BRINGING A CAT FROMUnited States →to Brazil

APHIS bilateral certificate for Brazil (form NL 0325, three pages), completed and signed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA APHIS — electronic signature and digital endorsement through VEHCS are accepted, and the endorsed certificate can be printed from VEHCS. Valid 60 days from the date the accredited vet signs it; it must still be valid when the pet arrives in Brazil. The form also states it is valid for transit into MERCOSUR countries. (The APHIS form predates MAPA's August 2025 model; APHIS still publishes it as current.)

Not compulsory for entry into Brazil (Brazil has not made identification mandatory for pets). If the pet has a microchip it must be ISO 11784/11785 and the CVI must state its number, implant date and body location. Strongly advisable — the return trip to the EU/UK and most other countries requires one.

Vaccinated against rabies, the certificate showing vaccination date, expiry date, vaccine name, manufacturer and batch. First (primary) vaccination: at least 21 days before departure. Animals under 90 days may travel unvaccinated with the form's alternative statement (no contact with urban rabies in the last 90 days).

• · For pets aged 3 months or more

primary vaccination only

Broad-spectrum internal and external parasite treatment within the 15 days before the certificate is issued, with products authorised in the United States; product names, manufacturer, active ingredient and dates on the form.

Examined by the accredited vet within the 10 days before the certificate's date of issue (the exam date goes in field 14): no clinical signs of infectious or parasitic disease, fit for transport.

Brazil may refuse entry to an animal previously diagnosed with leishmaniasis. No test is required; the exam and certificate must not show the disease.

Declare the pet on the e-DBV (Declaração Eletrônica de Bens do Viajante) and go through the "Bens a Declarar" (goods to declare) channel to the Vigiagro unit at the airport, port or border post. Where there is no such channel, go straight to the customs inspection. Unaccompanied baggage or cargo: a DAT-PF (agricultural transit declaration for individuals) and the air waybill / cargo manifest instead of the e-DBV.

The Vigiagro inspector (AFFA) checks the documents, verifies the animal's identity against the certificate and inspects its health; the original CVI stays with the owner. A pet travelling on to another Brazilian state is released with a Vigiagro transit attestation. Pets with clinical signs of disease are refused (returned or destroyed); with no papers at all, refused and returned; with errors or missing items in the papers, the inspector may impose home quarantine supervised by a private vet at the owner's cost (TC-IAC undertaking: exam, rabies shot, parasite treatments, isolation for a set number of days).

Industrialised (commercially made, heat-processed, canned, pouch, pelleted or extruded) pet food and treats for the pet's own use may enter from any country in the original, intact, labelled packaging; the pack used during the trip may be open. Raw or home-made food and treats, raw hides/ears/hooves and feed additives are prohibited. (MAPA's older FAQ says leftover food is prohibited outright — the 2026 list, made under Portaria 872/2025, is the current rule.)