STEP 4-6
Notification to Animal Quarantine Service
Please submit notification form (with the arrival date, detail of your pet, contact info, etc)to the local animal quarantine at the arrival airport by 40 days prior to your arrival.
You can submit it by Mail, Fax or Online.
If you don’t have the fixed arrival date yet, please submit the approximate date of arrival as you can change it later. Once you fix the date, please submit the Modification Notice Form to the animal quarantine.
Once the application has been received, they will issue "Approval of import inspection of animals"(Receipt). The number on this receipt will be necessary when you fill out the documents to submit (Form A/Form C) and also needed for the import inspection. You will have to show this approval at the time of flight check-in.
Waiting Period (180 days)/
Document Preparation
In order to reduce the detention period, the dog or cat is advised to arrive in Japan more than 180 days and less than 2 years from the blood sampling date as described in the previous section. If the animal arrives in Japan before the passage of 180 days since the date of the blood sample, detention will be required for the insufficient number of days at an Animal Quarantine Station.
During this waiting period, it is recommended for you to prepare the necessary documents for animal quarantine, flight booking and making a final clinical inspection appointment with your veterinarian.
Please prepare necessary documents beforehand.
1.Form A (Recommended format of Animal quarantine)
2.Form C 1/3, 2/3, 3/3 Pages (Recommended format of Animal quarantine)
Form C will be filled out and signed by the veterinarian at the final clinical inspection, however, you can fill out the data already fixed beforehand.
Please download the recommended format by animal quarantine here. (Form A, Form C)
3.Import inspection application form (You must submit this form immediately after arrival at the airport)
Import inspection application form
For flight reservation, the condition for transport varies with respect to the airline.(The size of cage, price, etc) Some types of dogs are not suited to transport or limited to transport for long flights so please contact your airline to make sure their conditions.
Toilet training and limited meal training beforehand to prepare the long flight will do good for your pets.
Buying bags and cages for the transport earlier would be a good practice for your pet to sleep and stay there.
Clinical inspection before departure
Before departure (2-7 days or less before boarding if possible), have a veterinarian give the pet a clinical inspection to confirm that it does not have or is not suspected of having rabies (in case of dogs, rabies and leptospirosis)
Please have the veterinarian fill out and sign the form. Download form A and Form C
Form A --- Pet owner can fill out. Form C --- Will be filled out and signed by the vet. You need to obtain "Endorsement" by USDA for both form A and C after filled and signed by vet. Please double check with the vet that there’s no flaw before obtaining endorsement.
At this clinical inspection, it is recommended to take any immunizations for diseases other than rabies and parasite treatment (dates of treatments, address and name of the veterinarian who administered the treatments, vaccine effectiveness period, product names). Please ask your vet for further details. (Any other treatment must be filled out in Form C)
Animal quarantine at the arrival airport can give you a final check and instruction through Fax or Email so please do contact them and send them all the documents to double check BEFORE you obtain endorsement by USDA.