Lebanon just flipped dog quarantine to required, so the spreadsheet needs a new column. Dogs and cats both now face quarantine plus a health certificate, which puts Beirut firmly in the plan-ahead category. The rules reward preparation over speed here: paperwork, timing windows, and endorsement steps all stack up. The good news is they are knowable in advance, and a knowable requirement is a solvable one.

Bringing a pet to Lebanon 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 Lebanon handles your pet

Key points

  • The instrument is Ministry of Agriculture Decision No
  • 1/657 of 8 August 2016, "تنظيم استيراد الحيوانات المنزلية الأليفة" (Regulating the import of domestic pet animals), issued under the Veterinary Quarantine Law, Decree No
  • 12301 of 20 March 1963
  • It is still the ONLY decision on importing domestic pets in the Ministry's own Import/Export Decisions register, and no amending, suspending or wartime instrument has been issued
  • So despite the conflict the legal requirements are unchanged — what the war has disrupted is flight availability into Beirut, not the rules
  • Plan for the route, not for a rule change
  • Quarantine is NOT routine, and this is the single most misunderstood point
  • Under Article 5 it bites only on an animal that arrives without a microchip or without the required vaccinations; such an animal is held at its owner's premises or at a registered approved farm, and is admitted only once it has been chipped and vaccinated, at the owner's expense
  • A compliant pet is not quarantined at all
  • Article 6 separately lets the Directorate of Animal Resources quarantine and blood-test an imported animal where necessary
  • Rabies alone is not enough, and this is the mistake that gets pets turned away at Beirut
  • Article 4 additionally requires vaccination against viral enteritis (parvovirus) and feline panleukopenia, and requires that the animal be treated with anthelmintics
  • The Consulate General of Lebanon states the fuller combination: "For dogs, necessary vaccinations include distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, and leptospirosis." and "Cats should be vaccinated against panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis, and calicivirus." A record showing only a rabies shot does not meet the requirement
  • The rabies shot itself must be given at least one month before arrival in Lebanon
  • Your permit is issued at the border, not before you fly: "Upon arrival, pet owners must secure an import permit from a customs officer." There is no advance application and no consular step — "Pets can be shipped to Lebanon without the need to go through the Consulate." Budget nothing for permit lead time, but do budget for the certificate, which has a hard ten-day window: "The certificate must be completed within 10 days prior to the journey." Under Article 3 a personal consignment accompanying its owner of up to three animals is exempt from the importer-registration regime; above three you must apply to the Directorate of Animal Resources first
  • Clearance happens at a border agricultural and veterinary quarantine centre — for air arrivals, Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport
  • The framework decree is still listed as current on the Ministry's register with no repeal recorded: "This decree shall apply to the veterinary quarantine, which consists in subjecting animals and animal based products exported to Lebanon to the veterinary health control in order to prevent the infiltration of pandemic deceases to Lebanon." Its special handling attaches to where the animal comes FROM, not to every arrival: "It also determines the import procedures for certain types of animals coming from endemic countries"

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 2026-09-03
Quarantine · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Rabies titer test (FAVN) · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Import permit · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Import permit · Lead time0 daysverified 2026-09-03
Import permit · Issuing authorityCustoms officer at the port of entryverified 2026-09-03
Import permit · Documents required to obtain
  • Identification card (passport) signed by a veterinarian and certified by the competent veterinary authorities at the border crossing in the country of origin
  • Veterinary health certificate issued by the official veterinary authorities of the exporting country
  • Certificate of origin showing the source and origin of the animal
verified 2026-09-03
Flea treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Heartworm test · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Tick treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · IssuerOfficial veterinary authorities of the exporting countryverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Endorsed byCompetent veterinary authorities at the border crossing in the country of originverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Validity days10 daysverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Original required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Health certificate · Government endorsed Yesverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Distemper Yesverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Adenovirus Yesverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Bordetella Noverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Leishmania Noverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Parvovirus Yesverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Leptospirosis Yesverified 2026-09-03
Other vaccinations · Canine influenza Noverified 2026-09-03
Rabies vaccination · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03
Rabies vaccination · Waiting period after vaccination30 daysverified 2026-09-03
Tapeworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Screwworm treatment · Required Noverified 2026-09-03
Internal parasite treatment · Required Yesverified 2026-09-03

Other rules

Pets accepted Acceptedverified 2026-09-03

Timing chain

Day -90 microchip implant · Day -30 rabies vaccine deadline · Day -10 health certificate issued · Day 0 arrive at customs

Ports of entry (8)

  • Abboudieh (North Lebanon)
  • Port of Tripoli (North Lebanon)
  • Masnaa (Beqaa)
  • Qaa (Beqaa)
  • Port of Beirut (Beirut)
  • Rafic Hariri International Airport (Beirut)
  • Saida (South Lebanon)
  • Arida (North Lebanon) — temporary

verified 2026-09-03

Lebanon requires a government-endorsed health certificate for dogs. In the United States, USDA-accredited veterinarians can issue it electronically, but the APHIS endorsement must carry an original ink signature rather than a digital one. Order the certificate through VEHCS, then send it to the USDA endorsement office for the wet-ink stamp, and allow several days for that mailed step.
Lebanon expects the receiving authority to be notified at least 3 days before the shipment's arrival date. File that advance notification 3 days ahead, and refile it if flight timing changes, since the notice is tied to the actual arrival. Send it to the Directorate of Animal Resources and keep the dated confirmation to present on landing.

The quarantine value for Lebanon changed from 'None' to 'True'. Verify against the latest official source.

Lebanon subjects imported animals to veterinary quarantine of at least 21 days in the country of origin before departure. Book the 21-day pre-export quarantine into the calendar and budget daily boarding across it, plus the origin vet's supervision fees. Because the 21 days run before the flight, count them backward from the departure date, not from arrival.
Lebanon rewards the spreadsheet type: endorsed health certificates, a 21-day origin quarantine, and advance notice for both dogs and cats. Luna disapproves of taxiing, but she would approve of how orderly this becomes once it is mapped. Feed your real dates into a Pawgo plan and it lays every deadline and the 21-day window side by side, so nothing collides and nothing expires before you fly.
Get YOUR personalized plan for Lebanon →

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.

What changed recently

The rule for a requirement changed from 'None' to 'True'. Plan accordingly.