The vet's fitness certificate for travelling with your pet in India

Trains and airlines in India want a recent certificate from a vet saying your pet is healthy and fit to travel, along with its vaccination record ¹³⁵. The window is short: 24–48 hours before a train, not older than 7 days for Air India, and within 72 hours for Akasa Air ¹³⁵. One national format exists, Schedule A of the Transport of Animals Rules, 1978, though the railway notice and the airlines don't refer to it ⁶⁷.

Train: From 24–48 hours before the journey; says the dog has no infectious or contagious disease; shown with the vaccination card¹
Air India: Health and rabies vaccination certificate, signed and stamped by a registered vet, not older than 7 days³⁴
Akasa Air: Fit-to-fly certificate obtained within 72 hours of travel; valid 15 days from issue⁵
Official format: Schedule A of the Transport of Animals Rules, 1978: examined, healthy, no sign of contagious disease including rabies, fit to travel, vaccinated⁶⁷
Government vet fee: ₹20 at Maharashtra state clinics (2024) to ₹250 at Madras Veterinary College (undated)⁹¹¹

When to get it, by how you travel

How you travel	When to get it	What it must say	Also carry
Train: First AC coupe or dog box (train guide)	24–48 hours before the journey ¹	The dog is not suffering from any infectious or contagious disease ¹	The vaccination card, shown when you book the dog ¹
Air India	Not older than 7 days on the day you fly ³⁴	A health and rabies vaccination certificate, and that your pet is fit to travel by air; signed and stamped by a registered vet ³⁴	The vaccination record or pet passport, the indemnity form, and photocopies of every original ³⁴
Akasa Air	Within 72 hours of travel; valid 15 days from issue ⁵	The vet examined your pet and finds it fit to fly, given its age, health condition and breed ⁵	A rabies vaccination certificate, signed and stamped by a registered vet ⁵

What to ask the vet to write

Your pet's details: species, breed, sex, age and identification marks ⁷. Add its name, colour and microchip number too, so the certificate matches the vaccination record.
The date and time of the examination ⁷.
That your pet was examined, looks healthy, shows no sign of infectious or contagious disease including rabies, and is fit to travel by train or air ¹⁵⁷.
For Akasa Air, that your pet is fit to fly given its age, health condition and breed ⁵.
The vaccines given and their dates, with the rabies vaccination current ³⁷.
The vet's name, address and qualifications, with signature, stamp and date ³⁷.
Keep photocopies: Air India asks for the originals and a photocopy at check-in ³.

Is there an official format?

Yes, one. The Transport of Animals Rules, 1978, made under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, cover dogs and cats travelling by rail, road, sea or air. Rule 4 says a vet's health certificate in the form given in Schedule A must go with each consignment, and the carrier must refuse a consignment without it ⁶.

Schedule A asks the vet to certify that the pet was examined in its travelling cage not more than 12 hours before departure; that it looked healthy, free of injury and of contagious and infectious disease including rabies, and fit to travel; that it was fed and watered for the journey; and which vaccines it had, with dates ⁷.

Southern Railway's notice and the two airlines don't mention Schedule A and set their own windows, and IRCTC's online booking terms don't mention a certificate at all ¹²³⁵. In practice, show the vet the carrier's wording and ask them to cover the Schedule A points too.

Good to know

The railway isn't bound to carry an animal with an infectious or contagious disease. For dogs and cats its manual names rabies, distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis and hepatitis ⁸.
Some government clinics take a day. Maharashtra's state clinics give the health certificate the day after the examination ⁹, so ask your clinic how long it takes and fit that into the window.
Check the rabies date on the vaccination record before the vet visit; both airlines ask for a rabies vaccination certificate ³⁵. Lost the card? See how to get proof again.

What it costs at government vet hospitals

Hospital	Health certificate fee	Date of the fee list
Maharashtra state and Zilla Parishad vet clinics	₹20 per small animal; issued the day after the examination ⁹	2024 ⁹
Chandigarh government vet institutions	₹50 per animal; an export certificate is ₹100 ¹²	Undated ¹²
Veterinary College Hospital, Hebbal (Bengaluru)	₹200 for a certificate within India; ₹1,000 for an international one ¹⁰	26 Aug 2021 ¹⁰
Peripheral hospital, Yelahanka (Bengaluru)	₹500 for a dog's health certificate ¹⁰	26 Aug 2021 ¹⁰
Madras Veterinary College hospital (Chennai)	₹250 per animal or bird ¹¹	Undated ¹¹

Going abroad is different

Leaving India needs a separate official certificate: an export certificate from the Animal Quarantine and Certification Service (AQCS), valid 10 days. For it, AQCS asks for a vet's fit-to-fly certificate, the microchip certificate, the vaccination details and whatever the destination country requires, such as an import permit, and wants to see your pet 7 days before departure, by appointment ¹³. Other fees are in government vet hospital fees.

Not fully clear yet

Official sources disagree or leave gaps on these. Confirm before you rely on them.

Schedule A says the vet should examine the pet not more than 12 hours before departure ⁷, but Southern Railway asks for a certificate from 24–48 hours before ¹, and the airlines allow 72 hours or 7 days ³⁵. The rules speak of 'consignments', and we found no notice on how they apply to a pet travelling with its owner. Follow the carrier's window, and ask the parcel office or the airline if in doubt.
The 24–48 hour rule comes from Southern Railway's 2022 notice; IRCTC's online booking terms don't mention a certificate ¹².
Akasa's page says to get the certificate within 72 hours of travel, while its FAQ says it is valid for 15 days from issue ⁵. A certificate dated within 72 hours of the flight meets both.
Air India also mentions extra vaccinations 'required by the destination state' ⁴. We didn't find an Indian state rule for pets; ask Air India for your route.
The Chandigarh and Madras Veterinary College lists carry no date, and Hebbal's is from 2021 ¹⁰¹¹¹². Ask the hospital for today's fee.

Last checked 5 Oct 2026. Facts checked against the official sources below by Thapki. Written with AI help from the sources below and checked against them line by line; the Thapki team reads and approves each page before it goes live.

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Sources

Know your Railway: rules for carrying pet dogs in trains (notice 426/2022-23, 2 Nov 2022) · Southern Railway, Indian Railways · seen 5 Oct 2026
Online ticket booking of Dogs/Cats: general terms and conditions and user guide (PDF) · IRCTC · seen 5 Oct 2026
Pet travel FAQs: documentation and vaccination certificates (read in a browser; the page blocks automated fetches) · Air India · seen 5 Oct 2026
Travelling with pets: documents needed (read in a browser; the page blocks automated fetches) · Air India · seen 5 Oct 2026
Pets on Akasa: fly with your pets onboard (page and FAQs; content last published 28 Jul 2026) · Akasa Air · seen 5 Oct 2026
Transport of Animals Rules, 1978: Chapter II, transport of dogs and cats, rules 3–4 (PDF) · Animal Welfare Board of India · seen 5 Oct 2026
Transport of Animals Rules, 1978, with Schedule A: proforma for certificate of fitness to travel, dogs and cats (PDF) · Animal Husbandry Department, Chandigarh Administration · seen 5 Oct 2026
Indian Railways Commercial Manual Vol. I, Chapter X, para 1030: carriage of animals suffering from infectious or contagious disease · Railway Board, Ministry of Railways · seen 5 Oct 2026
Citizen charter (Marathi), paid services: health certificate for animals (Word file dated 4 Apr 2024; PDF, page 55) · Commissionerate of Animal Husbandry, Maharashtra · seen 5 Oct 2026
Rates charged for services at Veterinary College, Hebbal (letter No. VCH/R/2.1/2021/157, 26 Aug 2021; scanned PDF) · Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University · seen 5 Oct 2026
MVC Chennai teaching hospital: hospital fee structure · Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Fees structure for pet animals · Animal Husbandry Department, Chandigarh (chdanimalhusbandry.gov.in) · seen 5 Oct 2026
Export of pets (dogs and cats): requirements · Animal Quarantine and Certification Service, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying · seen 5 Oct 2026