Hawaii pet travel requirements

Send the import form, both rabies certificates and the fee to AQS

Send Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279, the original certificates for both rabies vaccinations and the $185 fee (cashier's check or money order, with the microchip number) as one set to the Animal Quarantine Station, 99-951 Halawa Valley Street, Aiea, HI 96701. Use tracked mail or an overnight courier; faxes and photocopies aren't accepted. You can also apply online in DAB's Hawaii Pet Owner Portal (HIPOP). The health certificate can go in the set or travel with the pet.

Entry pathway: Direct airport release at Honolulu

Checklist 1 says the set must arrive more than 10 days before arrival in one place and 10 days or more in another; we use the earlier date.

It isn't clear whether an online upload counts as the originals arriving, or whether the originals must still be mailed; ask AQS.

With late documents the fee is $244 and the pet may not be released that day.

HIPOP requires a separate animal file and application for each dog or cat. Upload the supporting rabies certificates, FAVN result, health certificate and itinerary; the portal accepts Visa or Mastercard for state fees. Submitting online does not waive the eligibility windows or the need to carry required originals.

Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279 (Rev. 1/24)

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Book an approved vet to inspect your pet at the arrival airport

Before you book your flight, contract with one of DAB's approved vets at Kona, Kahului or Lihue (listed under the airport). The vet agrees to meet the pet at the airport on your arrival date and time, and sends AQS a confirmation; without it, AQS won't issue the permit.

Entry pathway: Direct release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue (neighbor island permit)

Some airlines don't fly pets straight to the neighbor islands; check with yours early.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Request the Neighbor Island Inspection Permit

Send AQS the import form AQS-279 (tick "Neighbor Island Inspection Permit $165" in section 4), the original certificates for the two most recent rabies vaccinations, the $165 fee (cashier's check or money order), your flight details (airline, flight number, date and time) and a letter asking for direct release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue. You need a passing FAVN result first.

Entry pathway: Direct release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue (neighbor island permit)

DAB doesn't say how long the permit takes to issue; leave time.

It isn't clear whether an online upload counts as the originals arriving; ask AQS.

Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279 (Rev. 1/24)

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Print the permit and show it at check-in

AQS emails the permit only to the primary owner on form AQS-279, once it has your documents and the vet's confirmation and the pet qualifies. Print it: the airline needs it to board the pet, it travels with the pet, and you give it to the inspector on arrival. Airlines can't fly a dog or cat straight to Kona, Kahului or Lihue without it.

Entry pathway: Direct release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue (neighbor island permit)

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Send the import form, both rabies certificates and the fee to AQS

Send form AQS-279, the original certificates for both rabies vaccinations and the $244 fee (cashier's check or money order, with the microchip number) to the Animal Quarantine Station, 99-951 Halawa Valley Street, Aiea, HI 96701, before the pet arrives. The health certificate travels with the pet.

Entry pathway: 5 days or less at the Honolulu quarantine station

If documents are still missing on the release date, the stay is extended.

Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279 (Rev. 1/24)

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Send the import form for the 120-day program

Fill in form AQS-279, tick the 120-day program, and name an approved Hawaii vet hospital you've registered the pet with (for emergencies). Mail it so it reaches the Animal Quarantine Station no less than two weeks before arrival.

Entry pathway: Quarantine of up to 120 days

Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279 (Rev. 1/24)

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Health certificate from a government vet, within 14 days before shipment

A vet holding an appointment as an officer of the government of the country of origin examines the pet and certifies it free of external parasites and signs of transmissible disease, no more than 14 days before shipment. It must also include: "All animals were inspected and found free of evidence of New World Screwworm infestation." The original travels with the pet.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Owner's affidavit: the pet hasn't left the country in 6 months

Sign an affidavit that the pet has not been outside its country of origin in the 6 months before shipment (time in another exempt area or in Hawaii is allowed). Include the airline, flight number and departure date. The original travels with the pet.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

The checklist doesn't mention time in other exempt areas or Hawaii; the rules allow it.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Guam affidavit (form IC-5)

Pets from Guam also need a completed and signed Affidavit for Export from Guam (IC-5) for the inspectors on arrival.

Departure countries/regions: GU · Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

IC-5 Affidavit for Export from Guam

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Ask AQS about rabies and core vaccinations before you book

The exempt-area checklist asks for no vaccinations. Hawaii's general rules, though, say dogs and cats 90 days or older must be vaccinated against rabies, and need core vaccinations at least 10 days before arrival. Email AQS (rabiesfree@hawaii.gov) to ask whether these apply to your pet.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

Until AQS answers, we leave time for the core vaccinations.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Sealed travel crate

Ship the pet in a crate sealed so that taking the pet out breaks the seal.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

The checklist only asks for a seal that breaks when the crate is opened; the rules call for an official government seal with a number. Ask your export authority for an official seal.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Fly on one aircraft to Honolulu, with the captain's affidavit

The pet must travel on the same aircraft from its home country to Honolulu and not be off-loaded on the way. A transfer to another aircraft is allowed only under the direct supervision of the officer in charge, who certifies in writing that the pet had no contact with other animals, giving their name, position, airline, address and phone, and the date, time, aircraft and flight number of both flights. The captain, or the airline's senior station official in Hawaii, signs an affidavit that the pet stayed on one aircraft.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

The rules also allow a neighbor island port approved by DAB; the checklist names only Honolulu.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Land at Honolulu by 3:30 pm for inspection and release

The airline takes the pet to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility, which can take up to an hour. Inspection runs 8:30 am to 4:30 pm every day, weekends and holidays included; pets not there by 4:30 pm aren't released that day. If everything checks out, the pet is released to the owner or a person named on form AQS-279. Keep it in its carrier until you leave the airport.

Entry pathway: Direct airport release at Honolulu

Checklist 1 gives the inspection hours as 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; the information page says 8:30 am. We use 8:30 am.

Pets that arrive in the evening or at night stay overnight. Pick them up between 8 and 10 am the next morning: Checklist 1 says later pets go into the 5-day-or-less program ($244); the information page says $59 more.

If papers are wrong, documents are missing or ticks are found, the pet goes to the quarantine station until it qualifies, or for up to 120 days.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Arrival inspection by your contracted vet

The vet you contracted meets the pet at the airport on the agreed date and time, collects the original health certificate and the permit, and releases the pet if it qualifies.

Entry pathway: Direct release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue (neighbor island permit)

DAB doesn't say what time the flight must land; agree it with the vet.

A pet that doesn't qualify is sent to Honolulu for inspection or quarantine, or out of state, at your cost.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Up to 5 days at the Animal Quarantine Station

The pet goes from the airport to the Animal Quarantine Station in Halawa Valley, Oahu, and is released within 5 days once its documents are checked. Releases: Monday to Friday 9 to 11 am and 1 to 4:30 pm; weekends and holidays 8 to 10 am and noon to 3:30 pm.

Entry pathway: 5 days or less at the Honolulu quarantine station

A pet not picked up on its release date costs $17.80 a day more.

A pet that arrives before it qualifies (for example before the 30-day wait after the FAVN test is over) stays until that date, at $14.30 a day plus $244.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Quarantine of up to 120 days

The pet stays at the Animal Quarantine Station in Halawa Valley, Oahu, for up to 120 days, counted from the day after arrival, or at an approved satellite station or vet hospital after first coming to Oahu. Owners can visit at set hours. The fee is due on arrival.

Entry pathway: Quarantine of up to 120 days

A pet that arrives before its 5-day-or-less qualifying date stays until that date, then is released (rules, section 4-29-8.1). Hawaii's FAQ instead says 120 days after the FAVN test and 90 days after the latest rabies shot; ask AQS.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Arrival inspection at Honolulu airport

Land at Honolulu during inspection hours, allowing up to an hour for the airline to bring the pet to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility; on international flights the pet clears US Customs first. An inspector examines the pet and may treat it for external parasites. Any sign of transmissible disease in a shipment sends every animal in it to the quarantine station. A pet that qualifies after hours is released the next day.

Entry pathway: Exempt area: direct flight from Australia, the UK, Guam or New Zealand

The checklist gives inspection hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; the information page says 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and to land by 3:30 pm. Plan for the earlier landing.

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Oct 26, 2026

Source: Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (DAB), Animal Quarantine Branch · Checked Nov 12, 2026