What are the steps to export a dog or cat from Singapore?
Exporting a dog or cat from Singapore takes five AVS steps, and the first, checking the destination's import rules, decides how long the rest take. AVS handles only the Singapore side; the destination country sets the vaccination, blood-test and waiting-period rules that drive your timeline.
| Step | What you do | Fee (S$, 2026) | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Destination rules | Read the destination government's import page for dogs and cats | None | Months ahead for strict countries |
| 2. Export licence | Apply on the GoBusiness Licensing Portal | 50 normal; 100 express | Within 90 days of departure |
| 3. Health certificate | Vet completes the destination's template; AVS endorses it if required | Not stated on the AVS export page | Validity set by destination; AVS QR certificate 7 days |
| 4. Pre-export inspection | Only if the destination requires it; book on AVS e-services | Fee if no appointment | At least 5 days before departure |
| 5. Flight | Ground handling agent and airline booking | Varies | After steps 2 and 3 |
After the pet has left, cancel its dog licence in PALS.
How much does the AVS export licence cost?
The AVS export licence costs S$50 for normal service or S$100 for express service, as of 2026. It is called the Licence to Import/Export/Transship Non-Food Animals, Birds, Eggs, and Biologics (personal), and you apply for it on the GoBusiness Licensing Portal within 90 days of leaving Singapore.
Normal service is issued two working days after AVS has the complete application; express takes one. The licence stays valid for 90 days from the date of issue, so applying early costs nothing as long as the flight falls inside that window.
How does the veterinary health certificate work?
If the destination requires a veterinary health certificate, your private vet completes it; some countries also require AVS to endorse it. Endorsement takes two working days with no express option, and the certificate's validity is set by the destination.
You apply on GoBusiness, then drop the original signed template and vaccination records in the AVS box at Raffles Building, Singapore Botanic Gardens; the two-day clock starts when AVS has the hard copies.
If the destination has no template of its own, AVS instead converts your vet's certificate into a QR-verifiable veterinary health certificate, and that one is valid for only seven days from issue. Where that applies, the vet visit sits in the final week before departure.
When is a pre-export inspection needed?
A pre-export inspection is needed only when the destination country requires one. If it does, book the inspection through AVS e-services at least five days before the animal's departure and bring the pet to the Changi Animal & Plant Quarantine Station during operating hours.
Bringing a dog or cat for inspection without an appointment attracts an inspection fee, so book as soon as the flight date is fixed.
How long does it take to export a pet from Singapore?
Singapore's own export paperwork takes roughly two weeks, and destinations that require a rabies blood test and a waiting period can add months. The licence takes one or two working days, endorsement two working days, and the inspection must be booked five days out.
Work backwards from the flight: inspection and any seven-day QR certificate in the final week, licence any time in the 90 days before, destination requirements first.
What does the destination country decide?
The destination country decides everything that takes real time: rabies vaccination timing, blood tests, treatments and any waiting period before entry. AVS cannot shorten any of it.
Our guide to flying with a dog from Singapore covers rabies titre timelines, cabin versus cargo rules and what a full relocation costs. If you are moving the other way, the rules are on our importing a dog to Singapore page.
What to do next
Start with the destination's rules, then the licence, then the final-week paperwork.
- Open the destination government's pet import page today and work the timeline backwards from your flight date.
- Apply for the export licence on GoBusiness once the departure date is within 90 days.
- Book the vet appointment for the health certificate in the final week, and the pre-export inspection at least five days out if the destination requires it.
