Taking a dog or cat abroad from India

The AQCS export certificate at a glance

How to get the AQCS export certificate

1. 1

   Meet the destination country's rules first

   The country you are going to decides the microchip, the rabies vaccine timing, any blood test and any import permit. AQCS asks you to bring whatever it requires.

2. 2

   Get a local vet's fitness certificate

   Any registered local vet can issue the health certificate saying your pet is fit to travel by road, air or train.

3. 3

   Book the AQCS appointment

   Email or phone your AQCS station and confirm an appointment about 7 days before you fly. If someone else will go for you, give them an authority letter.

4. 4

   Pay Rs 500 on Bharatkosh

   AQCS takes its charges online only, through the Bharatkosh portal; cash and demand drafts are not accepted.

5. 5

   Take your pet and the papers

   The officer examines your pet. Bring originals and self-attested photocopies; if the pet is healthy, the certificate is normally issued the same day.

What papers does AQCS ask for to export a pet from India?

Bring the originals and self-attested photocopies, with one application form for each pet.

Do you need an “NOC” to take a pet out of India?

Only in name: the “NOC” for a pet leaving India is AQCS's export health certificate itself, which you collect in person with your pet.

• You may have read

  You need an NOC from Customs before a pet can leave India.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  The Indian document for a pet going out is AQCS's Certificate of Health for Export (Pet Animals). AQCS's own export page and form call it “the NOC”, which is where the word comes from. 1AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying

• You may have read

  The NOC is applied for online, on ATITHI.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  The Advance NOC on CBIC's ATITHI 2.0 portal is for pets coming into India. For a pet going out, you book an AQCS appointment by email or phone and bring the pet 7 days before it flies. 4AQCS, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying

• You may have read

  A pet dog or cat needs a DGFT export licence.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  DGFT's export schedule does not name dogs or cats. Its line for other mammals reads “Free, subject to policy”, and the chapter's policy prohibits exporting wild animals (the schedule as updated to 31 March 2024). 9DGFT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry

• You may have read

  The airline's “NOC” is a different document.

  Myth

  What the sources say

  Air India asks for a “No Objection Certificate” or “Pre-import Clearance” from AQCS for pets going either way. For a pet leaving India, that is the same AQCS export certificate. 7Air India

Where can your pet's rabies blood test be done from India?

It depends on the destination: the UK and the USA accept only labs on their own lists, none of them in India; the UAE accepts a lab accredited in India; Canada asks for no blood test with a valid vaccination certificate.

• Needed for the UK

  A lab on the EU's list

  GOV.UK requires an EU-approved lab, and none on the EU's list for countries outside the EU is in India. Listed labs include the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) in Dubai, designated on 5 June 2024, APHA at Weybridge in the UK, and Kansas State, Auburn and Missouri in the USA. Biobest in Scotland lost its approval on 9 February 2026. 12European Commission

• Needed for the USA

  A CDC-approved lab

  None is in India. Approved labs include CVRL in the UAE, APHA and Biobest in the UK, and Kansas State, Auburn and Missouri in the USA. The result must come straight from the approved lab, not through a third-party lab. 13US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• Accepted by the UAE

  An accredited lab in India

  The UAE accepts a titre from a lab accredited by the exporting country's authorities; its page covers the Indian labs that run the test and what to confirm first. 14UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment

• Australia

  Not in India at all

  Australia accepts no vaccine or test done in India: every vaccination and test is done in the approved country where your pet lives first. 15Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia)

Can your pet fly in the cabin when it leaves India?

Not to the biggest destinations: the UK takes pets only as cargo, and Air India, the airline whose rules Petym read, carries none in the cabin to the USA, Canada, Australia or the UAE.

1. If you are going to the UK

   Your pet flies as cargo, unless it is a guide or assistance dog or you charter a private plane. Air India carries UK pets as cargo only, through Heathrow or Gatwick. UK 16GOV.UK

2. If you are going to the USA, Canada or Australia on Air India

   Not in the cabin, and not as checked baggage. 7Air India

3. If you are going to the UAE on Air India

   Not at all: no pet in the cabin or as checked baggage on flights from India to the UAE. The cabin is allowed only from the UAE to India. UAE 7Air India

4. If you are going elsewhere on Air India, Europe (not the UK), the Gulf (not the UAE), South, South-East or East Asia, Mauritius, Kenya, Israel or Singapore

   A pet weighing 10 kg or less with its carrier may fly in the cabin. From 10 to 32 kg it goes as checked baggage or cargo; over 32 kg, as cargo. 7Air India

5. If your dog or cat is snub-nosed

   Air India's pet page bars flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds from the cargo compartment. 7Air India

6. If you have your AQCS paperwork

   Air India accepts a pet only at the airport named in it, and handles pet exports only at Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Report 3 hours before departure. 7Air India

What does the Indian side of a pet move cost?

AQCS charges Rs 500 for the export certificate; the rest of the Indian side is lab, airline and vet charges, and only some of them are published.

How far ahead should you start, by destination country?

Petym’s working from the official rules, no government publishes a total.

From a few weeks for Canada to more than a year for Australia, for a pet with nothing done yet, Petym's working from each country's rules.

1. About 4 to 6 weeks

   Canada: mostly the Indian side, the vet certificate, the AQCS appointment and the airline booking. No blood test. 10Canadian Food Inspection Agency

2. About 6 to 8 weeks

   The UAE, for a vaccinated adult: the rabies blood test at least 21 days after a first vaccine, then the import permit. 14UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment

3. About 3 to 4 months

   The USA, for a dog: the blood test at least 30 days after the vaccine and at least 28 days before entry. About 2 to 4 weeks for a cat. 18US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

4. At least 4 months

   The UK, realistically 5 to 6: entry comes no sooner than 3 months after the blood sample, which is taken at least 30 days after the vaccine. 19GOV.UK

5. Well over a year

   Australia: your pet must first live at least 180 days in an approved country, such as the UAE or the UK, and the Australian steps start there. 15Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Australia)

Where are the six AQCS offices that issue the export certificate?

In Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad; the Mumbai office is in Navi Mumbai and the Hyderabad office is at the airport.