Animal Health Certificate

An Animal Health Certificate, is an official document issued by a federal, tribal, or accredited veterinarian certifying that the animal(s) identified on the Certificate have been inspected and were found to satisfy the regulations pertaining to their intended movement -- within the same State, between States, or internationally. You will need an Animal Health Certificate (or Certificate of Veterinary Inspection) if you are planning on transporting your pet(s) or other animals within the United States or internationally. These certification requirements help ensure that the animal(s) being transported do not carry illnesses or parasites that would be harmful to people or other animals in the new destination area.

Depending on the animals' species, age origin, destination, and purpose of travel, the animal(s) being transported must meet various physical health criteria. Consequently various tests, treatments, vaccinations, or other procedures must be done before the animal(s) qualify for an Animal Health Certificate. This evaluation process may vary from simple to complex depending on the requirements of the Country of Destination.

Foreign countries often require an Animal Health Certificate when animals, including germplasm and hatching eggs are being exported from the United States. Export requirements are determined by the Country of Destination. All Animal Health Certificates are completed, signed, and dated by a clinical veterinarian. The credentials required for issuing veterinarian depend on the species of animal being exported and the requirements of the Country of Destination. Some Animal Health Certificates can be issued by State-licensed veterinarians but many must be issued by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) accredited veterinarians.

Most importing countries require Animal Health Certificates to be endorsed (counter-signed and embossed/stamped) by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) after they have been issued by a clinical veterinarian. Once the verification is complete, the Animal Health Certificate is endorsed. After a Certificate is endorsed, the Certificate and supporting documents are returned to the practitioner or exporter (you).

Here is a brief summary of this complicated process:

• STEP 1 - Obtain an Animal Health Certificate from a qualified veterinarian -Visit a qualify veterinarian to certify the animal is in good health and has all mandatory vaccines (such as anti-rabies) before boarding and declaring that no contagious disease was verified 30 days before boarding or APHIS Form 7001 (depends on Country of Destination's requirements).
• STEP 2 - Authenticate the Animal Health Certificate by USDA - Visit your local USDA's Office to obtain the official USDA stamp and signature
• STEP 3 - Mail Animal Health Certificate to us to be Apostilled

An Animal Health Certificate is an United States Federal Government Document authenticated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and can only be Apostilled through the United States Department of State (USDOS) in Washington D.C. This document cannot be notarized, copy certified, and no State Office can process this document. All United States Federal Documents are processed through the United States Secretary of State or the United States Department of State.

In order for us to process your United States Passport, you must mail in the original certified copy by the USDA to our office. ONLY THE ORIGINAL CERTIFIED DOCUMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED. A Photocopy is not acceptable. Once we receive your documents, in order to minimize errors and processing time, we will verify that all documents received from notaries before submitting them to be Apostilled. We will contact you as soon as possible if any errors are encountered and we will instruct you on how they need to be corrected.

Obtaining an Apostille can be a complicated process and should not be left to someone who does not understand all of the steps involved. Untrained persons that do not understand all of the requirements for legalization in each country are more likely to make errors, which will severely delay the Apostille process and cost you more money.

Once the original certified English Animal Health Certificate is properly received you can mail it to us to be Apostilled. We can also provide Certified Translation Services into the language required by the Country of Designation.

Here at Ezra Notary and Apostille,

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