What is advance NOC?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
The Advance NOC (No Objection Certificate) is the clearance a passenger must hold before a pet dog or cat can board a flight to India. You apply on CBIC's ATITHI 2.0 portal at least 7 days before travel, and AQCS issues it within 1 working day of checking your documents. Airlines will not board the pet without it.
Also called Advance No Objection Certificate, ATITHI pet NOC, pet import NOC India, AQCS import NOC.
Key facts
- The Advance NOC is compulsory before boarding, applied for on the ATITHI 2.0 portal. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Apply at least 7 days before embarkation (AQCS's flowcharts say 7 working days); the NOC is issued within 1 working day of checking. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- It is open to a pet coming with a passenger on transfer of residence after two years or more abroad, or a pet returning with an AQCS export certificate; otherwise a DGFT licence is needed. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Up to 2 pets per passenger, dogs and cats only. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- The import application costs Rs 1,000, paid on Bharatkosh, from 1 May 2025. Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Can your pet get an Advance NOC?
India allows pet imports under the baggage rules only on certain routes. Check which one you are on first.
If you are moving to India after two years or more abroad
Transfer of residence: you may bring up to 2 pet dogs or cats. Bringing a pet into India AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If your pet left India with an AQCS export certificate and is coming back
Re-import: upload a copy of the export certificate it left with. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If you are visiting for a short stay
You need a DGFT licence before applying. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If your pet is not a dog or cat
Not as baggage: any other animal needs a DGFT licence. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
If the pet is for sale, gifting or breeding
Not allowed: you declare that the animal is a bona fide pet. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
What do you upload for the Advance NOC?
The names and addresses on every document must agree with your ticket.
- The application form (Annexure 1.1). AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Vaccination and microchip certificates; the rabies vaccine must be more than one month and within 12 months before embarkation. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- The official health certificate from the country you are leaving, and the Indian format signed by its competent authority. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Your air ticket or airway bill and a copy of your passport. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- Proof of your route: transfer of residence, re-import or a DGFT licence. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
- A declaration that the animal is a bona fide pet, not for sale, gifting or breeding. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
What is the Advance NOC not?
The word NOC is used for several different documents in pet travel, which causes confusion.
You may have read
The Advance NOC is what my pet needs to leave India.
Myth
What the sources say
No. For a pet leaving India, the document is AQCS's export health certificate, which AQCS also calls "the NOC". The Advance NOC is only for pets coming in. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
You may have read
With the Advance NOC, my pet is cleared.
Myth
What the sources say
It lets the pet board. On landing, AQCS examines the pet and its original documents and issues the Final NOC, without which Customs cannot clear it. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs
You may have read
I can email the application to AQCS.
Myth
What the sources say
Older notices say so, but AQCS's August 2026 procedures require ATITHI 2.0. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
You may have read
India needs a rabies titre test.
Myth
What the sources say
AQCS's procedures ask for a rabies vaccine given more than a month and less than 12 months before embarkation, not a titre test. AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
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Questions owners ask
How early should I apply for the Advance NOC?
- At least 7 days before you fly; AQCS's flowcharts say 7 working days, so allow more. AQCS issues the NOC within 1 working day of checking your documents, or lists what is missing on the portal so you can apply again.
What happens if my pet arrives in India without an Advance NOC?
- The airline should not board it. If a pet arrives without a valid Advance NOC, or with a fake or altered one, AQCS's procedure says it is given a deportation or re-export order.
How much does the Advance NOC cost?
- AQCS charges Rs 1,000 per import application, from 1 May 2025, paid online through Bharatkosh. There is no customs duty on a pet under the baggage rules. Quarantine charges of Rs 800 a day apply only if the pet fails the examination on arrival.
Can I bring my pet to India after less than two years abroad?
- Not on the transfer-of-residence route. Unless your pet is returning with the AQCS export certificate it left India with, you need a DGFT licence before you apply for the Advance NOC.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in travel and paperwork
- AQCSAQCS, Animal Quarantine and Certification Services, is the Government of India service under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying that examines pets and issues the health certificate a pet needs to leave India, and clears pets arriving. It has six stations: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Its fees are paid online through Bharatkosh.
- Dog boxA dog box is the compartment in a train's brake van, where a dog travels as luggage when its owner does not hold a whole First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. It is booked at the station's luggage office at least 3 hours before departure and charged at the Scale L rate on a fixed 30 kg.
- Export health certificateThe export health certificate, formally the Certificate of Health for Export (Pet Animals), is the document AQCS issues after examining a pet in person, without which a pet cannot leave India. AQCS calls it "the NOC". It costs Rs 500, paid online through Bharatkosh, is normally issued the same day and is valid for 10 days.
- Fit-to-fly certificateA fit-to-fly certificate is a registered vet's signed and stamped statement that a pet has been examined and is healthy enough to fly. Every Indian airline that carries pets asks for one, with the rabies vaccination record. How recent it must be differs: within 7 days on Air India, 15 days on Akasa Air, 48 hours on SpiceJet.
- Health certificateA pet health certificate is a vet's signed and stamped statement that your pet has been examined and is healthy, usually free of infectious disease and fit to travel. In India, Indian Railways, airlines and AQCS ask for one. The catch is timing: each wants a certificate issued within its own window, from 24 hours to 10 days.
- IATA pet crateAn IATA pet crate is a travel kennel built to the International Air Transport Association's Live Animals Regulations, Container Requirement 1, for pets flying in the hold. It must let the pet stand, turn and lie naturally, and be rigid, ventilated on all four sides, bolted together, with a water bowl filled from outside and the right labels.
- Pet passportIndia does not issue a pet passport; the EU pet passport is issued only by authorised vets to owners living in the EU. When people in India say pet passport, they usually mean the travel papers: microchip and vaccination records, a vet's health certificate, the AQCS export certificate, and the destination's own certificate or permit.
- Scale LScale L is Indian Railways' luggage rate: its Scale P parcel rate plus 80%. A dog on a train is charged at Scale L on a fixed weight, whatever it weighs: 30 kg in the brake-van dog box, 60 kg if it rides with you in a First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. Distance does the rest.
- Transfer of residenceTransfer of residence is the customs category for a passenger moving to India after living abroad for two years or more. Under it, the passenger may bring up to two pet dogs or cats as baggage, with an Advance NOC from the ATITHI 2.0 portal. Anyone abroad for less than two years needs a different route, usually a DGFT licence.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Import of live pet dogs under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898: standard operating procedure (August 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Import of pets under baggage (opens in a new tab)
- Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Order of 28 April 2025: processing fees for import and export, and AQCS accommodation charges, from 1 May 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Frequently asked questions (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Export of pets (dogs and cats) (opens in a new tab)
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs: Guide for international travellers (February 2026, Baggage Rules 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying: Import of live pet cats under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898: standard operating procedure (August 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs: ATITHI: assistance to international travellers (opens in a new tab)