USA to Thailand
Pet Shipping from the USA to Thailand
We provide international pet transport from the USA to Thailand, planned around its import rules, the season and your move date.
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.
- Airline booking
- The travel crate
- The export and import paperwork
- Check-in at your US airport
- Pickup in Thailand with delivery to your new address
Thailand at a glance
Full requirementsAPHIS sends owners to the Bringing Pets into Thailand site for the full requirements and the import permit application, and a pet flying without its owner also means telling Thailand’s Quarantine Station of the travel plans.
- Microchip
- Its number on the vaccination certificates and the permit application, with proof of implantation
- Rabies vaccination
- From 12 weeks old; 21 days before the permit application (embassy) or before departure (DLD)
- Rabies titer
- Listed in none of the three Thai documents
- Other vaccinations
- Dogs: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, leptospirosis. Cats: panleukopenia
- Import permit
- From the arrival airport’s quarantine station, applied for 60 to 7 days before departure
Pet Shipping from the USA to Thailand
Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development (DLD) handles a pet’s entry through its Animal Quarantine Stations, and the Thai embassy in Washington lists six at airports: Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and Krabi. The owner emails the quarantine station at the arrival airport for an import permit before the flight, and staff there inspect the pet and its original documents when it lands. If you would like a simple overview of international moves first, start with our guide to international pet shipping destinations. Bringing a pet the other way, into the United States? See our US import guide.
Approved Routes and Entry into Thailand
A pet lands in Thailand either traveling with its owner or shipped unaccompanied as air cargo, and the two are met at different counters. At Suvarnabhumi, a pet traveling with its owner goes to the quarantine station beside baggage carousel 8, open 24 hours a day. A pet shipped as freight is collected from the station in the cargo terminal’s Free Zone, and the embassy says such pets can be picked up only in business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, never at weekends or on Thai holidays, so a freight booking is timed to land inside them. The embassy lists the other five stations as open 24 hours. Thai Customs lists live animals as restricted goods, not exempt from duty. A passenger arriving with a pet takes it through the Goods to Declare channel and pays duty and taxes there.
Route details: USA to Thailand
- Route
- USA to Thailand
- Arrival airports
- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Samui and Krabi, each with a DLD Animal Quarantine Station, per Thailand’s Washington embassy
- How the pet flies
- With the owner or as air cargo. APHIS: an unaccompanied pet also needs notice to Thailand’s Quarantine Station. Cargo pickup weekdays only
- Import permit
- From the arrival airport’s DLD quarantine station, by email 60 to 7 days before departure; the embassy allows 5 to 7 Thai business days
- Health certificate
- USDA-accredited vet, exam within 10 days of departure; APHIS endorses it digitally through VEHCS. Embassy: valid 10 days from endorsement
- Quarantine on arrival
- DLD vets check pet and papers on landing and issue forms R-6 and R-7; a pet failing a rule may be returned or held at the importer’s cost
- Time to get ready
- At least 3 weeks: DLD and the APHIS certificate want vaccines 21 days before departure; counted the embassy’s way, at least 4 weeks
Work out your pet’s dates for this route
From official sources, read October 29, 2026: Royal Thai Embassy, Washington D.C., Instructions for Bringing Dogs, Cats, and Rabbits into Thailand from the USA; Department of Livestock Development, Requirements for importation of Dogs/Cats/Rabbits into Thailand through port of Suvarnabhumi Airport; USDA APHIS, Pet Travel From the United States to Thailand; USDA APHIS, Veterinary Health Certificate for Export of Dogs and Cats from the United States of America to Thailand.
What are the entry requirements for pets going to Thailand?
The short answer
Thailand asks for an import permit from the quarantine station at the arrival airport, applied for between 60 and 7 days before departure, and an original health certificate from a USDA-accredited veterinarian, endorsed by USDA and valid for 10 days from that endorsement, as the embassy counts them; the APHIS certificate form counts the 10 days from the day the veterinarian issues it. The vaccinations and the microchip certificate go in with the permit application, and the APHIS form says every pet must be at least 4 months old when it is imported.
Import Eligibility for Pets
The embassy’s instructions cover dogs, cats and rabbits, and say no dog breeds are banned from importation, though airlines may have restrictions of their own. On arrival the station issues two documents, a Notice of Import Approval (R-6) and an Import License (R-7). That license stays valid until the pet leaves Thailand. Under the DLD’s Suvarnabhumi rules, a pet that fails an import requirement, or whose microchip does not match the number on its documents, may be sent back or detained in a government-approved quarantine place, with every expense borne by the importer.
A rabbit needs a rabies vaccination and treatment for internal parasites at least 7 days before it leaves. Ready to start? Request a quote.
Health Preparation and Documentation
A dog is vaccinated against rabies, canine distemper, canine hepatitis, canine parvovirus and leptospirosis, and a cat against rabies and feline panleukopenia. The certificates are in English and carry the pet’s microchip number. Each also gives the veterinarian’s name, license number and signature. For a first rabies vaccination the pet must be 12 weeks or older. The DLD and the embassy count the 21 day wait after it differently. The embassy asks for 21 days to pass after any first vaccination before the permit application starts, and none after a booster. The DLD asks for the vaccinations at least 21 days before departure. A dog whose leptospirosis vaccination is missing or too recent can travel instead on a negative test for it, taken in the 30 days before departure. None of the three Thai documents named below lists a rabies titer test. The application goes by email with form R1/1, a copy of the owner’s passport, a color photo of the pet, the flight itinerary, the vaccination certificates and proof of microchip implantation.
| Requirement | Thailand, from the United States |
|---|---|
| Microchip | Its number on the vaccination certificates and the permit application, with proof of implantation |
| Rabies vaccination | From 12 weeks old; 21 days before the permit application (embassy) or before departure (DLD) |
| Rabies titer | Listed in none of the three Thai documents |
| Other vaccinations | Dogs: distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, leptospirosis. Cats: panleukopenia |
| Import permit | From the arrival airport’s quarantine station, applied for 60 to 7 days before departure |
| Health certificate | The original, endorsed digitally by USDA through VEHCS. Valid 10 days from the endorsement (embassy) or from the vet’s issue date (APHIS form) |
| Quarantine | Possible for a pet that fails a requirement, at the importer’s expense |
Five documents are behind this checklist. The Office of Agricultural Affairs at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington publishes instructions for bringing dogs, cats and rabbits into Thailand from the USA, updated October 28, 2026. The DLD’s own requirements for pets arriving through Suvarnabhumi Airport set out the steps there; both were read October 29, 2026. Thai Customs’ pet travel page, read September 25, 2026, covers the declaration. On the US side, APHIS’s US to Thailand page, last modified October 23, 2026, sets out how USDA endorses the certificate, and the APHIS certificate form for Thailand carries the certificate’s own terms; both were read October 29, 2026.
Planning Timeline for Pet Shipping to Thailand
The permit sets the calendar. Applications are accepted from 60 to 7 days before departure. The embassy recommends applying 30 days ahead. It puts processing at 5 to 7 Thai business days once every document is in, where the DLD’s Suvarnabhumi rules say at least 3. A permit is valid for 60 days from issue. The veterinarian issues the health certificate after the permit arrives. USDA then endorses it digitally, the embassy and APHIS both say, and APHIS adds that the endorsed certificate is printed straight from VEHCS. Those are the last steps before the flight, because the certificate’s validity runs from them. An owner traveling with the pet may apply for the permit on arrival instead, with every original in hand, but the embassy warns that some airlines ask for it before boarding.
Moving elsewhere in Southeast Asia? Our Vietnam and Indonesia pages cover two routes with very different rules.
Planning the budget? See what shipping a pet from the USA to Thailand costs, fee by fee.
Every Pet Travels
Differently
Different destinations, different routes, different challenges.
Destination-Focused Planning
The microchip number is checked across the vaccination records, the permit application and the health certificate, because a mismatch is one of the reasons the DLD gives for holding a pet.
Smart Routing and Logistics
We help choose practical routes, travel windows, and handoff procedures so your pet’s trip is safer and more predictable.
Personalized Support
Pet Travel Advisors assigns a move coordinator who keeps you updated and checks details before travel so nothing important is missed.
Questions about moving a pet to Thailand
Request a QuoteWhat does it cost to ship a pet from the USA to Thailand?
Costs depend on your pet’s size and crate, the route and airline, vet and document fees, and whether the move is door to door. The fastest way to get a real number is a quote based on your origin city and travel date. Request a quote here.
Does my pet have to go into quarantine in Thailand?
The embassy’s instructions, updated October 28, 2026, give no quarantine period for a pet that meets the requirements; they describe an inspection at the station and the import license issued on arrival. The DLD’s rules for Suvarnabhumi add that a pet which fails a condition, or whose microchip does not match its papers, may be returned or detained in a government-approved quarantine place at the importer’s expense.
How does Pet Travel Advisors help with a move to Thailand?
Each service can be booked alone: airline tickets, a travel crate, the permit application and the health certificate paperwork, check-in at the US airport, and pickup on arrival in Thailand with delivery to the new address. Book the whole route door-to-door, or just the pieces a move calls for.
Ready to start?
Book door-to-door pet relocation, or only the parts you need.