Bolivia rewards travelers with altitude, salt flats, and a big-sky landscape — brachy breeds do fine at La Paz once acclimatized. The catch is the paperwork, which is more particular than most Andean neighbors. There is a consulate step that easily slips through the cracks and a small quarantine risk if the arrival looks off. Study the country's requirements twice before booking the vet.

Pet import to Bolivia is overseen by SENASAG. Confirmed against an official source so far: a health certificate and an import permit. Anything else — commonly a microchip, rabies vaccination and health certificate — is not yet confirmed for Bolivia against an official source, so it's flagged in the table below rather than assumed.

How Bolivia handles your pet

Key points

  • Bolivia accepts EU pet passports as a substitute for the origin country health certificate (REGENSA art
  • 4.1.1.j)
  • For competition animals, a maximum of 3 pets per single health certificate is allowed

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

Health & documents

Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-10-18
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Noverified 2026-10-18
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-10-18
Import permit · Lead time2 daysverified 2026-10-18
Import permit · Issuing authoritySENASAGverified 2026-10-18
Import permit · Permit validity60 daysverified 2026-10-18
Import permit · Documents required to obtainSolicitud de permiso de importación (Form SENASAG-IMP-FOR-001); carta de solicitud de importación dirigida al jefe departamental del SENASAG; factura comercial o proformaverified 2026-10-18
Health certificate · IssuerAutoridad Oficial de Sanidad Animal del país exportadorverified 2026-10-18
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-10-18
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-10-18
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-10-18
Other vaccinations · Distemper Yesverified 2026-10-18
Other vaccinations · Adenovirus Yesverified 2026-10-18
Other vaccinations · Parvovirus Yesverified 2026-10-18
Other vaccinations · Leptospirosis Yesverified 2026-10-18
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-10-18
Rabies vaccination · Min age at vaccination12 weeksverified 2026-10-18
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-10-18
Internal parasite treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-10-18
Internal parasite treatment · Timing notesWithin 30 days before departure (en los 30 días previos a la fecha de embarque)verified 2026-10-18
Internal parasite treatment · Drug acceptedAny product authorized by the official veterinary authority of the origin country (productos autorizados por el país de origen)verified 2026-10-18

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-10-18
For Bolivia, the health certificate must first be endorsed by APHIS Veterinary Services and then legalized at a Bolivian Consulate for a fee — a two-step chain that many travelers discover only at check-in. Send the vet-signed certificate to APHIS on the day of the vet visit, and book the consulate legalization appointment right away. Both steps have to be finished before boarding.
When a Bolivian border official notes any clinical health symptom on the arriving animal, the pet enters a quarantine facility for up to 30 calendar days. Present a clean, recent health check to the officer at arrival, and keep water and food records from the flight visible in the carrier. Any documented sign that the pet is healthy at landing shortens or removes the hold.
A Bolivian quarantine hold that runs up to 30 calendar days is not just a fee: it is a month of daily boarding, feeding, and separation from the traveler. Budget for the flight change on the return leg too, since the pet cannot fly out until the hold ends. Any delay in the endorsement or consulate legalization chain increases the odds of that 30-day cost being realized.
Bolivia is worth the extra paperwork step. Mochi and I still talk about the altitude and the color of the salt flats. Get the certificate endorsed by APHIS on time and legalized at the consulate on time, and the actual travel day is calm. Build your plan on Pawgo with your flight date and vet appointment, and every dependency between the two lands on one page.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Bolivia →

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.