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Dog or cat from Taiwan to Hawaii (US): official requirements

Possible. With nothing done yet, start at least 9 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination #1, rabies vaccination #2 (a booster, more than 30 days before arrival) and rabies antibody blood test (OIE-FAVN) and a 30-day wait and 3 more.

Rules checked up to 13 October 2026From 7 official pages

Make my dated plan Reverse: Hawaii (US) → Taiwan

In short

Limited official guidance. The authority for leaving Taiwan publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. APHIA's own pages (aphia.gov.tw) did not open from our network, so this is built from the law itself, in the Ministry of Agriculture's official English texts: the Act on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Animal Diseases (Art. 36), the regulations for animals carried by passengers and the quarantine fee regulations. They say when APHIA issues an export certificate and what you bring, but not where or how far ahead to apply, whether a vet's health certificate or other records are needed, or how long the inspection takes. Ask the APHIA branch at your airport of departure.

Limited official guidance. The authority for entering Hawaii (US) publishes little for this route. Everything it does say is here, with its wording. Hawaii's own checklists (PDF) could not be read: they hold details this page does not, such as the microchip rule and the result needed on the rabies antibody test. Pets arriving from the British Isles, Australia, Guam and New Zealand follow a different checklist that we have not read. The pages were read from stored copies of Hawaii's official pages because the site blocks automated readers; the pre-arrival waits below come from those pages. Contact the Animal Quarantine Station (rabiesfree@hawaii.gov) to confirm the current checklist for your pet.

At a glance

The rules on this route are the same for dogs and cats.

How early to start

9 weeks

if your pet has no microchip or rabies vaccination yet

Set by: Rabies vaccination #2 (a booster, more than 30 days before arrival) (more than 30 days before arrival)

4 weeks

if it is already microchipped and vaccinated

Set by: Rabies antibody blood test (OIE-FAVN) and a 30-day wait (at least 30 days after the laboratory received the blood sample)

The least time the official waiting periods allow. Vet, lab and paperwork appointments come on top.

On this route

  • Rabies blood test needed
  • Parasite treatment before travel

Part of this route is still under review, so we don’t say what it doesn’t need.

Prefer a feed reader? Taiwan rule changes · Hawaii (US) rule changes

Taiwan → Hawaii (US)

What your pet needs

In the order you do them. Each step says whether Taiwan (leaving) or Hawaii (US) (entering) asks for it.

Taking a dog or cat out of Taiwan (APHIA): we summarised this from a short or older official page and it is still under review, so it may be incomplete.

  1. Get ready

    1. VaccinationEntering Hawaii (US)

      Rabies vaccination #1

      Your pet needs certification of at least two rabies vaccinations. This is the first one; documents for the earlier vaccination are required, because with only the most recent vaccination the pet does not qualify.

      Details and the official words

      “Certification of at least two rabies vaccinations is required.”

    2. VaccinationEntering Hawaii (US)

      Rabies vaccination #2 (a booster, more than 30 days before arrival)

      The second rabies vaccination (a booster) must be given no less than 30 days after the previous one, and more than 30 days before your pet arrives in Hawaii.

      Details and the official words

      “To qualify, your pet will need to receive a booster no less than 30 days after the previous vaccination. In addition, this second vaccination must be given more than 30 days before arrival in Hawai‘i.”

    3. Blood testEntering Hawaii (US)

      Rabies antibody blood test (OIE-FAVN) and a 30-day wait

      Your pet needs a passing OIE-FAVN rabies antibody test, and a 30-day wait from the day the laboratory received the blood sample before it arrives. A passing result is valid for 36 months from the day the blood reached the laboratory.

      Details and the official words

      Hawaii's checklists (not readable here) give the pass mark and other details of the test: confirm them with the Animal Quarantine Station.

      “To avoid your animal being placed into quarantine, proof of two rabies vaccinations within the required timeframe and a passing FAVN test are required for all dogs and cats entering the State of Hawai‘i.”

      “The OIE-FAVN test result is valid for 36 months from the day the blood was received at the laboratory.”

  2. In the days before you travel

    1. TreatmentEntering Hawaii (US)

      Tick treatment within 14 days before arrival

      Your vet treats your dog or cat with a long-acting oral or topical product labelled to kill ticks (equivalent or better than fipronil) within 14 days before arrival, and the treatment is written on the health certificate. K-9 Advantix is acceptable for dogs only, never for cats; Revolution is not acceptable.

      Details and the official words

      “Dogs and cats must be treated by your veterinarian with a long-acting oral or topical product labeled to kill ticks that is equivalent or better than Fipronil within 14 days prior to arrival and the treatment must be documented on the health certificate.”

    2. PaperworkTaiwan and Hawaii (US)

      Health certificate

      A veterinary health certificate (with the tick treatment on it) goes with your pet. If it can't reach the Animal Quarantine Station with the other documents 10 days before arrival, the original must be handed to the inspector on arrival. Hawaii's pages give no validity period for it: ask the Animal Quarantine Station.

      Details and the official words

      APHIA export animal quarantine certificate (when your destination asks for one): Your destination asks for an official certificate, so apply to APHIA (Taiwan's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency) for export quarantine: fill in the application form and show your passport, your ticket and other relevant documents (the law doesn't list them: ask APHIA). APHIA inspects your pet and, if it meets the requirements, issues the export animal quarantine certificate. Your pet may only leave once it has the certificate.

      The law doesn't say how far ahead to apply or how long the inspection takes. Ask the APHIA branch at your airport.

      “If the health certificate cannot be sent 10 days before arriving with the rest of the documents, the original must be given to the inspector upon arrival in Hawai‘i.”

      “The quarantine objects may be exported only after they are inspected and certified as qualified by import/export animal quarantine authorities, and an export animal quarantine certificate is issued”

      “must complete the application form with the presence of passport, ticket and other relevant documents.”

      “Animal quarantine objects: Veterinary certificates must be issued by the import/ export animal quarantine authority”

    3. PaperworkEntering Hawaii (US)

      Dog and Cat Import Form (AQS-279) and documents, at least 10 days before arrival

      Send one completed Dog and Cat Import Form (AQS-279) per pet, with two rabies vaccination certificates, the health certificate and pre-payment, so the Animal Quarantine Station has them at least 10 days before arrival. This qualifies your pet for the 5 Day Or Less program and for direct release at Honolulu airport ($185; $244 if the documents are late). You can apply online through the Hawaii Pet Owner Portal. Arrivals at Kona, Kahului or Līhu'e need a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit.

      Details and the official words

      “NO LESS THAN 10 DAYS BEFORE PET ARRIVES IN HAWAI‘I TO QUALIFY FOR 5 DAY OR LESS or AIRPORT RELEASE”

      “If you seek direct release of the pet at the airport, you must submit the required original documents so that the office receives the paperwork at least 10 days prior to your pet’s arrival.”

      “the higher fee of $244 is assessed instead of $185.”

Good to know

  • Hawaii is rabies-free, so every dog and cat, whatever its age or purpose, must meet its import rules. A pet that doesn't meet every requirement of the '5 Day Or Less' program is quarantined for up to 120 days on arrival.
  • Non-domestic dogs and cats and hybrids such as wolf crosses, Dingo, Bengal and Savannah are prohibited under Hawaii's Plant Quarantine law.
  • A newborn puppy or kitten will be about 6 months old by the time the preparations are finished; pets that can't meet every requirement are quarantined for 120 days.
  • A pet that arrives before its 30-day waiting period is complete does not qualify for direct airport release and is quarantined (with a daily charge) until the waiting period ends.
  • APHIA issues an export animal quarantine certificate for a pet when your destination's authority asks for Taiwan's certificate, and turns down applications otherwise. Check what your destination asks for before you apply.
  • A passenger taking up to 3 dogs and 3 cats pays no quarantine fee and no quarantine-label fee. APHIA charges NT$100 per application for computer processing unless you enter the application yourself, on the computer at the counter or online.
  • Planning to bring your pet back to Taiwan? Apply for Taiwan's import permit before your pet leaves. If it will stay somewhere that isn't on Taiwan's rabies-free list, have its rabies blood test done before it leaves Taiwan: coming back within one year of that sample, it can skip the post-entry quarantine.

Money

What it costs

Government fees exactly as the official pages state them, and what vets and labs in Taiwan publish for the steps above. The two are never added together.

Government fees on this route

  • Export quarantine fee for a pet travelling with youLeaving TaiwanFree

    Exempt for the number of pets a passenger is allowed to carry (fee regulation, Art. 7).

    “The quarantine fees shall be exempted for the following cases: 1. The articles are used for military purposes and accompanied with proof from military authorities. 2. The articles of imported food are used for military or official purposes and accompanied with proof from food administration authorities. 3. The allowed quantity of quarantine objects or regulated articles carried by passenger or crew serving on vehicles, vessels and aircrafts pursuant to the Regulations for Quarantine of Animal/Plant Regulated Articles Carried by Passengers and Service Personnel on Vehicles”

    Regulations Governing Fees for Animal and Plant Quarantine (English, amended 14 Nov 2025) · as of 2025-11-14

6 more fees may apply, depending on your case

What vets and labs charge Not official figures

No published prices yet for Taiwan: rabies vaccination, parasite treatment, health certificate (vet’s fee).

Prices that businesses publish on their own pages, quoted as we read them; yours can differ. Ranges are the lowest to highest of these examples, never our estimate. How we collect prices

Airline fees aren’t included: check your airline’s pet page.

Round trip

Coming back to Taiwan

Nothing for the trip back has to happen before your pet leaves Taiwan.

The trip back asks for 9 steps: microchip, rabies vaccination (over 90 days old), rabies vaccination 30 days to 1 year before arrival and rabies blood test (at least 0.5 IU/ml) and more.

Every step from Hawaii (US) to Taiwan

Nearby routes

Other routes

Where this comes from

Official sources

Last checked against the official pages: 2026-10-13.

Entering Hawaii (US)Leaving TaiwanReport a mistakeGet rule-change alerts

Questions owners ask

Does my dog or cat need a rabies blood test to go from Taiwan to Hawaii (US)?

Yes: Your pet needs a passing OIE-FAVN rabies antibody test, and a 30-day wait from the day the laboratory received the blood sample before it arrives.

Do I need an import permit to bring my dog or cat into Hawaii (US)?

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 Hawaii (US)?

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.

How early should I start preparing my pet for Taiwan to Hawaii (US)?

With nothing done yet, start at least 9 weeks ahead. The main steps: rabies vaccination #1, rabies vaccination #2 (a booster, more than 30 days before arrival) and rabies antibody blood test (OIE-FAVN) and a 30-day wait and 3 more.

Every rule here is quoted from the official page and checked word for word; not legal advice. How we verify · Report a mistake

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