Flying a cat from the European Union to Hawaii
Scope and research limits · exclusions apply
The State of Hawaii, which sets its own rules for every dog and cat that arrives. This page leaves out one way in for Ireland: “Pets that have lived for 6 months in an exempt area”. Hawaii names the British Isles as an exempt area but no Hawaii source says which places that covers.
This guide covers the journey and pathways stated here. Residence, travel history and connections may change which requirements apply. Confirm these before using the countdown.
Conditional: yes, with 6 hard deadlines
A cat must be taken by the airline straight from the plane to the airport quarantine holding facility to enter Hawaii from the European Union.
To meet the entry rules
- a second rabies vaccination more than 30 days after the earlier rabies vaccination
- the most recent rabies vaccination more than 30 days before arrival
- a microchip on or before the blood sample
- blood sample within 36 months before arrival
- a passing FAVN blood test received by the lab at least 30 days before arrival
- documents received by the Animal Quarantine Station more than 10 days before arrival
- an original health certificate within 14 days before arrival
- a tick treatment by a vet within 14 days before arrival
- original certificates for both rabies vaccinations
- a FAVN test at an approved lab
- a healthy appearance on arrival
If a requirement is missed: Quarantine for up to 120 days on arrival, or the pet is sent out of the state at the owner's expense.
Full answer
A cat must be taken by the airline straight from the plane to the airport quarantine holding facility to enter Hawaii from the European Union. Without quarantine, it needs a second rabies vaccination more than 30 days after the earlier rabies vaccination, the most recent rabies vaccination more than 30 days before arrival, blood sample within 36 months before arrival, a passing FAVN blood test received by the lab at least 30 days before arrival and an original health certificate within 14 days before arrival. Also in the planner below: documents received, microchip and tick treatment. Also in the sources below: 3 more requirements. If any is missed: quarantine for up to 120 days. Last verified 24 September 2026.
- Rules allow in cabin
- Airline decidesHawaii does not regulate where in the aircraft a pet flies; that is each airline's policy. The airline must bring every arriving animal straight from the plane to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility.
- Quarantine
- Nonedirect release at Honolulu airport after inspection
- Rabies titer
- Required
- Lead time
- 63 daysHawaii advises 4 months: FAVN test results may be delayed by 1 to 2 months.
Your deadlines, counted back from arrival
6 of these steps are hard deadlines. Each step says how long before arrival it falls. Pick an arrival date and your browser works out the calendar dates; it fetches nothing.
Lead time: 63 days
Pick an arrival date to see the calendar date of each step.
Earlier rabies vaccination
Rabies vaccination
The pet has had two rabies vaccinations given more than 30 days apart. Timing: more than 30 days after the earlier rabies vaccination.
Fails if: Done 30 days or less after the earlier rabies vaccination.
The most recent rabies vaccination was given more than 30 days before arrival and has not expired when the pet arrives. Timing: more than 30 days before arrival.
Fails if: Done 30 days or less before arrival.
Microchip
A microchip is implanted before, or when, the blood is taken for the FAVN test. Timing: on or before the blood sample.
Fails if: Done after the blood sample.
Blood sample
The calendar moves this: the earliest day is 1095 to 1096 days before arrival, depending on the arrival date.
Advised: Have the blood drawn on a later day than the rabies vaccination. Drawn at the same visit, the test may fail. Timing: after the rabies vaccination, not on the same day.
The FAVN result is valid for up to 36 months. We count the 36 months from the day the blood was drawn, the earliest of the dates Hawaii uses. Timing: within 36 months before arrival.
For this plan: Hawaii counts the 36 months from the day the lab received the blood in one place and from the date the pretest was sent to the lab in another. We count from the day the blood is drawn, which is never later than either.
Fails if: Done more than 36 months before arrival.
Lab receives the sample
The calendar moves this: the earliest day is 1095 to 1096 days before arrival, depending on the arrival date.
The day after the lab receives the blood sample is at least 30 days before arrival. Timing: at least 30 days before arrival.
For this plan: Hawaii counts the 30 days from the day after the lab receives the sample, so the lab must have it 31 days before arrival.
Fails if: Done less than 30 days before arrival.
Documents received
All documents, including a Dog and Cat Import Form (AQS-279) for each pet, reach the Animal Quarantine Station as a set more than 10 days before arrival in Honolulu. Only the original health certificate may instead be handed to the inspector on arrival. Timing: more than 10 days before arrival.
Fails if: Done 10 days or less before arrival.
Vet signs the health certificate
An original health certificate in English, done within 14 days of arrival in Hawaii. Timing: within 14 days before arrival.
For this plan: Hawaii does not say whether the exam day counts. We count it as day 1, the stricter reading.
Fails if: Done more than 14 days before arrival.
Tick treatment
A vet treats the pet with a long-acting tick product (not Revolution) within 14 days of arrival and records it on the health certificate. Timing: within 14 days before arrival.
For this plan: Hawaii does not say whether the treatment day counts. We count it as day 1, the stricter reading.
Fails if: Done more than 14 days before arrival.
Arrival day
Note: Book a flight that lands in Honolulu by 3:30 p.m. The airline can take up to one hour to bring the pet to the Airport Animal Quarantine Holding Facility, and a pet that is not there by 4:30 p.m. is not released at the airport that day. The planner does not check the time of day.
Requirements without a countdown
These conditions still apply. Choosing an arrival date does not check them.
The planner does not check how long the vaccine itself lasts. The most recent vaccination is valid for 12 months with a 1-year licensed vaccine and 36 months with a 3-year licensed vaccine, and the FAVN result counts only while that vaccination is still valid. Ask your vet which licence your pet's vaccine has.
Original certificates for both rabies vaccinations, signed in ink by a licensed vet, each listing the vaccine name, lot or serial number, booster interval, vaccination date and vaccine lot expiration date.
Fails if: A certificate is a copy, is not signed in ink, or leaves out the lot or serial number, booster interval or lot expiration date.
The FAVN blood test is done at an approved lab (Auburn University, Kansas State University, the University of Missouri or the DOD Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory in Texas), and the result is 0.5 IU/ml or more.
Fails if: The test was run at a lab not on the list, or the result is below 0.5 IU/ml.
A pet that goes into quarantine and arrives on a Thursday or Friday may not be moved to a satellite quarantine station or approved hospital on a neighbor island until the following Monday, because inter-island service is limited at the weekend.
This page plans an arrival in Honolulu. Flying directly into Kona, Kahului or Lihue also needs a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit, and its documents must reach the Animal Quarantine Station 30 days or more before arrival.
A pet on an international flight must clear U.S. Customs before it is released. Check with the airline that Customs will be open to process the pet.
The cat must appear healthy on arrival and may be inspected at the port of entry.
Fails if: Signs of a disease that can pass to people.
A cat needs no proof of rabies vaccination to enter the United States, but CDC recommends it, and the US destination may ask for more.
CDC does not require a general health certificate, but some states and airlines do.
Destination entry documents do not establish compliance with the departure country's rules. Confirm national departure documents with that member state's veterinary authority before booking. This shared EU planner has not researched every national export procedure.
Leaving Spain for a country outside the EU, the owner meets that country's requirements. Spain's agriculture ministry issues the certificates needed through its Agriculture Areas (Áreas de Agricultura). Applies only from Spain, Ceuta, Melilla or Canary Islands.
This plan assumes one air journey, with every step done before you leave. Unless you give a departure date, it assumes you leave the day before arrival or on arrival day. Times are local to Hawaii (Pacific/Honolulu).
Which airlines carry cats on this route
No airline in our sources carries this route yet.
No rule changes recorded since
We have recorded no change to the rules on this page since , when our log began. See every recorded change.
Where every rule above came from
- eCFR (Office of the Federal Register / GPO)ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-09-22/title-42.xmlA cat may arrive through any US airport; The cat must appear healthy on arrival and may be inspected at the port of entry; An animal refused entry after a flight is returned by the airline to the country it…; The dog is denied admission and returned to the country it left; The airline must refuse to board a dog whose importer has not shown the CDC Dog Import…
- Official Journal of the European Union (Publications Office CELLAR; EUR-Lex ELI http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2026/131/oj)publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/12bce2c0-297f-11f1-8803-01aa75ed71a1.0006.03/DOC_1No EU-wide exit procedure is published; each destination's own rules apply
- USDA APHISaphis.usda.gov/pet-travel/another-country-to-us-import/catsA cat needs no proof of rabies vaccination to enter the United States, but CDC…
- CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)cdc.gov/importation/bringing-an-animal-into-the-us/index.htmlThe cat must appear healthy on arrival and may be inspected at the port of entry: what fails; The cat must appear healthy on arrival and may be inspected at the port of entry; A cat needs no proof of rabies vaccination to enter the United States, but CDC…; CDC does not require a general health certificate, but some states and airlines do
- European Commission (DG SANTE, Food Safety)food.ec.europa.eu/animals/live-animal-movements/dogs-cats-and-ferrets/listing-territories-and-non-eu-countries_enNo EU-wide exit procedure is published; each destination's own rules apply
- European Commission (DG SANTE, food.ec.europa.eu)food.ec.europa.eu/animals/live-animal-movements/dogs-cats-and-ferrets/eu-countries-specific-information_enDestination entry documents do not establish compliance with the departure country's rules; Leaving Spain for a country outside the EU, the owner meets that country's requirements
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture (Rabies Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/files/2019/08/AQS-39_8.21.2019.pdfMicrochip; Rabies vaccination; Blood sample
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture (Animal Quarantine Station)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/files/2023/06/Checklist-1-06.13.2023.pdfRabies vaccination; Original certificates for both rabies vaccinations, signed in ink by a licensed vet…; The FAVN blood test is done at an approved lab (Auburn University, Kansas State…; Documents received; and 6 more
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture (Animal Quarantine Station)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/files/2024/01/Checklist-2_01.17.2024.pdfRabies vaccination; The FAVN blood test is done at an approved lab (Auburn University, Kansas State…; Lab receives the sample; Blood sample; This page plans an arrival in Honolulu
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (Animal Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/faq-for-animal-quarantineHawaii does not regulate where in the aircraft a pet flies; that is each airline's policy; Rabies vaccination; Direct release at Honolulu airport costs $185 per pet, paid by cashier's check or money…
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (Animal Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/faq-for-five-day-or-less-programHawaii does not regulate where in the aircraft a pet flies; that is each airline's policy; Blood sample
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (Animal Industry Division, Animal Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqsPets that have lived for 6 months in an exempt area
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (Animal Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/aqs-infoDirect airport release (5 Day Or Less program); A dog or cat that meets every pre- and post-arrival requirement is released directly at…; Rabies vaccination; Documents received; and 7 more
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (Animal Quarantine Branch)dab.hawaii.gov/ai/aqs/animal-quarantine-microchip-searchRabies vaccination; Blood sample
- Hawaii Department of Agriculture (news release NR18-12, on dab.hawaii.gov)dab.hawaii.gov/blog/main/nr18-12-newaqsrules8-22-18Rabies vaccination; Lab receives the sample
- Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación (Spain)mapa.gob.es/es/ganaderia/temas/comercio-exterior-ganadero/desplazamiento-animales-compania/default.aspxLeaving Spain for a country outside the EU, the owner meets that country's requirements
- European Union (Your Europe portal, European Commission)europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/carry/pets-and-other-animals/index_en.htmNo EU-wide exit procedure is published; each destination's own rules apply
Rules change without notice. Confirm each item against the linked official page before you book: we date every check, but the official page is the authority.
Related pages
See everything that applies in Hawaii, or what changed across the site.