TabiPet Get the app
Quarantine guide · Hawaii → Japan · Dogs & cats

Taking your pet from Hawaii to Japan

Hawaii is a region designated by Japan’s MAFF. If the residency condition is met, rabies vaccination, the titer test and the 180-day wait are waived — but the exemption is conditional, not automatic. If the condition is not met you follow the same roughly seven-month standard process as a departure from Korea, so start by checking where you stand.

Official rules last verified: 2026-09-16

The essentials

Step by step

Start by checking the exemption condition. If it holds, you can skip the vaccination, titer test and waiting period; if it does not, those apply too. The microchip, advance notification, export certificate and arrival airport restriction stay the same either way.

  1. Check the exemption condition

    First

    MAFF waives vaccination, the titer test and the waiting period if any one of these applies: the pet has been continuously resident in a designated region since birth; it has been continuously resident there for at least 180 days immediately before export to Japan; or it has been resident there since being directly imported from Japan. The standard is “a designated region” as a whole — Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and Guam — not Hawaii alone, so time spent in another designated region does not break continuity. If none of the three applies, the exemption does not hold.

    Meeting the residency condition changes the timeline completely. Answer it in the app to see which case applies. Check in the app →

  2. Microchip

    Required either way

    Implant an ISO 11784/11785 microchip. Identification is still required even when the exemption applies. If the exemption does not hold and vaccination becomes necessary, the chip must come first — a dose given before the chip is not recognized.

  3. If the condition is not met — two doses, titer test and 180-day wait

    Only when the exemption does not hold

    You follow the same standard process as a departure from a non-designated region. First dose at 91 days of age or older, second dose at least 30 days later and before the first dose expires, then a blood draw with a result of 0.5 IU/mL or higher, and your pet can enter Japan only once 180 days have passed since the draw. Only tests run at a laboratory designated by Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are accepted; in the United States that is the Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory (US Army Public Health Command’s diagnostic laboratory is also accepted for military personnel). The result is valid for two years from the draw, and arriving before the wait is complete means detention at the Animal Quarantine Service for the remaining days.

    Without the exemption the shots and the wait come back. The app works out your earliest departure then. Check in the app →

  4. Advance notification (NACCS)

    At least 40 days before arrival

    This is required whether or not the exemption applies. Submit the advance notification to the Animal Quarantine Service, online via NACCS or by email or fax to the office at your arrival airport, and receive the approval notice first. Departing from a designated region does not mean a different channel or a different notification form.

  5. Health certificate + export certificate (Form AB)

    Within 10 days before departure

    Pet dogs and cats of U.S. origin leaving from Hawaii or Guam use Form AB, a dedicated format that combines the health certification and the owner’s declaration. A USDA-accredited veterinarian completes it and USDA APHIS endorses it. It is a different form from the Form AC used for departures from the U.S. mainland, so confirm before it is issued.

  6. Departure and arrival in Japan

    Departure day

    You must arrive at one of the 11 airports designated by MAFF (Narita, Haneda, Kansai, New Chitose and others). Arriving elsewhere can mean entry is refused, so check before booking. On arrival day, hand over the approval notice together with the endorsed Form AB; the quarantine officer confirms the residency condition on the spot. If it is not accepted, your pet may be detained for the missing period.

Documents to carry on arrival day

Frequently asked questions

Can I fly from Hawaii to Japan with a stop on the US mainland?

Travel from a designated region to Japan is meant to be a direct flight. If you transit a non-designated region such as the US mainland, the exporting country’s government agency must seal the transport cage and record the seal number on the quarantine certificate, or you must obtain an additional certificate on transportation (ANNEX). You can get the ANNEX from the quarantine agency or customs at the transit port, the airline, or the captain. With neither, the pet faces 180 days of quarantine on arrival, so check this before booking.

We have lived in Hawaii for more than 180 days but travelled to Korea in between. Are we exempt?

Any time spent outside the designated regions (Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, Guam) breaks continuous residence. Time spent only in another designated region does not. If continuity is broken you either build up 180 days again or follow the standard process: two doses, the titer test and the 180-day wait.

If we are exempt, can we just fly with no preparation?

No. What is waived is rabies vaccination, the titer test and the 180-day wait. The microchip, the advance notification at least 40 days before arrival, and the Form AB export certificate are all still required.

Our pet is already vaccinated. Does that change the exemption?

The condition is about residence history, so vaccination does not change how it is assessed. But if the condition is not met and you fall back to the standard process, only doses given after the microchip count — check the order of the chip and vaccination dates in advance.

What is the difference between Form AB and Form AC?

Form AB is the form for pet dogs and cats of U.S. origin leaving from Hawaii or Guam; departures from the U.S. mainland use Form AC. Both are completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA APHIS. In either case the advance notification goes through NACCS, or by email or fax to the responsible quarantine office.

Do we need echinococcus deworming as well?

Not for departures from Hawaii. Japan’s deworming request applies to departures from non-designated regions such as Korea or the U.S. mainland, and even there it is a recommendation rather than a requirement.

Is it the same for cats?

Yes. MAFF’s rules cover dogs and cats alike — the residency condition, advance notification, export certificate and the arrival airport restriction are all identical.

Sources and verification dates

This guide is reference information compiled from publicly available official rules. The designated-region exemption in particular is conditional and turns on residence history, so decisions in individual cases rest with the Animal Quarantine Service, USDA APHIS and your airline, and actual procedures may differ as rules change or depending on conditions on the day. Please confirm directly with the authorities and your airline before you travel.

If you need help checking the condition and planning dates

The TabiPet app asks about residence first, then lays out only the preparation that actually applies once it knows whether the exemption holds. Your first diagnosis is free.

  • Exemption check based on residence history
  • Document deadlines and D‑Day alerts
  • Airline boarding conditions by weight and breed
Download on the App Store Android version coming soon