Pet relocation runs on jargon. Airlines, vets and government agencies each use their own vocabulary, and most of it turns up for the first time when you are already mid-move and trying to make a decision.
This page defines the terms you will actually meet, in plain language. Use your browser find function to jump to a term, or scan the section that matches what you are working on. If a requirement here applies to your route, our destination guides cover the specifics country by country.
A Certificate of Veterinary Inspection is the standard health document for animal travel. A licensed vet examines your pet, confirms it is fit to travel and free of infectious disease, and records vaccinations. Most domestic US flights and interstate moves need one issued within 10 days of travel.
The US federal health certificate form for cats and dogs, formally the United States Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals. Many destination countries require this specific form rather than a state or clinic form.
After your vet completes the health certificate, a USDA APHIS office reviews and stamps it. Without that endorsement the certificate is not valid for international travel. Endorsement is only available from a USDA-accredited veterinarian’s paperwork, and timing is tight because most certificates expire 10 days after issue.
A vet who has completed USDA training and is authorised to sign export paperwork. Your regular vet may not be accredited, and only an accredited vet can start the export process. This is worth checking before you book anything.
Written permission from the destination country to bring your pet in. Countries including Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan require one, and processing can take weeks to months. The permit usually has to be granted before travel is booked.
The entry document for pets travelling into the European Union from outside it. It is issued close to travel, valid for entry within 10 days of signing, and allows onward movement within the EU for four months.
Proof of a current rabies vaccination, showing the microchip number, vaccination date, product used and the vet’s signature. The microchip must be implanted before the vaccination, or the vaccination does not count for most destinations.
A blood test measuring rabies antibody levels to prove the vaccine worked. FAVN is the common US name, RNATT the Australian one. Rabies-free destinations require it, and the waiting period after a passing result can run from 30 days to several months depending on the country.
A permanent ID chip read by a scanner. Almost every destination requires an ISO 11784/11785 compliant 15-digit chip. If your pet has an older or non-ISO chip, it usually needs a second compliant chip implanted, and every subsequent document has to carry that number.
The contract and tracking document for anything moving as air cargo, including pets. The AWB number is how the airline, the airport and you track the animal through each leg of the journey.
Your pet travels with you in a soft carrier under the seat in front. Airlines cap the combined pet and carrier weight, and the limit is low enough that in practice this suits small cats and small dogs only.
The pet flies in the climate-controlled hold on the same flight as you, booked against your ticket. Fewer airlines offer this than they used to, and several now restrict it to military and government travel on official orders.
The pet flies as freight on its own air waybill, with or without you on the same aircraft. This is how most international moves and most large dogs travel. Cargo has its own booking process, its own counters and its own handling teams.
The airline code for an animal travelling in the hold. You will see it on bookings and quotes. It is a routing and handling designation, not a description of the crate or the service level.
A US air cargo security status. Airlines accept cargo from approved shippers who have been vetted under the programme. It is one reason many carriers will not take a pet cargo booking directly from a private owner.
A person paid to accompany a pet as their in-cabin or checked animal. It suits small pets on routes with few options, but it depends on that individual’s schedule and on the destination allowing accompanied entry.
A privately booked aircraft. It removes cargo holds, layovers and airline embargoes from the equation, and it costs many times more than a commercial booking. It is a genuine option for owners with unusual constraints, not a routine choice.
Road transport by van, either as the whole journey or as the first and last legs around a flight. It avoids the airport entirely, which suits pets that do not fly well, and it works over distances where flying saves less time than it appears to.
A service covering collection from your home through to delivery at the destination address, including the airport handling at both ends. The alternative is airport-to-airport, where you handle both ends yourself.
The company handling everything before departure: vet timing, paperwork, crate, airport lodgement. On a move we coordinate, that is us.
The company clearing your pet through customs and quarantine at the far end and delivering it to you. Many countries require a licensed local agent, which is why a full international move often involves two companies.
The industry rulebook for transporting live animals by air, updated annually. Airlines apply it to decide whether a crate is acceptable. When someone says a crate is IATA compliant, this is the standard they mean.
The numbered crate specifications inside the LAR. CR1 covers most cats and dogs. Some airlines and destinations require CR82, which is a reinforced version with extra bracing and ventilation.
Your pet must be able to stand fully upright without the ears touching the roof, turn around, and lie down naturally. The measurements come from the animal, not the breed, so a crate is sized from four measurements of your specific pet.
The airline-required markings on the crate: live animal stickers, directional arrows, your contact details, feeding and watering instructions, and the air waybill number.
Bowls fixed inside the door so handlers can refill them without opening the crate. Loose bowls are rejected at check-in, which is one of the more common last-minute problems.
A layer that absorbs liquid and stays put, usually a puppy pad plus a blanket. Straw and wood shavings are banned by many countries because they are plant material and trigger biosecurity issues on arrival.
Crates must be bolted with metal nuts and bolts. The plastic clips that come with retail crates are not accepted for air travel, and this catches out a lot of owners who buy a crate at a pet shop.
A required holding period at an approved facility on arrival, during which your pet is monitored before release. It applies to rabies-free countries and to some regional routes. Where it applies it is not optional and it cannot be served at home.
Australia’s government quarantine facility at Mickleham near Melbourne, the only place imported cats and dogs can complete quarantine. The minimum stay is 10 days, and visits are not permitted during the stay.
The clinical term for flat-faced breeds: pugs, bulldogs, boxers, Persian cats and others. Their shortened airways make heat and stress harder to manage, and many airlines restrict or refuse them in the hold.
Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome, the breathing difficulty associated with flat-faced breeds. Some airlines now ask for a vet assessment of BOAS severity before accepting one of these breeds.
A vet statement, usually issued within 10 days of travel, confirming the animal is healthy enough for the journey and shows no signs of illness.
A vet statement allowing an animal to be transported at temperatures below the airline’s standard minimum. It does not override a heat embargo, and not every airline accepts one.
Sedatives are not recommended for air travel and most airlines refuse sedated animals. Sedation affects breathing and temperature regulation at altitude, which is precisely when an animal cannot be monitored.
Tick and tapeworm treatment administered by a vet within a set window before arrival, and recorded on the paperwork. The UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand are among the destinations that require it, and the timing window is narrow.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the US authority that endorses export health certificates and publishes the requirements for taking a pet from the United States to any given country.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets the rules for dogs entering the United States, particularly around rabies risk in the country of origin.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canada’s equivalent of APHIS. It endorses export paperwork for pets leaving Canada and sets import conditions for pets arriving.
The UK department responsible for pet import rules into Great Britain, including the approved route and carrier requirements.
Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, which issues import permits and runs the Mickleham quarantine facility.
The International Air Transport Association, the airline industry body that publishes the Live Animals Regulations. It sets the crate and handling standards airlines apply.
The International Pet and Animal Transportation Association, a trade association of pet shipping companies. Membership is a voluntary industry credential, not a government licence.
A licensed agent who clears your pet through customs at the destination. Some countries require one by law for live animal imports.
Air cargo is priced on whichever is greater: actual weight, or a volume-based figure calculated from the crate dimensions. For pets the crate almost always decides the price, which is why crate size affects cost as much as the animal’s weight does.
A handling charge from the cargo terminal at either end for receiving, holding and releasing the animal. It is separate from the airline’s freight charge and appears on most international moves.
An airline restriction on carrying animals when forecast ground temperatures at any airport on the route exceed a set limit. Summer routes through hot hubs are the usual casualties, and it applies to the whole route, not just your departure city.
The same restriction at the low end, when temperatures fall below the airline’s minimum. An acclimation certificate can sometimes extend the range, but not always.
A stop where the aircraft changes or the animal waits between flights. Long layovers are not automatically bad, since some hubs have dedicated animal facilities, but each additional connection adds a handling point.
The specific sequence of flights and ground legs chosen for the move. Routing is where most of the real decisions get made: it determines temperature exposure, connection count, which rules apply and, often, the total cost.
A move where the pet travels with or is reunited with its owner, as opposed to a sale or transfer. Many countries apply different, simpler rules to non-commercial moves, and the paperwork must state which one applies.
Send us the wording exactly as you saw it, on an airline page, a vet form or a government site, and we will tell you what it means for your move. Request a quote and we will reply with a plan, a timeline and clear next steps, usually within two business hours.
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