Veterinary Health Certificate: USDA APHIS Forms, Fees, and CDC Rules

A veterinary health certificate is an official document issued by a licensed veterinarian—often a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)–accredited veterinarian—that records an animal’s identity, examination findings, vaccinations, tests, and treatments required for movement. As of August 2026, most U.S. international animal exports that need federal countersigning are reviewed by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), while dog re-entry into the United States is primarily governed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Destination countries and U.S. states set the exact form, timing, and tests; there is no single universal certificate.

This guide explains the main U.S. official forms, how USDA APHIS endorsement works through the Veterinary Export Health Certification System (VEHCS), how CDC dog-import paperwork differs from export health certificates, and how biometric livestock identity tools such as Animal Passport relate—without replacing government travel documents.

What a veterinary health certificate is (and is not)

In USDA APHIS guidance for live animal exports, a veterinary health certificate—also called an international health certificate (IHC), export certificate, or veterinary certificate—is completed, signed, and dated by a clinical veterinarian after required exams, vaccines, treatments, and laboratory tests are finished. According to the APHIS National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) Reference Guide on international health certificates (page last modified January 2026), most importing countries then require APHIS endorsement: an official review in which APHIS Veterinary Services verifies that the animal appears to meet destination requirements and that supporting documents match the certificate.

A veterinary health certificate is not the same as:

• An EU pet passport or PETS travel scheme document (different legal framework and issuing authorities).
• A CDC Dog Import Form receipt (an importer-completed CDC form for dogs entering the United States).
• A commercial product identity record. Animal Passport is a digital animal and livestock identity product using muzzle biometrics; it is not a USDA-, APHIS-, or CDC-issued travel certificate unless an official source says otherwise.

Who issues U.S. export health certificates?

APHIS’s Pet Travel Process Overview (last modified June 2026) states that a USDA-accredited veterinarian must issue all live animal export certificates—including pet health certificates—that are required to be endorsed (co-signed) by USDA. Accreditation comes from the National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP), is state-specific, and is voluntary; not every licensed veterinarian is accredited.

The NVAP Reference Guide (January 2026) adds that credentials depend on species and destination: Category II accreditation is required for livestock, horses, food or fiber animals, certain birds, farm-raised aquatic animals, and zoo animals that can transmit exotic diseases to livestock, while Category I accreditation may apply to other animals, including many pets other than birds.

APHIS Live Animal Export FAQs (last modified February 2026) note that many destinations—including all of the European Union—require the examining and issuing veterinarian to be federally accredited. False or fraudulent statements on export certificates can carry federal criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1001, as reminded on that APHIS FAQ page.

Common USDA APHIS forms and certificate types

APHIS emphasizes that there is no one health certificate for every country. Live Animal Export FAQs state each destination sets its own entry rules, and many countries publish country-specific certificates on APHIS International Regulations (IRegs) pages. When a country-specific form is not available, the NVAP Reference Guide lists generic options that may be used only after confirming destination requirements, including:

• VS Form 17–140, U.S. Origin Health Certificate (livestock, embryos, semen, and horses for immediate slaughter).
• VS Form 17–145, U.S. Origin Health Certificate for horses exported to Canada.
• VS Form 17–6, Certificate for Poultry or Hatching Eggs for Export.
• APHIS Form 7001, U.S. Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals.

For pets, APHIS’s accredited-veterinarian guidance (last modified April 2026) states that if a country-specific health certificate is required for entry, that is typically the certificate APHIS can endorse. Airlines may separately ask for APHIS Form 7001 or another boarding document; USDA endorses only the destination-country certificate, not an airline-only form submitted in place of it.

How to get a veterinary health certificate for export from the United States

1. Confirm destination rules early. APHIS Pet Travel Process Overview advises contacting a USDA-accredited veterinarian as soon as travel is planned and checking the destination country page every trip because requirements change frequently.
2. Complete vaccines, tests, and treatments in the required order and windows. The NVAP guide states certificates should not be issued until all importing-country requirements are met.
3. Have an eligible veterinarian examine the animal and issue the certificate. Issuance means complete, sign, and date the correct current form for species and destination (APHIS accredited-veterinarian page, April 2026).
4. Submit for USDA APHIS endorsement when required. Use either VEHCS electronic submission or physical shipping to an APHIS endorsement office—not both—per the Pet Travel Process Overview (June 2026).
5. Travel with original endorsed paperwork. APHIS states electronic versions are not accepted by destination-country officials in place of original signed or endorsed documents that must accompany the animal.

APHIS Live Animal Export FAQs report that the full process can take a few weeks to many months, depending on isolation, quarantine, testing, and other destination rules.

USDA APHIS endorsement fees (pets)

As of the APHIS “Cost To Endorse Your Pet’s Health Certificate” page (date modified June 2026), endorsement fees apply to each health certificate or export document endorsed by APHIS, must be paid before endorsement, and do not include the accredited veterinarian’s professional fees. Vaccines are not counted as laboratory tests when calculating fees. APHIS does not charge endorsement fees for service animals (dogs) belonging to individuals with disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); emotional support animals are charged.

For non-pet livestock and other species, APHIS Live Animal Export FAQs state fees also vary by animal numbers and tests; exporters should confirm current schedules with the local endorsement office.

Interstate movement inside the United States

APHIS’s interstate pet-travel page (last modified June 2026) states that APHIS does not regulate the interstate movement of pets by their owners. Receiving states and territories set domestic entry rules, which may include a certificate of veterinary inspection (CVI), vaccinations, tests, or treatments. Owners should check the destination state or territory list on APHIS or contact the state animal health official. APHIS does regulate businesses that transport pets on behalf of owners.

Do not assume APHIS Form 7001 or any single paper form is accepted for every state; state animal health officials decide which CVI formats are valid for entry.

CDC dog import rules versus USDA export health certificates

As of CDC dog-importation guidance updated April 2026, all dogs entering or returning to the United States must have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. Dogs must appear healthy, be at least 6 months old, and have a microchip readable by a universal scanner. Dogs from dog rabies–free or low-risk countries generally need that receipt plus those baseline conditions; dogs that have been in high-risk countries need additional rabies documentation.

For U.S.-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country in the prior 6 months, CDC requires a Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA before the dog leaves the United States. CDC’s veterinarian document page (April 2026) states that form cannot be issued retroactively. CDC temporarily accepted certain USDA-endorsed export health certificates issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian no later than July 31, 2025, if they met age, microchip, and U.S. rabies-vaccine fields and remained viewable in USDA’s database; certificates issued after July 31, 2025, are not accepted for CDC re-entry purposes—use the Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form instead.

Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries require a Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form endorsed by an official government veterinarian of the exporting country, plus CDC titer rules when seeking to avoid quarantine. CDC defines a passing rabies antibody titer as ≥0.5 IU/mL from a CDC-approved laboratory (CDC veterinarian guidance, April 2026).

APHIS accredited-veterinarian guidance (April 2026) explicitly alerts veterinarians that CDC is the primary authority for dogs imported into the United States and that the Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination must be submitted and endorsed before a U.S.-vaccinated dog leaves for a high-risk country if re-entry rules apply.

Comparison: official forms versus Animal Passport identity records

Where Animal Passport fits (and where it does not)

Official veterinary health certificates answer a regulator’s question: does this animal meet stated movement and disease-risk rules on a given date? Identity tools answer a different question: can owners and responders persistently recognize the same animal when tags fail?

Animal Passport is a digital animal and livestock passport that uses muzzle biometrics (a nose print unique like a fingerprint), captured by phone. The record can bind owner, breed, estimated age, body condition, and vaccination history. Age can be estimated from a dental photograph with a confidence score, and body condition can be scored 1–5 from a side-profile photo. In livestock flood rescue in Pakistan in August 2025, the approach helped farmers reclaim animals after paper tags washed away. More field notes appear on the Animal Passport blog.

Those identity and history records can help owners organize vaccination timelines before a veterinary visit, but they do not replace USDA APHIS export certificates, state CVIs, CDC import forms, or airline acceptance decisions. Animal Passport does not provide veterinary diagnosis or legal advice.

Practical checklist before you book travel

• Identify whether you need interstate state rules, USDA APHIS export rules, CDC dog-import rules, or a combination.
• Use a USDA-accredited veterinarian whenever USDA endorsement or CDC Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination is required.
• Build calendar buffers for titer windows, first-rabies 28-day waits (CDC, April 2026, for first vaccination before certain forms), and APHIS processing times.
• Confirm airline and destination-country paperwork separately; APHIS notes airlines may require documents beyond the country certificate.
• Keep originals with the animal; plan return shipping labels when using paper endorsement pathways (APHIS Pet Travel Process Overview, June 2026).

Byline: Animal Passport editorial team. Last updated August 22, 2026. Rules change; verify current APHIS country pages and CDC importation pages before travel.