Requirements for Animals and Pets

PROCEDURES TO EXPORT YOUR CAT OR DOG FROM ITALY

Three Easy Steps – But Remember to Plan in Advance!

VERY IMPORTANT

The Azienda Sanitaria Locale (ASL) issues a pet export certificate that is valid for only six days. (We have received information from other Italian agencies that the certificate is valid for a longer period. However, we will follow the advice of the agency that issues the pet export certificate.) Mark your calendar carefully to obtain the export certificate approximately three or four days before the departure of your pet from the country. Within 48 hours before you apply for the cat or dog export certificate, you must obtain a certificate of good health for your cat or dog from a local veterinarian to present to the ASL office.

1. Visit the Post Office - Pay the Fee

The Italian Government does not issue pet export certificates for free. You must pay a fee at a local post office and obtain a receipt. (Note: This cannot be done at the Embassy’s BNL bank branch.) You present the receipt to ASL when applying for the export certificate. At the post office, look for the counter offering “Versamento Su Conto Corrente Postale” (payment on a postal account). You will be given a form to complete, consisting of several detachable parts. On each section, you must enter the following data:

• Amount of payment: Euro 10.54 – Dieci e cinquantaquattro;
• Name of office receiving the payment: ASL (complete address required)
• Number of the ASL mail account on which payment is deposited:
• Your name and address;
• Reason of the payment (in Italian -: Causale Del Pagamento): Rilascio Certificato Veterinario.

Pay the fee plus postal charges and collect the receipt.

2. Visit Your Veterinarian – Obtain Good Health and Rabies Inoculation Certificates

Make an appointment to obtain a certificate of good health from your veterinarian within 48 hours before you plan to apply for the ASL pet export certificate. Your veterinarian must examine your cat or dog and complete, date and sign a certificate of good health. This certificate must be presented to ASL within 48 HOURS of issuance. Also, you should obtain a certificate showing that your pet received a rabies injection more than 20 days but less than one year before the date of your pet’s departure from Italy. (This is the rabies certificate that veterinarians issue when inoculating your pet against rabies.)

An alternative method is to have the ASL veterinarian examine your pet and issue a certificate of good health. However, such services are not always available, and you should contact ASL in advance to arrange such service. If you go this route, you must pay an ASL fee of Euro 21.08 at the Post Office instead of Euro 10.54.

3. Visit ASL and Obtain a Pet Export Certificate

Present the fee receipt, the good health and rabies certificates to an Azienda Sanitaria Locale office to obtain an export permit for your dog or cat. Upon arrival at ASL, look for the Veterinary Office. The staff does not need to physically examine the cat or dog, just the three documents. The pet export certificate is internationally valid and should be presented to the Airport Customs officer when your cat or dog is checked in.

PROCEDURES TO IMPORT YOUR CAT OR DOG FROM ITALY

Importing Pets into Italy

The EU has issued a new regulation (2003/998/EC and subsequent amendments) covering importation of pets into the EU and travel of same within the EU. The latter is completely new, since up to now, travelling with your pets within the EU was free of any bureaucratic requirement.

The required importation document has been amended (find it on-line at www.italyemb.org) and varies slightly depending if the pet is sent as accompanied baggage (traveling with the owner) or shipped as unaccompanied baggage under an airwaybill (traveling separately from the owner).

Accompanying Pet

In the first case, the health certificate must contain the following:

• Identification of the animal by means of a readable tattoo or an electronic identification system (transponder/microchip), which provides the pet owners’ and address.
• Statement that the animal has been vaccinated for rabies.

The certificate expires 4 months after signature by the official veterinarian, or endorsement by the competent authority, or until the date of expiry of the vaccination, whichever is earlier.

To import pets into Italy, it is not necessary to subject them to tick or echinococcus treatment. Pets arriving into Italy from the U.S. are not subject to the Rabies serological test or quarantine.

Some airlines require pet health certificates to be issued within 10 days of departure. Please check with the airline you are traveling for its regulations on pet health certificates.

Unaccompanied Pet

Pets travelling under an AWB, separate from the owner, must be accompanied by a different certificate (similar to the one used for pets entering the E.U. for commercial movements), issued by Commission Decision 2004/595/EC, and are subject to being examined by an Italian veterinarian at the border, airport or other port of entry into Italy: the veterinarianwill charge a fee.

If you are transferring from the U.S., the Italian Embassy website provides updated information on the importation of pets.

Passengers traveling with pets should be aware of the many travel restrictions imposed by American carriers. The restrictions vary considerably from one carrier to another. Therefore, we urge you to contact airlines early and familiarize yourself with their specific requirements well in advance of anticipated travel.

While in Italy, by law all dogs on the street must be muzzled and leashed.