CollarPass🇨🇳Country requirements
China (mainland) pet travel requirements
China’s carried-pet route accepts only dogs and cats, one per traveller per entry, with the required official documents and arrival inspection. A readable microchip and, for a non-designated origin, an accepted rabies antibody report can qualify a pet for release without isolation. A pet that needs isolation must use a port with appropriate facilities and normally stays thirty days; isolation is not a substitute for missing mandatory official certificates. The current Shanghai government guide still publishes nineteen designated origins and ten quarantine ports, but this planner has not verified the latest GACC dynamic laboratory and port directories. Specific source conflicts and list-verification gaps are shown below.
Pet travel at a glance — free
Start with the destination's requirements for this pet. Documents and preparation vary by origin and other conditions; read the full guidance and any unverified details below.
Preparation lead times
- The clinical exam and certificate must be within 14 days before arrival in China
- From Great Britain, APHA sends certificate 8902 to your official vet 7 working days before export when you apply early, so the vet can't sign it before then
- Quarantine lasts 30 days from arrival
Which pets can enter
- Dog: Some requirements need confirmation
- Cat: Some requirements need confirmation
- Rabbit: Not permitted as a pet
- Ferret: Not permitted as a pet
Vaccination requirements
Read the official guidanceDetails to confirm with the authority
These information gaps concern specific cases. Read their conditions and linked official sources before relying on them.
The live Shanghai government guide still links a 74-laboratory list dated 15 August 2025, which was read in full, but the current GACC dynamic directory could not be accessed. Announcement 2019 No. 64 says later changes are published by GACC. Confirm the laboratory’s current acceptance before sampling; this planner does not certify that the dated attachment contains every later addition or removal.
Dogs / Cats · Origin group: Not a designated country or region (antibody test needed to skip quarantine) · Entry pathway: No quarantine: released after the arrival check
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Shanghai Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Ministry of Commerce · Checked Nov 12, 2026
The live Shanghai guide’s dated infographic lists ten quarantine ports, including Guangzhou Baiyun, while the historical 2019 attachment lists nine. The current GACC dynamic port directory and each facility’s actual operation could not be verified. Confirm the chosen port and quarantine arrangements before booking; a pet needing isolation must not use an unqualified port.
Dogs / Cats · Entry pathway: 30-day quarantine at a port with quarantine facilities
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Ministry of Commerce · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: Shanghai Customs, via Shanghai Municipal Government · Checked Nov 12, 2026
GACC Announcement 2019 No. 5 requires an official quarantine certificate and rabies vaccination certificate, but the live Shanghai FAQ specifically says Australian pets need no rabies vaccination and may use a certificate of other vaccinations. This planner cannot resolve that national/local wording conflict. Obtain confirmation of the accepted Australian documents from the arrival Customs office and exporting authority; do not assume that either a rabies exemption or arrival quarantine replaces missing mandatory documentation.
Dogs / Cats · Departure countries/regions: AU
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Country groups used by this destination
The live Shanghai government guide lists nineteen designated origins: New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Guam, Jamaica, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macao. Other origins use the non-designated route. No new origin was inferred from another authority’s rabies-free classification. The guide says designation can change and points back to GACC; the latest GACC dynamic directory was not accessible in this check. The sources do not publish a general residence/lookback rule for deciding origin, so treating supplied non-designated travel history conservatively is a planner precaution, not a stated Chinese residence period. Shanghai’s Hawaii-transit answer requires a certificate issued by Hawaii officials; a connection alone does not prove a designated-origin exemption.
Documents, tests and permits can vary by country group, travel history and vaccination records. Check each requirement's conditions and the official guidance.
Not a designated country or region (antibody test needed to skip quarantine)
Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Albania, Armenia, Angola, Antarctica, Argentina, American Samoa, Austria, Aruba, Åland Islands, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Burundi, Benin, St. Barthélemy, Bermuda, Brunei, Bolivia, Caribbean Netherlands, Brazil, Bahamas, Bhutan, Bouvet Island, Botswana, Belarus, Belize, Canada, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Congo - Kinshasa, Central African Republic, Congo - Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, Cook Islands, Chile, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cape Verde, Curaçao, Christmas Island, Czechia, Germany, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Ceuta and Melilla, Ecuador, Estonia, Egypt, Western Sahara, Eritrea, Spain, Ethiopia, Finland, Falkland Islands, Micronesia, Faroe Islands, France, Gabon, Grenada, Georgia, French Guiana, Guernsey, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Gambia, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Equatorial Guinea, Greece, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Heard & McDonald Islands, Honduras, Croatia, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Israel, Isle of Man, India, British Indian Ocean Territory, Iraq, Iran, Italy, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, Kiribati, Comoros, St. Kitts & Nevis, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Cayman Islands, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, St. Lucia, Sri Lanka, Liberia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Libya, Morocco, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, St. Martin, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, North Macedonia, Mali, Myanmar (Burma), Mongolia, Northern Mariana Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Montserrat, Malta, Mauritius, Maldives, Malawi, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Caledonia, Niger, Norfolk Island, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Nauru, Niue, Oman, Panama, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, St. Pierre & Miquelon, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Palestinian Territories, Palau, Paraguay, Qatar, Réunion, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Seychelles, Sudan, St. Helena, Slovenia, Svalbard & Jan Mayen, Slovakia, Sierra Leone, San Marino, Senegal, Somalia, Suriname, South Sudan, São Tomé & Príncipe, El Salvador, Sint Maarten, Syria, Eswatini, Turks & Caicos Islands, Chad, French Southern Territories, Togo, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tokelau, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Tunisia, Tonga, Türkiye, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, Taiwan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uganda, U.S. Outlying Islands, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, St. Vincent & Grenadines, Venezuela, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Wallis & Futuna, Samoa, Kosovo, Yemen, Mayotte, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Designated country or region (no antibody test)
New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Guam, Jamaica, Iceland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao
Other departure countries: Not a designated country or region (antibody test needed to skip quarantine)
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Entering China (mainland)
Reference requirements for this pet. Read each item's conditions: different origins, histories and entry options can require different steps. Each item links to its official source and check date.
Before you travel
Microchip your pet
China expects an ISO 11784/11785 microchip (15 digits). With any other chip, bring a reader that can read it. The health certificate must show the chip number, the implant date and where it was implanted.
Dogs / Cats · Entry pathway: No quarantine: released after the arrival check
Without a working microchip the pet is quarantined for 30 days, even from a designated country.
China's rules don't say the chip must go in before the rabies vaccine.
The chip read at entry and its number on the official health certificate and relevant vaccination/titer records must identify the same pet. The Shanghai FAQ accepts a name change when chip identification still matches; separate exporting-country document rules also apply.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Rabies vaccination
Dogs and cats need the vaccination documentation required by the applicable China Customs route, in addition to the official health certificate. For a non-designated origin, use an inactivated or recombinant/modified rabies vaccine and arrive while its documented immunity is still valid. The checked Chinese texts do not state a universal minimum rabies-vaccination age or a general vaccination-to-arrival waiting period: this is not a waiver of the product label, veterinary advice or exporting-country rules. A new rabies-antibody sample for the non-designated no-isolation route must be on or after the second rabies vaccination; do not interpret a still-valid accepted report as a requirement to repeat the two-dose preparation for every trip. Australian rabies documentation is subject to the separate source-conflict notice.
Dogs / Cats
Shanghai's guide says pets from Australia need no rabies vaccination, but China Customs' Announcement No. 5 asks every pet for a vaccination certificate, so we include it.
Without the vaccination certificate the pet is sent back or destroyed.
For a new test, the checked Shanghai FAQ leaves the interval between vaccinations to the veterinarian. This planner has only one current vaccination date and cannot prove the required vaccination history from that date alone.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Rabies antibody (titer) test at a lab approved by China Customs
For a non-designated origin using the no-isolation route, arrange an accepted laboratory’s rabies-antibody report of at least 0.5 IU/mL. A new sample is taken on or after the second rabies vaccination. The ordinary report window is one year from blood sampling; the official annex and Shanghai FAQ allow the result to remain valid when rabies boosters are given before the preceding vaccination expires, maintaining continuous cover. This is not a universal requirement to revaccinate within one year of sampling. The veterinarian or accredited institution handles the sample/test chain; match the pet’s chip number on the report and official certificate. Check the current approved laboratory status before taking the sample, because the nationally current dynamic directory has not been verified here.
Dogs / Cats · Origin group: Not a designated country or region (antibody test needed to skip quarantine) · Entry pathway: No quarantine: released after the arrival check
China sets no waiting time after the blood draw, but the health certificate must record the result, so leave time for the lab to report.
In the US, the approved labs are the DoD Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory, Kansas State University, Auburn University, CDC and the University of Missouri (the linked snapshot dated 15 August 2025, not a claim of a fully reverified current national list).
Below 0.5 IU/mL, the pet needs a new test before it can skip quarantine.
China's rules don't say outright that the chip must be in before the blood draw; we schedule it that way so the report matches the pet.
The live Shanghai guide still links a 74-laboratory DOCX dated 15 August 2025; its FAQ’s old count of 62 is not used. Later GACC additions/removals could not be excluded. A continuously valid report also needs the actual supporting booster records; do not assume its extension from a single current vaccination date.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Shanghai Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Official health certificate from the country the pet travels from
That country's official veterinary authority issues or endorses a health certificate, one per pet, after a clinical exam within 14 days before arrival in China. It shows the pet's details (with date of birth or age), the microchip number, implant date and site, and the exam date and result. Unless the pet comes from a designated country or region, it also shows the rabies vaccination (dates, valid until, vaccine type, product name and manufacturer) and the antibody test (blood draw date, lab and result). If it's missing, altered or faulty, the pet is sent back or destroyed.
Dogs / Cats
China doesn't say how the 14 days are counted; we count the arrival day as day 0.
Shanghai's guide recommends deworming before travel; it isn't required.
From Great Britain: whether the official vet may examine the pet before receiving the certificate and date the exam earlier isn't stated; we assume not.
The explicit Chinese fourteen-day rule is for the pre-arrival clinical examination. The authority completes or endorses the official certificate with that examination evidence before departure; do not substitute an exporter’s domestic fourteen-day certificate period for the Chinese arrival-based examination window.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Source: GOV.UK (Animal and Plant Health Agency) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Tell China Customs before a pet arrives for quarantine
USDA says China Customs must be told in advance when a pet will arrive for quarantine. China's own pages don't say how or how far ahead, so contact customs at your arrival port before you travel and ask about the quarantine facility, its costs and how to arrange it.
Dogs / Cats · Entry pathway: 30-day quarantine at a port with quarantine facilities
Only USDA's page mentions this notice; China's published rules don't.
The current Pudong no-appointment FAQ concerns a pet meeting no-isolation conditions; do not use it to waive facility arrangements for this quarantine pathway.
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
Collect your pet when quarantine ends
If the pet passes, it's released at the end of the 30 days.
Dogs / Cats · Entry pathway: 30-day quarantine at a port with quarantine facilities
China doesn't say how the 30 days are counted; we count the arrival day as day 0.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
On arrival
Declare the pet to customs on arrival
Declare the pet when you enter China and show the originals of the health certificate and the rabies vaccination certificate, plus the antibody report and a photocopy of it if the pet was tested (customs usually keeps the copy). Customs checks the papers, scans the microchip and examines the pet. You fill in the pet information registration form on the spot.
Dogs / Cats
Pets arriving as air cargo are cleared through a separate cargo customs process. Whether the carried-pet rules cover pets travelling without their owner isn't stated; ask customs at your arrival port.
If you fly on within China, you may need an inter-provincial movement certificate from the local animal health authority (not customs).
A pet that is refused must be collected with the customs hold receipt and taken out of China within the set time, or it's treated as abandoned and destroyed.
GACC Announcement 2019 No. 5 requires return or disposal if the traveller exceeds the one-pet allowance, lacks a valid official quarantine certificate or rabies vaccination certificate, or brings an animal needing quarantine through a port without facilities. Do not treat arrival quarantine as a substitute for missing mandatory certificates.
Shanghai Customs’ 18 August 2026 answer says a pet already meeting quarantine-free entry requirements needs no prior appointment at Pudong: go directly to the arrival declaration counter with the documents. That answer does not establish a no-notice rule at every port or the facility arrangements for a pet that will be quarantined.
Pet (dog or cat) information registration form for entry (携带入境宠物（犬、猫）信息登记表)
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government, source Shanghai Customs · Checked Nov 12, 2026
30-day quarantine at a customs-designated facility
The pet goes to a quarantine facility designated by customs for 30 days, counting any days it was held on arrival. It normally can't be taken out before the end. If it shows signs of disease it's examined and may be tested; it's released once found healthy.
Dogs / Cats · Entry pathway: 30-day quarantine at a port with quarantine facilities
Where the facility is, what it costs and how to book it isn't published; ask customs at your arrival port.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via Beijing Municipal Government · Checked Oct 21, 2026
Source: USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) · Checked Oct 26, 2026
How many pets can you bring?
Caps recorded for China (mainland) can depend on the species, origin and entry conditions. Your airline can set a lower limit.
Each traveler may bring one pet, a dog or a cat, per entry, whether carried or checked separately. Extra pets are sent back or destroyed.
Source: General Administration of Customs of China (GACC), via gov.cn · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: Shanghai Municipal Government (from Shanghai Customs) · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and GACC · Checked Nov 12, 2026
Official forms and documents
Links go to the issuing authority. We do not sell, fill in or issue official documents.
Open the official page to download or complete the form. Requirements can change; confirm with the authority before you travel.
Official sources
Every rule above is checked against these pages. Dates show our last check, not the page's own update.
Recent rule changes
Sourced entries that affect this country.
First version of the rules library: US entry, China exit, and the pet policies of Air China, China Eastern and United.
All rule updatesExpanded destination-specific pet requirements, including origin-country branches, young-animal exemptions, official documents and entry options. Known unverified details remain clearly marked; free country summaries and personal trip reports use the same rules.
All rule updatesPersonal reports now focus on dogs and cats; other pets keep free checked summaries and official links. Updated current China and Korea source branches, European country lists and Italian guidance; represented Japan's Kyrgyzstan suspension without incorrectly keeping Uzbekistan suspended. Vaccination expiry uses the actual certificate where required, with documented continuous-booster exemptions and explicit remaining evidence gaps.
All rule updates