival port at least 40 days before arrival. A pet that does not comply can be detained for up to 180 days. See USA to Japan and our step-by-step guide.

Taiwan APHIA issues the import permit, revised on January 5, 2026; the old form stops being accepted on January 1, 2027. For dogs and cats from rabies-infected countries or zones, APHIA's import page asks for the permit at least 20 days before arrival and sets 7 days of quarantine, which can be waived for pets that meet specific conditions when the permit is applied for. A rabies titer declaration (RNATTD) is part of the file, and pit bull terriers may not be imported. See USA to Taiwan and shipping a cat to Taiwan.

Singapore AVS places the USA in Schedule II. The import license is issued through the GoBusiness portal and is valid for 90 days. Post-arrival quarantine can be waived for personal imports that meet AVS's conditions; otherwise a minimum 10-day home quarantine applies. See USA to Singapore.

South Korea APQA requires, for dogs and cats aged 90 days or more from countries that are not rabies-free: an ISO microchip (or your own scanner), a rabies antibody test by an internationally approved laboratory within 24 months of the blood draw, and a health certificate from the exporting country's government. Compliant pets can be released on the day of arrival. See USA to South Korea.

Hong Kong The AFCD permit terms require a rabies vaccination given not less than 30 days and not more than 1 year before export (primary vaccination at 90 days of age or older), and exclude pets under 5 months. A US three-year vaccine given more than a year before departure therefore needs a booster. See USA to Hong Kong.

Coming to the US: fewer US papers, more planning at origin

For a dog that has only been in low-risk places, CDC asks for a Dog Import Form receipt, a microchip readable by a universal scanner, a minimum age of 6 months and a healthy appearance (CDC). Dogs from high-risk countries need more, and a US-vaccinated dog returning from one needs a USDA-endorsed Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination obtained before it left the US (CDC). If you are leaving the US for a high-risk country and expect to come back, plan this form before departure. See pet import to the US.

The mistakes we plan around

• A rabies vaccine given before the microchip, which Japan does not count.
• A titer test sent to a laboratory the destination does not designate.
• A three-year rabies vaccine that is too old for Hong Kong's one-year rule.
• A health certificate signed outside the window the destination accepts.
• A permit applied for too late, or on a form that is about to expire.

For a sense of how early to begin, read how early to prepare.