Pet travel route
Taking a dog or cat from the Netherlands → Indonesia
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.
Limited official guidance. The authority for entering Indonesia publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. This is the Indonesian Quarantine Agency's (Barantin) own short guide for pet dogs and cats coming from abroad, published in March 2026. It lists the documents and the online steps but gives no dates: no deadline for the prior notice, no age, no wait after the vaccination or the blood test, no minimum antibody level and no quarantine period. Confirm the details with the quarantine office (Karantina) at your port of entry before you travel. Bali has its own rules: pet dogs and cats can't be brought there.
How early to start
3 weeks
if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet (the least time the official waiting periods allow)
3 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.
Headlines for Indonesia
- Rabies blood test required
- Advance notice to authority
What your dog or cat needs
Bringing a dog or cat into Indonesia: we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.
Vaccination
Rabies vaccination record
Bring your pet's vaccination book showing its rabies vaccination. Barantin doesn't say how long before travel it must be given.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
The guide asks only for the vaccination book; it gives no minimum age or waiting time.
“Dilengkapi buku vaksin dan hasil uji titer protektif antibodi rabies”
Blood test
Rabies antibody test result (protective level)
Bring the result of a rabies antibody (titer) test showing a protective level. Barantin doesn't give the level, the laboratory or how long before travel the blood must be taken; 0.5 IU/ml is the usual international standard, but confirm with the quarantine office.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
“Dilengkapi buku vaksin dan hasil uji titer protektif antibodi rabies”
Paperwork
Health certificate from your country's veterinary authority
Your pet needs a health certificate issued by the competent official in the country it comes from. Barantin doesn't say how recent it must be; ask the quarantine office.
The official wording is ambiguous. Confirm this point with the authority.
Details and the official words
Legalisation of the passport or health certificate at NVWA: Bring all the documents NVWA asks for to your appointment. If you need a health certificate for the trip, your own vet must complete and sign the form fully beforehand. NVWA checks the EU pet passport and any other documents and legalises them if everything is approved. If a document is missing or incomplete, the legalisation cannot take place and you need a new appointment.
“Pengirim/ pemilik memastikan kelengkapan persyaratan karantina dari negara asal yaitu Sertifikat Kesehatan yang diterbitkan oleh Pejabat berwenang di negara asal”
“If you need a health certificate for your animal's trip, make sure your veterinarian completes and signs the form completely.”
“If there any documents missing or incomplete, the legalisation cannot take place.”
Notice
Register with SSMQC and send Barantin's prior notice before you leave
Register in Barantin's SSMQC system, then fill in and send the prior notice at notice.karantinaindonesia.go.id. The prior notice must be sent before your pet leaves its country of origin.
Details and the official words
“Pengirim/ pemilik melakukan registrasi melalui SSMQC”
“wajib dilakukan sebelum keberangkatan dari negara asal”
On arrival
Report to quarantine on arrival
At the airport, port or land border where you arrive, report your pet and hand it over with its documents to the quarantine officers. If it is healthy and free of quarantine diseases, a quarantine vet releases it with a release certificate (Sertifikat Pelepasan Karantina).
Details and the official words
“pengirim/ pemilik wajib melaporkan dan menyerahkan hewan berikut kelengkapan persyaratannya kepada petugas karantina untuk keperluan tindakan karantina”
“akan dilakukan pembebasan oleh Dokter Hewan Karantina dengan menerbitkan Sertifikat Pelepasan Karantina.”
Official stamp
Book your NVWA legalisation appointment by e-mail
E-mail dpp@nvwa.nl at least 14 working days before the date you want the legalisation to take place, with the type of animal, the destination, any stops on the way, your expected departure date or period, the purpose of the trip and your phone number. NVWA tries to reply within 2 working days and then sends an appointment confirmation. The appointment is at its office in Utrecht, on working days between 10:00 and 16:00.
Details and the official words
The time allowed between legalisation and departure can vary from country to country.
Cancelling or rescheduling is free up to 24 hours before the appointment. NVWA may be unable to move the appointment to your preferred date, especially if it is busy or the request came less than 14 working days ahead.
“Make sure to do this at least 14 working days before the date on which you want the legalisation to take place.”
“The appointment is at our office in Utrecht.”
“The amount of time allowed between legalisation and departure can vary from country to country.”
Good to know
- Your pet can't come from a country that currently has a rabies outbreak. Barantin doesn't publish a list, so ask the quarantine office if rabies is present where your pet lives.
- Guide, assistance and emotional support animals (at most 2) can travel as the owner's baggage under Barantin's 2024 baggage rules, with a letter from a mental health professional in the home country, at least 6 months of health history, rabies and distemper vaccination, a microchip or ID book, a pet passport and a rabies antibody test. Their owners fill in the All Indonesia arrival form.
- NVWA legalisation of the EU pet passport and other documents is needed only in some cases. It is usually not necessary if the Netherlands has made agreements with the destination country: NVWA's Export Assistent shows whether a 'binding certificate' with instructions exists. If there is none, ask NVWA whether legalisation is needed.
- The destination's own requirements decide which documents must be legalised, and they can change. NVWA's e-mail after you book tells you what to prepare, but check the current requirements with the destination's authorities too.
- Your pet does not have to come to the legalisation appointment: bring the documents only.
- Legalisation is at your own expense. NVWA's current rates page lists the fee for legalising a dog, cat or ferret passport or certificate (under 'Exportcertificering').
- Planning to bring your pet back to the EU? After a short stay in a non-EU country you can skip the 3-month wait after the rabies blood test, but only if, before you leave the EU, your pet was vaccinated against rabies, passed a successful titer test, and your vet recorded both in its EU pet passport. So do the blood test before you go.
Common questions
Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from the Netherlands to Indonesia?
Yes: Bring the result of a rabies antibody (titer) test showing a protective level.
Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into Indonesia?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Will my dog or cat be quarantined in Indonesia?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.
Does my dog or cat need a microchip?
We couldn't find this in our summary of the rules, but that summary is short and still under review. Ask the official authority before you rely on it.