Alaska broke an assumption I had written into my own spreadsheet: it sets its own pet-import rules, and the national United States ones do not apply here. That is the reverse of what people expect from a state, and it is the single most useful thing to know before booking anything. Luna's file has a separate tab for Alaska for exactly that reason.

Pet import to Alaska is overseen by OSV. Please select the animals you plan to import below for more information. If import requirements are not met. Confirmed against an official source so far: a rabies vaccination, a health certificate and an import permit. Anything else — commonly a microchip, rabies vaccination and health certificate — is not yet confirmed for Alaska against an official source, so it's flagged in the table below rather than assumed.

Who sets the rules here

Alaska applies the rules of the United States as its baseline, and adds requirements of its own on top.

Official source
dec.alaska.gov
Relationship to the United States
inherits, plus local rules

How Alaska handles your pet

If the pet's initial rabies vaccination was given within 30 days before import, the animal must be confined for the balance of those 30 days after arriving in Alaska. This is confinement on arrival, not a waiting period before you travel: Alaska does not stop you flying, it restricts the animal once it is there.

Each fact comes straight from the operator’s published policy. Tap the to read the exact wording; the opens the source page.

Health & documents

Import permit · Required Noverified 2026-10-22
Health certificate · Issuerlicensed and accredited veterinarianverified 2026-10-22
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-10-22
Health certificate · Validity days30 daysverified 2026-10-22
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-10-22

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-10-22

Timing chain

Day -30 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

A Certificate of Veterinary Inspection is valid for 30 days. That is the outer edge of the window rather than a target, and the certificate must still be valid on the date of arrival, not the date of departure. Count 30 days forward from issue and confirm the arrival date falls inside it, including any overnight or rerouted leg.
The 30-day validity decides how early the veterinary visit can usefully happen. Book it too early and the certificate lapses before arrival, so the examination is repeated and paid for twice. Schedule the inspection inside the final 30 days before travel, and keep the appointment flexible enough to survive a flight change without falling outside the window.
Alaska is straightforward once you stop treating it as part of the national system. Its own rules, its own permit, a 30-day certificate window. Put the permit first in your plan and the veterinary visit last, and verify the current requirements with the state directly before you travel, because somewhere that sets its own rules can change them without the national ones moving.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Alaska →

Glossary

ISO chip
ISO 11784/11785 — the universal microchip standard.
FAVN
Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization — a rabies serology test required by rabies-free destinations.
Brachycephalic
Snub-nosed breeds (French Bulldogs, Pugs, Persians, Himalayans) with restricted airline acceptance due to heat-stress risk.
AVIH
Animal Vehicle In Hold — IATA's term for cargo pet shipment, with fees that vary by carrier and route.