Animal Quarantine in India: AQCS Rules, Ports, and Import Steps Explained

Animal quarantine in India is the government-mandated inspection, isolation, and health-certification process that imported livestock, pets, and animal products must pass through before entering the country. It is administered by the Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS) under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) at six designated ports, where officials hold animals for 15 to 30 days of observation, verify vaccination and health records, and issue clearance under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898, before customs releases them.

As of September 2026, this system governs everything from a family's pet dog flying in as baggage to a shipment of breeding cattle imported under a Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) license. Below is a source-by-source breakdown of how it works, who runs it, and how it differs from unrelated schemes like the European Union's pet travel rules or private livestock-identity tools.

What Is the Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS)?

The Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS) is the Government of India body responsible for regulating the import and export of livestock, pets, and animal products to keep exotic diseases out of the country. AQCS was set up during the Fourth Five Year Plan (1969–70) as a central sector scheme, starting with four stations, according to AQCS India's official site.

AQCS now operates six quarantine stations — in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore — each covering roughly nine acres with administrative offices, animal sheds by species, laboratories, and quarantine enclosures. Every live animal entering India by air or sea must clear one of these six stations; there is no other legal port of entry for livestock, per AQCS.

The Legal Basis: Livestock Importation Act, 1898

India's animal quarantine authority traces back to the Livestock Importation Act, 1898. Section 3 (and Section 3A) of the Act empowers the Central Government to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the import of live animals and livestock products into India, as confirmed by DAHD's Trade Division page.

Two notifications operationalize the Act for modern trade: S.O. 1495(E) and S.O. 1496(E), both dated 11 June 2014, which define which animal classes count as livestock and lay out the import and quarantine procedure. A further notification, S.O. 2666(E) of October 2014, lists the specific livestock products that require a Sanitary Import Permit (SIP), per DAHD.

How to Import Livestock or Animal Products Into India

For commercial consignments — breeding animals, semen and embryos, meat, dairy, eggs, or pet food — AQCS and DGFT require the following sequence, based on the official AQCS Import/Export Procedures page:

1. Secure an import license. Live animals are a restricted category, so the importer needs a license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) before shipping.
2. Apply for a Sanitary Import Permit (SIP). High-risk products (meat, dairy, eggs, aquatic products, pet food, embryos, semen, serum, bones, and horns) need an SIP from AQCS specifying the exact health conditions the shipment must meet. SIPs remain valid from three months to one year and can cover multiple consignments.
3. Obtain an origin-country health certificate. The certificate must confirm the animal or product meets India's notified import health guidelines and protocol for that species and source country.
4. Route the shipment through a designated port. Only Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore (plus connected inland container depots) are authorized entry points for live animals; fish products also clear at Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, and Petrapole.
5. Pass AQCS inspection on arrival. An AQCS veterinary officer inspects the consignment, collects samples where required, and issues an advance No Objection Certificate (NOC), typically within seven days for livestock.
6. Clear quarantine. The consignment moves from provisional to final clearance once post-import observation and any lab testing are complete; AQCS retains the original health certificates.
7. Customs releases the goods. Only after AQCS quarantine clearance can customs authorize release for home consumption.

All procedures follow the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, with AQCS veterinarians acting as India's official veterinarians for certification purposes, per AQCS.

Pet Dogs and Cats: The Baggage Rule

Most travelers searching for animal quarantine in India are actually asking about bringing a pet dog or cat into the country. AQCS treats this as a separate 'import under baggage rule,' capped at two pets per owner. According to the official AQCS pet-baggage page, the requirements are:

• A rabies vaccination given more than one month, but within 12 months, before actual embarkation.
• An official health certificate from the country of origin confirming the animal is free of clinical signs of disease.
• The owner's flight ticket (if accompanied baggage) or passport copy with an immigration stamp (if unaccompanied, arriving within one month).
• A signed declaration that the pet is non-commercial and not intended for breeding.
• An advance No Objection Certificate (NOC) from AQCS, applied for at least seven days before arrival using self-certified copies of the above documents.

On arrival, AQCS places the pet under observation, and final clearance is issued after 30 days, with the possibility of a longer hold in case of doubt, per the same AQCS source. Separately, AQCS materials describing pets brought as accompanied baggage cite a 15-day observation window, so travelers should confirm the applicable period with the specific AQCS station handling their arrival before booking travel. Commercial import of dogs for breeding is explicitly not permitted under this route. A related DAHD order (No. 109-01/2012-Trade, dated 20 February 2025, referenced on DAHD's site) addresses facilitation of final quarantine clearance for pet dogs and cats, reflecting that this process is periodically updated — always check the current AQCS and DAHD notices before travel.

Note that no rabies titer or serology test is required for entry; a valid, correctly timed vaccination certificate is the operative document.

Domestic Quarantine: Disease Control Inside India

Separate from import quarantine, India also uses movement restrictions and animal isolation domestically to contain livestock disease outbreaks. The clearest current example is African swine fever (ASF). India recorded its first ASF outbreak in Assam in January 2020, and by 2026 the disease had spread to 22 states and the National Capital Territory, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). FAO reports that more than 150,000 pigs died or were culled to ASF in 2024 alone, and new outbreaks were confirmed across Nagaland and Assam districts as recently as May–July 2026. On 4 August 2026, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research–National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (ICAR-NIHSAD) announced an indigenous live-attenuated ASF vaccine candidate based on a domestic field isolate, per FAO.

During such outbreaks, affected states typically order local bans on pig or livestock movement, slaughter, and sale in and out of infected zones — a form of animal quarantine distinct from AQCS's border function, and administered by state animal husbandry departments rather than AQCS.

AQCS vs. the EU Pet Travel Scheme vs. Digital Livestock ID

These three things are frequently confused online, but they serve different purposes, are run by different organizations, and are not interchangeable.

Nothing in the EU scheme or in a private digital record substitutes for AQCS clearance when an animal physically crosses into India — those remain separate legal requirements.

Where Digital Livestock Identity Fits Alongside Quarantine

AQCS quarantine confirms an animal's health status at the border and issues government paperwork. It does not, by itself, give an individual animal a durable, tamper-resistant identity that survives lost tags, faded ink, or a natural disaster. That is the gap a tool like Animal Passport is built for: a phone-based digital record that uses muzzle biometrics — the nose print, which is unique to each animal like a human fingerprint — to bind an owner's record to breed, an estimated age from a dental photograph with a confidence score, a body condition score (1–5) from a side-profile photo, and vaccination history.

This kind of record is not a government-issued travel document, not a substitute for an AQCS health certificate, and not a veterinary diagnosis — it is a field identity and record-keeping layer. Its practical value showed during the August 2025 livestock flood rescue in Pakistan, where farmers used digital records to reclaim animals after paper ear tags had washed away. For herders and traders inside India who want that same resilience for vaccination and ownership records — independent of, and in addition to, any AQCS or state paperwork — Animal Passport's blog covers how digital identity tools are used in the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is animal quarantine in India?

Animal quarantine in India is the inspection, isolation, and certification process that imported livestock, pets, and animal products go through at designated ports before entering the country, run by AQCS under DAHD per the Livestock Importation Act, 1898.

Which government body handles animal quarantine in India?

The Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS), operating under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD), Government of India, administers animal quarantine at India's six designated stations.

How long is the quarantine period for pets entering India?

AQCS materials describe a 30-day observation period for pet dogs and cats brought in under the baggage rule, with final clearance issued after that window and possible extension in case of doubt; some AQCS guidance for accompanied baggage cites 15 days, so travelers should confirm with their arrival station.

Do I need a permit to import livestock into India?

Yes. Commercial livestock imports require a Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) import license, and many animal products additionally require a Sanitary Import Permit (SIP) issued by AQCS after a risk assessment.

Which ports handle animal quarantine in India?

Live animals may only enter India through the six AQCS stations at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore; some fish and aquatic products also clear at Vishakhapatnam, Kochi, and Petrapole.

Is a rabies titer test required to bring a pet dog into India?

No. AQCS does not require a rabies titer or serology test; it requires a rabies vaccination administered more than one month but within 12 months before travel, documented on an official health certificate.

What is the difference between India's AQCS process and the EU Pet Travel Scheme?

AQCS is India's border-quarantine system for animals entering the country, run by DAHD under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898, while the EU Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) is a separate European Commission framework that lets vaccinated, microchipped pets travel into or within the EU without quarantine; the two schemes are not interchangeable.

Does Animal Passport replace AQCS government quarantine clearance?

No. Animal Passport is a private, phone-based digital identity record using muzzle biometrics, dental-photo age estimates, and body condition scoring; it is not a government travel document and does not substitute for AQCS health certificates or clearance.

Byline: Animal Passport. Last updated September 2026.