Animal Quarantine Certificate: Requirements, Types & How to Get One

An animal quarantine certificate is an official document, issued or endorsed by an accredited or government veterinarian, certifying that an animal has been examined, tested, vaccinated, or isolated according to the disease-control rules of the state or country it is entering. There is no single worldwide "quarantine certificate" — the correct document depends on the species, the origin and destination, and whether the movement is domestic (interstate) or international. In the U.S., livestock use a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian, while dogs entering from high-risk rabies countries need CDC-specific rabies documentation, and pets entering the EU need an EU animal health certificate (USDA APHIS, 2026; CDC, 2026).

What Is an Animal Quarantine Certificate?

An animal quarantine certificate is the paperwork a competent veterinary authority requires before an animal can cross a jurisdictional line without being held in isolation on arrival — or as proof that a required isolation period has already been completed. It typically records the animal's identification, health inspection findings, vaccination history, and any laboratory test results, and it links that information to a specific shipment, owner, and route (USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 2026).

The term is used loosely across several distinct systems: domestic livestock health certificates, international live-animal export certificates, and rabies-focused pet import documents. Each has its own issuing authority, format, and validity rules, which is why the same search term can lead to very different requirements depending on what is actually moving.

Types of Animal Quarantine Certificates

1. Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) — U.S. Interstate Livestock

A Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, sometimes called a health certificate, is the standard quarantine-adjacent document for moving cattle, horses, swine, sheep, and goats between U.S. states. It must be issued by a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-accredited veterinarian, or a state or federal veterinarian, and must record individual animal identification such as official eartag numbers, breed registration numbers, the purpose of movement, and points of origin and destination (USDA APHIS National Veterinary Accreditation Program, 2026). The veterinarian must also state that the animals showed no clinical signs of disease at the time of examination. Many states now accept electronic CVIs through USDA's Veterinary Services Process Streamlining (VSPS) system rather than paper forms.

2. USDA Export Health Certificate — International Live Animal Export

When animals leave the United States for another country, the exporter needs a health certificate specific to the destination country, examined and signed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and then federally endorsed by an APHIS Veterinary Services office (USDA APHIS, Live Animal Export FAQ, 2026). Requirements vary by species, destination, and mode of transport, and some destination countries additionally require an isolation or quarantine period — described by APHIS as ranging "from weeks to months" — before the animal is eligible for entry. Most countries will not accept a certificate issued after the shipment has already departed, so all paperwork must be finalized in advance.

3. CDC Dog Import and Rabies Certification — U.S. Entry

Every dog entering or returning to the United States must be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form receipt (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2026). Beyond that baseline:

• Dogs vaccinated in the U.S. need a Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination, completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian before departure.
• Dogs vaccinated abroad need a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip, completed by a foreign veterinarian.
• Dogs from CDC-designated high-risk countries without a valid rabies antibody titer of at least 0.5 IU/mL must undergo a 28-day quarantine at a CDC-registered animal care facility after arrival (CDC, 2026).

As of 2026, the CDC also notes that U.S.-issued export health certificates dated after July 31, 2025 are no longer valid for re-entry; travelers now need the newer Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form instead. Because these rules change year to year, always check the current CDC guidance close to your travel date.

4. EU Animal Health Certificate and EU Pet Passport — European Union Entry

These are two separate documents and are frequently confused. An EU pet passport is issued only by an official veterinarian inside an EU member state (or another designated country) and is meant for pets that already live in, or travel repeatedly within, the EU (USDA APHIS, 2026). It cannot be obtained in the United States, and a U.S. veterinarian is not authorized to complete its official sections. Pets traveling to the EU from a non-EU country such as the United States instead need an EU animal health certificate, issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by APHIS within 10 days of arrival, plus a non-commercial travel declaration (Your Europe / European Union, 2026; USDA APHIS, 2026). Neither of these is the same as the biometric livestock identity record described later in this article — they are official government travel documents, and only an EU member state veterinary authority or USDA APHIS can issue them.

5. WOAH Model Veterinary Certificates — International Framework

The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) does not issue certificates directly. Instead, its Terrestrial Animal Health Code publishes model veterinary certificates that trading countries adapt into bilateral agreements, covering live animals, hatching eggs, semen, embryos, and animal products (WOAH, 2026). WOAH is also developing standards for electronic veterinary certification, allowing a Competent Authority in the exporting country to transmit sanitary data directly to its counterpart in the importing country instead of relying on a paper document.

Animal Quarantine Certificate Types Compared

How to Get an Animal Quarantine Certificate

1. Identify the correct document. Confirm whether you need a domestic CVI, a USDA export health certificate, a CDC rabies certification, or an EU-format certificate based on species and destination.
2. Contact an accredited veterinarian early. USDA APHIS recommends contacting a USDA-accredited veterinarian "as soon as possible" once travel or shipment is planned, since some steps (like rabies titers) take weeks to complete (USDA APHIS, 2026).
3. Complete required testing and vaccination. This may include rabies vaccination, antibody titers, or disease screening specific to the destination.
4. Have the veterinarian examine the animal and complete the certificate. The exam must confirm the animal is free of clinical signs of contagious or infectious disease.
5. Obtain federal or state endorsement if required. International export certificates typically need APHIS Veterinary Services endorsement after the veterinarian signs them.
6. Keep copies and originals together. Destination countries generally want original laboratory results and will not accept certificates issued after the animal has already shipped.

When Paper Certificates and Tags Are Lost

Quarantine certificates, health papers, and ear tags are physical records, and physical records can be destroyed. Pakistan's August 2025 floods displaced hundreds of thousands of animals across Punjab and Sindh, with local agriculture reporting describing severe livestock losses and mass evacuations in flood-hit districts (The Cattle Site, 2025). When paper tags and documents wash away in events like this, farmers and veterinarians lose the paper trail linking an animal to its owner, vaccination history, and prior inspections — even though the animal itself may have survived.

This is the problem Animal Passport was built to address, though it is important to be precise about what it does and does not do. Animal Passport is a phone-based digital livestock identity tool that uses muzzle biometrics — an animal's nose print, which is unique like a human fingerprint — to bind a record of owner, breed, estimated age, and vaccination history to a specific animal. It also estimates age from a dental photograph with a confidence score and generates a body condition score from 1–5 based on a side-profile photo. According to Animal Passport, the tool was used during the August 2025 livestock flood rescue effort in Pakistan so that farmers could identify and reclaim animals after paper tags were lost.

Animal Passport is not a government-issued quarantine certificate, health certificate, or travel document, and it does not perform veterinary diagnosis. It is a complementary identity record. If your animal needs to cross a state line or international border, you still need the official CVI, export health certificate, CDC documentation, or EU-format certificate described above from an accredited or government veterinarian. Digital biometric identity can make it easier to prove which animal a paper certificate belongs to after a disaster, but it does not substitute for the certificate itself. You can read more field examples on the Animal Passport blog.

Common Reasons Quarantine Certificates Are Required

• Preventing disease spread: Certificates confirm an animal is free of clinical signs of contagious, infectious, or communicable disease before it moves.
• Rabies control: Dog import rules exist specifically to prevent the reintroduction of dog-variant rabies into rabies-controlled countries (CDC, 2026).
• Traceability: Certificates create a paper or electronic trail linking an animal's identification, origin, and destination, which supports outbreak investigation if disease is later detected.
• Trade compliance: Importing countries use certificates to enforce their own animal health standards on incoming livestock and pets, consistent with WOAH's model certificate framework (WOAH, 2026).

Frequently Asked Questions

Is an animal quarantine certificate the same as a health certificate?

The terms are often used interchangeably, but "health certificate" is the more common legal name in the U.S. (Certificate of Veterinary Inspection), while "quarantine certificate" more often refers to proof that a required isolation period has been completed or is not needed.

Who can issue an animal quarantine certificate?

In the United States, only a USDA-accredited veterinarian, or a state or federal veterinarian, can issue a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection or export health certificate; international destinations may require additional endorsement from a government veterinary authority (USDA APHIS, 2026).

How long is a livestock health certificate valid?

Validity is set by the destination state or country rather than by a single national standard, and it is tied to the date of veterinary examination; check with the destination state's animal health office or the importing country's requirements before travel.

Do dogs always need to be quarantined when entering the U.S.?

No. Dogs from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries generally do not need quarantine if they meet basic requirements like microchipping and minimum age; only foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries without a valid rabies antibody titer face the standard 28-day quarantine (CDC, 2026).

Is an EU pet passport the same as an EU animal health certificate?

No. An EU pet passport is issued only by a veterinarian inside the EU for pets already based there, while an EU animal health certificate is issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian before a pet leaves a non-EU country like the United States (USDA APHIS, 2026).

Does Animal Passport issue official quarantine certificates?

No. Animal Passport is a biometric digital identity record for livestock using muzzle nose prints, dental-photo age estimation, and body condition scoring; it does not replace government-issued quarantine, health, or travel certificates, and it does not provide veterinary diagnosis or legal documentation.

What happens if a quarantine certificate is lost or destroyed?

You generally need to contact the issuing veterinarian or agency for a duplicate or re-examination, since most authorities will not accept a shipment without valid paperwork; digital identity records can help re-establish which animal a lost document belonged to, but cannot substitute for the missing official certificate.

Where can I find the exact requirements for my destination?

Always check the primary source directly: USDA APHIS for U.S. interstate and export rules, the CDC for dog import rules, the destination country's competent veterinary authority for import rules, or WOAH for the general international certification framework — since requirements change frequently.

Last updated September 2026 by Animal Passport. This article summarizes publicly available government and international guidance; it is not veterinary or legal advice. Always verify current requirements with USDA APHIS, the CDC, or the destination country's official veterinary authority before shipping or traveling with an animal. Learn more about digital livestock identity at Animal Passport.