Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from Australia → Brazil
What the official rules ask for on this route, for a family pet travelling with its owner. Enter your travel date and your pet’s details to turn it into a dated checklist.
How early to start
3 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
2 weeks
if it is already microchipped and vaccinated
Counted only from the officially fixed waiting periods. Vet, lab and paperwork appointment times are on top, so start earlier.
What your dog or cat needs
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination
Dogs and cats aged 90 days or older must arrive vaccinated against rabies, with a vaccine authorised by the vet authority of the country where it was given and still in date. After a first (primary) vaccination your pet may only leave 21 days or more after the shot; a pet whose vaccine lapsed before a booster counts as a first-time vaccinate again.
Details and the official words
Our age cut-off is 3 calendar months at arrival (Brazil says 90 days). If your pet is close to 90 days old, ask VIGIAGRO.
The 21-day wait only applies after a first (or lapsed) vaccination; the engine shows it for every vaccine date, so a pet with an in-date booster can ignore it.
If this is missed: The animal can be refused, returned or held (Art. 18), at the owner's cost.
“Todos os animais a partir de noventa (90) dias de idade devem ingressar vacinados contra a raiva, tendo sido utilizadas, no país de sua aplicação, vacinas autorizadas pela autoridade veterinária, que devem estar dentro do seu período de vigência.”
“o embarque pelo país exportador deve ser autorizado uma vez transcorridos vinte e um (21) dias da aplicação da referida vacina.”
Treatment
Treatment against internal and external parasites
A broad-spectrum treatment against internal and external parasites, with a product approved by the exporting country's authority and following the maker's instructions, within the 15 days before the CVI is issued. It is recorded on the CVI.
Details and the official words
“no prazo de quinze (15) dias antes da data de emissão do CVI, a um tratamento de amplo espectro contra parasitos internos e externos”
Vet exam
Clinical examination by a vet
A registered vet in the exporting country examines your pet within the 10 days before the CVI is issued and certifies that it shows no signs of infectious or parasitic disease and is fit to travel.
Details and the official words
“no prazo de dez (10) dias anteriores à data de emissão do CVI, a um exame clínico realizado por um médico veterinário registrado no país exportador”
Paperwork
International Veterinary Certificate (CVI)
The original CVI, issued by the exporting country's veterinary authority, using the model the Brazilian ministry requires (mandatory since 6 September 2025). It is valid for 60 days from issue, as long as the rabies vaccination is still valid on arrival. Keep the original: border staff must not keep it.
Details and the official words
DAFF pre-export appointment: export permit and health certificate: At your pre-export appointment with DAFF's certifying veterinary officer (a pet transport company can go for you; some countries need DAFF to see your pet, in which case you bring it), DAFF checks all your documents and issues the export permit and health certificate. You pay at or before the appointment. Your pet must then leave Australia within 72 hours of the permit being issued.
If this is missed: The animal can be refused, returned or held (Art. 18), at the owner's cost.
“Para o ingresso de cães e gatos é necessário apresentar Certificado Veterinário Internacional (CVI) ou Passaporte oficial emitido por Autoridade Veterinária do país de origem atendendo aos requisitos sanitários do Brasil.”
“Os animais devem ingressar, retornar, transitar ou circular pelos Estados Partes amparados pelo Certificado Veterinário Internacional (CVI) original, emitido pela autoridade veterinária do país exportador”
“O CVI é válido para o ingresso, retorno, trânsito ou circulação entre os Estados Partes por um período de sessenta (60) dias corridos, contados a partir da data de sua emissão, sempre que a certificação de vacinação contra a raiva se encontre vigente.”
“This appointment must be before your appointment with our certifying veterinary officer.”
“Your animal must be exported from Australia within 72 hours after the permit is issued. This is a condition of the export permit.”
“Your export permit and health certificate will be issued when we are satisfied the:”
Notice
Submit a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Export
Complete the NOI to Export Live Animals (other than Livestock) form with your supporting documents and email it to DAFF's regional office in your state or territory, at least 10 working days before departure (or before any pre-export isolation starts). Use the same form to book your pre-export appointment, and book the final vet exam at the same time. If the destination needs an import permit, send it with the NOI.
Details and the official words
If your destination requires pre-export isolation, the 10 working days run to the start of isolation, not to departure. Check the importing country's requirements for the isolation dates.
NOI approval doesn't guarantee DAFF will issue the export permit and health certificate.
“Email the NOI and documents to the regional office in the state or territory of departure. Do this at least 10 working days before the departure date or start of isolation.”
Vet exam
Final health and welfare exam with your registered vet
Your registered vet examines your pet and you both sign the pre-export veterinary health and welfare declaration. It must be within 72 hours of departure (or the period the importing country sets), and before your DAFF appointment.
Details and the official words
If the importing country sets a shorter or longer period, that period applies instead; check its requirements.
“This must be within 72 hours of departure, or a period set by the importing country.”
Good to know
- Countries or zones officially free of rabies (per WOAH) can be exempt from the rabies vaccination, but only if Brazil has recognised that status beforehand and the CVI states it. We don't hold Brazil's list of recognised countries, so we ask for the vaccination from every pet aged 90 days or older. If you come from a rabies-free country, ask MAPA/VIGIAGRO whether the exemption applies.
- Brazil may refuse entry to an animal that has previously been diagnosed with leishmaniasis.
- The Portaria does not make a microchip compulsory in itself, but if your pet has an electronic chip it must follow ISO 11784 and/or ISO 11785, and the CVI must say where on the body it sits. Check with VIGIAGRO whether your port of entry expects one.
- A pet that arrives without meeting the rules can be refused, sent back to where it came from, held, or otherwise dealt with by the Brazilian veterinary authority, and all costs fall on the owner.
- Brazil may also accept an official pet passport in place of the CVI, if it carries all the data the CVI asks for and is valid in the country that issued it. The CVI is the safe choice.
- DAFF says each country has its own health requirements, which can be complex and can change without notice. Get the importing country's requirements in writing (and an import permit if it needs one) and give them to your registered vet.
- Planning to bring your pet back to Australia? Contact DAFF's imports team before you export. Within 6 months of export, extra pre-export requirements may apply, and some animals can't be imported or returned under any circumstances.
- Your pet's crate must meet IATA standards, and your registered vet must inspect it before it is used. Some countries (including Fiji and Singapore) require the crate to be sealed; DAFF provides the seal.
- DAFF charges a fee to assess the Notice of Intention, a time-based fee to prepare the health certificate and a fee for the export permit. We don't show these amounts yet; see DAFF's charging guidelines.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Australia to Brazil?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for a rabies blood test.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into Brazil?
No. The official rules we have verified for this route don't ask for an import permit.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in Brazil?
Not on the routes we have verified: the official rules list no quarantine for a pet that meets the requirements.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
The official rules we have verified for this route don't list a microchip requirement.