Here's what I wish someone had told me about Brazil: the International Veterinary Certificate is valid for 60 days from issuance, so timing is everything. Cooper has done long-haul relocations three times, and the calmest ones started with a countdown built around that 60-day window. Book the vet, set the reminders, and Brazil becomes a series of small, manageable steps.

Bringing a pet to Brazil requires three documents in the right order: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the destination's wait window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. The table below lays out exactly what's required, what's not, and where each rule comes from.

How Brazil handles your pet

Key points

  • Who signs the certificate matters more than what it is called. "Veterinary Certificates/Pet Passaports signed only by a private veterinarian are not accepted." A pet passport only works if your country and Brazil recognise each other's: "Official Pet Passports are accepted only from countries that reciprocally accept the Brazilian Pet Passport
  • At this moment , the European Pet Passport is not valid to enter Brazil." So travellers from the EU need the International Veterinary Certificate, not their EU pet passport
  • If you are coming from a country the WOAH recognises as rabies-free, the vaccination requirement drops away: "If the country is considered rabies free by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), there is no need to present a proof of rabies vaccination
  • This information should be specified on the International Veterinary Certificate/Pet Passport." That exemption has to be written onto the certificate — it is not assumed at the border
  • Puppies and kittens: "Animals younger than three months old can only enter Brazil without the rabies vaccination when: o The Veterinary Authority certifies that the animal was less than ninety (90) days old at the time of the issuance of the International Veterinary Certificate and have not been in any property where there has been reported cases of urban rabies in the last ninety (90) days, based on the owner’s statement or by official epidemiological information." A second, separate deadline that is easy to miss — the clinical examination runs on a TEN-day clock while the parasite treatment runs on a FIFTEEN-day one, both counted back from the date the certificate is issued: "The animal must be examined within ten (10) days prior to the date of issue of the International Veterinary Certificate/Pet Passport showing no clinical signs of infectious or parasitic diseases and is fit for transport." One health condition is called out by name: "Brazil might not accept animals previously diagnosed with leishmaniosis." Finally, this route is for dogs and cats only — "An Import Permit is not necessary for dogs and cats (any other pets must have an Import Permit issued by the Ministry of Agricul ture, Livestock and Food Supply)", so a rabbit, ferret, bird or turtle is a different and slower process
  • Where you land: Brazil publishes no closed list of pet entry points
  • What matters is that your point of arrival has an on-site VIGIAGRO unit — "Unidades do Sistema de Vigilân cia Agropecuária Internacional (VIGIAGRO ) nos aeroportos, portos, postos de fronteira e aduanas especiais ou nas Superintendências Federais de Agriculturas nos Estados." There is no form to file before you travel; the check is documentary and happens on arrival
  • Travelling with several pets: there is no published hard cap, but VIGIAGRO assesses intent at the border, and an unusually large group (roughly more than five) can be reclassified as a commercial import — which moves you to SISCOMEX licensing and a far slower process
  • Pawgo operator-verified, 2026-09-02; MAPA publishes no number

Downloadable forms

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

Health & documents

Microchip · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Microchip · StandardISO 11784 and/or ISO 11785verified 2026-09-02
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Import permit · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Flea treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Flea treatment · Timing notesSame 15-day window as the internal-parasite treatment: one broad-spectrum treatment covers internal and external parasites.verified 2026-09-02
Heartworm test · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Tick treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Tick treatment · Drug acceptedBroad-spectrum products approved by the veterinary authority (or competent authority) of the exporting country, used per the manufacturer's recommendations.verified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Issueran Official Veterinarianverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Endorsed byofficial veterinarianverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Validity days60 daysverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-09-02
Other vaccinations · Distemper Noverified 2026-09-02
Other vaccinations · Adenovirus Noverified 2026-09-02
Other vaccinations · Parvovirus Noverified 2026-09-02
Other vaccinations · Leptospirosis Noverified 2026-09-02
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Rabies vaccination · Booster required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination21 daysverified 2026-09-02
Rabies vaccination · Min age at vaccination13 weeksverified 2026-09-02
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Screwworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Internal parasite treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Internal parasite treatment · Timing notesWithin 15 days before the International Veterinary Certificate is issued, with products authorised by the Veterinary Authority; the active ingredients must be identified.verified 2026-09-02
Internal parasite treatment · Drug acceptedBroad-spectrum products approved by the veterinary authority (or competent authority) of the exporting country, used per the manufacturer's recommendations.verified 2026-09-02

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-02

Timing chain

Day -21 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -60 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

The International Veterinary Certificate, or pet passport, is valid for 60 days from the date of issuance, provided the rabies vaccination stays valid. Schedule the certificate so it is issued within 60 days of arrival in Brazil. Confirm the rabies vaccination will not lapse during that window, because an expired vaccine voids the certificate.
Pets arriving from qualifying rabies-controlled origins skip the 30 days of quarantine and clear customs directly on arrival. Confirm the origin country's status before travel, since that single detail decides between direct clearance and a hold. Carry documentation of the departure country to prove eligibility for direct release at the Brazilian port.
Because the certificate is valid for 60 days, an early issuance can expire before departure and force a second paid vet visit. Book the health certificate once, inside the 60-day window, and confirm the rabies vaccine covers the same period. One correctly timed appointment prevents duplicate certificate fees before the Brazil trip.
Brazil looks like a mountain of forms until you anchor everything to that 60-day certificate window; then it becomes a countdown you can actually follow. Put your arrival date into a Pawgo plan and let the personalized plan hold the vaccine timing, certificate window, and port rules together, so the paperwork is done long before boarding.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Brazil →

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.