India asks for no titer test and no quarantine, which sounds like a gift until you meet the import permit. Sam and I started that application two months before we flew and still needed every one of those weeks. Nala has opinions about layovers; she has stronger ones about paperwork that arrives late. The requirement list is short. The calendar is not.

Pet import to India is regulated by Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on an NOC from the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and approval by the Exim Facilitation Committee. The core requirements are summarized below: a microchip, a rabies vaccine within the right window, and a government-endorsed health certificate. Some destinations also require a titer test or short quarantine — those are flagged in the table.

How India handles your pet

Key points

  • India does not let tourists bring a pet, and this is the single most important thing on this page. "Import Policy of Pet (dogs/cats) is "restricted" and is permitted for import, only with an authorisation from DGFT." and "Import of cat/dogs/rabbit for Short duration (as a tourist) is generally not permitted/ allowed." DGFT does examine short stays case by case, but permission is granted in rare cases and normally only where the animal is a therapy or emotional-support dog, with a medical certificate for the owner and an undertaking from a local host
  • The one route with no DGFT authorisation is the Customs baggage rule, and it is a relocation route, not a travel route: "Import is allowed as passenger baggage, without DGFT authorisation, only to persons transferring their residence to India after two years of continuous stay abroad
  • Only cats and dogs can be imported under baggage rules." More than two pets, or less than two years abroad, and you are back to needing the authorisation
  • Start early — two months, not two weeks: "The Pet Owners travelling to India are advised to initiate the import authorisation application process at least 2 months in advance of the travel dates." The application goes to the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying for an NOC and then to an inter-ministerial Exim Facilitation Committee that meets once a month, which is what sets the timeline
  • You do not need to be a business to apply: "You may use your own Importer Exporter Code (IEC), if you already have one
  • Alternatively, you may use the permanent IEC No
  • IIHIE0153E." There is a SECOND permit, and people miss it
  • After the DGFT authorisation you still need an advance NOC from the quarantine officer at your arrival port: "This NOC needs to be obtained from the Regional Officer/ Quarantine Officer seven days before the date of travel (relaxable up to 3 days depending on the specific circumstances)." The airline will not load the pet without it
  • Only six ports accept pets: "Import of pet animals is allowed only through airports and seaports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata." Rabies vaccination sits in a window, not a deadline: "The dog (three months of age and older) and Cat must be vaccinated against Rabies more than one month, but within 12 months prior to actual embarkation and all details shall be officially certified or mentioned in the official Health certificate." So a shot given last week is too recent, and one given fourteen months ago is too old
  • Quarantine is a sanction here, not a routine step
  • A sound, healthy pet is cleared at the port of entry itself
  • Only if it fails the arrival examination does it go into quarantine: "it will be taken to the Quarantine Station and will remain under quarantine for 15 days." Testing during that period is charged to the owner
  • Two paperwork traps
  • The owner's name on the health certificate must match the ticket: "The name of owner in the official health certificate must match with the name as mentioned in the ticket of owner to establish ownership." And under the DGFT route, "New born puppies of less than 7 months are not to be allowed." Budget two government charges on top of your vet bills
  • AQCS charges a flat processing fee for import clearance, and pets are named in it: "The processing charges for import clearance by AQCSs to be fixed at Rs.1,000/- per bill of entry or per application for import of livestock, livestock products, pets etc." (with effect from 01.05.2025)
  • DGFT publishes no fee and no validity period for the import authorisation itself anywhere in its pet FAQ, so ask the Regional Authority when you file ANF-2M
  • If your pet does end up in quarantine, you pay for it
  • The same circular sets accommodation charges during quarantine at "4 | Dog/Cat/Small Carnivores | Single | 800.00" — 800 rupees per day for a dog or cat, so the 15-day stay that follows a failed arrival examination ("In case the dog(s) fails to clear physical examination or exhibits clinical signs of diseases mentioned in format at annexure 1.3, it will be taken to the Quarantine Station and will remain under quarantine for 15 days.") runs to about 12,000 rupees, plus the cost of the testing, which the SOP also puts on the owner

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 Yesverified 2026-09-02
Quarantine · Typenone_if_compliantverified 2026-09-09
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Import permit · Lead time60 daysverified 2026-09-02
Import permit · Issuing authorityDirectorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), on an NOC from the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and approval by the Exim Facilitation Committeeverified 2026-09-02
Import permit · Documents required to obtain
  • Vaccination Book / Pet Passport / Pet Book
  • Passport of the Pet
  • Certificate for Emotional Support (where the import is on that ground)
  • Temporary import only: copy of return ticket or expected date of return
  • Temporary import only: undertaking from a local host/relative/family in India
verified 2026-09-02
Flea treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Heartworm test · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Tick treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · IssuerOfficial Veterinarian / competent authority of the exporting countryverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Endorsed byCompetent authority of the exporting countryverified 2026-09-02
Health certificate · Validity days30 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 vaccination30 daysverified 2026-09-02
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Screwworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02
Internal parasite treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-02

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-02

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -30 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -30 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Ports of entry (6)

  • Delhi
  • Mumbai
  • Chennai
  • Kolkata
  • Bangalore
  • Hyderabad

verified 2026-09-02

The health certificate is valid for 30 days after issuance, and that window has to cover the flight itself, not only the veterinary appointment. A certificate signed early in the permit process can expire before departure. Book the appointment against the confirmed departure date and treat the 30 days as the hard edge it is.
Arrival needs its own notice. The application form, Annexure 1.1, must reach the authorities at least seven days before embarkation, by email or in person, with the supporting documents attached. That deadline counts back from the departure date, and it sits alongside the import permit rather than replacing it. Submit both, separately.
The real cost here is lead time. Owners are advised to begin the import authorisation application at least two months before travel, which makes the permit the earliest item on the list and the one that fixes every other date. Booking flights first and paperwork second inverts that order. Start the authorisation, then choose dates around it.
We landed in Delhi with a folder thicker than Nala's travel bed and nothing to do at the counter but hand it over. That is the whole reward here: a boring arrival. Sam timed our customs window down to the minute and we ended up with hours to spare. Build your plan backwards from the permit rather than forwards from the flight.
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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.