Match designated origins, rabies reports, fourteen-day examination, chip, declaration and quarantine-port conditions.
Passenger-carried pets: official entry documents
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Bring the valid original veterinary/quarantine certificate issued by the actual exporting country/region’s official animal-quarantine authority, the original rabies vaccination certificate and a readable chip. Non-designated origins additionally need the accepted rabies-antibody report for their ordinary quarantine-exemption branch. These passenger-carried rules do not establish independent cargo permission.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Passenger route: one dog or cat per person per entry
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The carried-pet procedure is limited to dogs and cats, one animal per person on each entry. It does not mean one dog plus one cat, and an air cargo waybill does not by itself qualify an animal as a passenger-carried pet. Check a different import procedure before arranging multiple animals, trade or independent cargo.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The general passenger-pet rule is thirty days in a Customs-designated quarantine facility, including detention time, with defined exemptions after passing on-site inspection. Designated-origin pets use the chip/documents branch; other origins need the accepted rabies report for the ordinary exemption. A report alone never guarantees release. If quarantine is needed, enter through an equipped port with actual arrangements; missing basic certificates is not automatically curable by accepting quarantine.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Designated origin: exemption after compliant inspection
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
This selection maps to China Customs’ designated-origin list. With valid exporting-authority quarantine and rabies certificates, readable compliant chip and a passed on-site inspection, the designated-origin branch can be exempt from routine thirty-day quarantine without the non-designated-origin antibody-report condition. It is not a vaccination or health-certificate exemption. USA mainland, France mainland and Crown Dependencies do not inherit Hawaii/Guam, French Polynesia or United Kingdom classifications.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Non-designated origin: accepted antibody report for exemption
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
This origin is outside the designated list. In addition to valid original quarantine/rabies certificates and a readable compliant chip, the ordinary exemption requires a rabies-antibody report from a China-Customs-accepted laboratory showing at least 0.5 IU/mL, within the applicable validity, and a passed on-site inspection. A laboratory approved by the EU, Japan or another country is not automatically accepted by China; check the actual current list before sampling.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Use an ISO 11784/11785 chip with a fifteen-digit numeric code that can actually be read. For a different chip standard, bring a compatible reader. Record the number, implantation date and location in the official certificate and check every character against the animal. Missing/unreadable/non-matching chip information can trigger quarantine rather than the ordinary exemption; a paper chip record alone is insufficient.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Official examination within fourteen days before arrival
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Arrange the exporting country/region’s official animal-health clinical examination in the fourteen days before arrival in mainland China. The certificate records the date and findings, including no relevant listed infectious or parasitic disease. This is an arrival-based examination window, not automatically fourteen days from certificate issue or before departure; a delayed flight can move the arrival outside the window.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The unaltered official quarantine certificate includes species/breed, scientific name, sex, colour, date of birth or age; chip number, implantation date/location; and clinical examination date/result. Carry the original rabies vaccination certificate as well. Altered content can invalidate the official certificate. Keep originals with the traveller rather than relying only on a phone photo or a general pet passport.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The unaltered official certificate identifies the animal and its age/birth date, chip number/implantation date/location, rabies vaccination date and validity, vaccine type/name/manufacturer, antibody sample date/laboratory/result, and clinical examination date/result. Carry the original rabies certificate and accepted antibody report. The antibody page does not replace the official exporting-authority certificate.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Non-designated origin: sample no earlier than second dose
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The accepted rabies-antibody sample is collected on the same day as or after the second rabies vaccination, with at least 0.5 IU/mL. Keep the vaccination history that proves the sequence. Do not import Japan’s thirty-day dose interval, the EU’s post-vaccination thirty days or a three-month waiting period into this Chinese sampling clause; any additional exporting-country/carrier conditions are checked separately.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Arrive while both vaccination and antibody test are valid
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Plan the ordinary non-designated-origin path using the published one-year antibody window from sample collection and a rabies vaccination valid on arrival. Vaccine duration and test duration are separate: a three-year vaccine does not by itself make the report valid for three years. Review all dates before travel, especially after postponement. The continuously boosted older-report wording is addressed separately and is not an automatic indefinite extension here.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Older antibody report with continuous boosters: confirm
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Rules depend on the route, animal and operating carrier. Confirm your own journey with the relevant authority and airline.
Applicable conditions
Official service pages state both a one-year window from blood sampling and a note that results remain valid with vaccination renewed within validity. A March 2025 Customs answer reiterates arrival within the vaccine and test validity windows without resolving the older-than-one-year case. Before relying on an older report, ask the actual entry Customs office how it applies the note to the full vaccination history. This site does not infer an indefinite waiver or automatically reject a confirmed exception.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The official quarantine certificate records the rabies vaccine’s type, product and manufacturer; the non-designated-origin guidance specifies an inactivated or recombinant vaccine, not a live-virus rabies vaccine. Keep a current original vaccination certificate and earlier dose records needed for the antibody sequence. Do not turn an unspecified age or dose interval in these pages into a new numerical requirement.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Declare the pet and complete the passenger registration
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Use Customs’ red/declaration channel or the indicated passenger fingertip service and present the pet for inspection and chip reading. Complete the carried-pet registration form for the correct designated/non-designated category and produce the originals. An airline pet reservation or a submitted electronic declaration is not Customs release.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
If quarantine is needed, confirm an equipped entry port
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
The official service guides list ten equipped ports: Beijing Capital Airport/West Railway Station; Shanghai Hongqiao/Pudong Airports, Railway Station, International Passenger Centre and Wusongkou Cruise Terminal; Urumqi airport, Alashankou and Guangzhou Baiyun Airport. This is a mix of air, rail and sea ports, not ten airports. Confirm current acceptance, appointment and transfer arrangements with the actual port before booking; exemption eligibility does not guarantee a carrier or terminal service.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Dog / Cat · In the cabin / Accompanied hold baggage
Where the thirty-day quarantine branch applies, the pet normally cannot be taken out of the designated facility. If health problems arise, Customs notifies the traveller; on application, an animal clinic may be permitted into a specified area or supervised treatment arranged at a suitable institution. Do not substitute home quarantine or private collection for the facility’s release procedure.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
Independent cargo: confirm a separate import procedure
Dog / Cat · Separate cargo service
Rules depend on the route, animal and operating carrier. Confirm your own journey with the relevant authority and airline.
Applicable conditions
The passenger-carried pet documents and one-animal limit here do not establish a complete independent-cargo or trade import pathway. Ask the entry Customs office and carrier which procedure, permission, certificate, declaration and quarantine arrangements apply to the actual consignment. Cargo selection therefore does not inherit the accompanied-pet health checklist; no permission or exemption is inferred from that missing scope.
Personal dogs/cats carried by a passenger into mainland China, one animal per person per entry; cabin/checked scope is subject to airline acceptance. Designated/non-designated origin is based on the actual exporting country and documents, not merely a transit airport. Independent cargo, trade, young animals, assistance-dog exceptions and local dog registration require separate assessment. Current laboratory acceptance and port operations must be confirmed.
