The Health Certificate in International Movement of Dogs and Cats: Clinical Examination, Health Traceability and Document Validity

Objective. To describe the clinical-documentary nature of the veterinary health certificate ininternational movement of dogs and cats, its health basis, required examination components, and frequentcauses of invalidity. Results. The health certificate is a technical declaration under professional veterinaryresponsibility. Its validity depends on microchip-species-date concordance, the time window (generally 10days), the type of authorized issuer, and official endorsement when required. Traceability errors are themost frequent cause of border rejection. Conclusion. The distinction between a veterinary certificate and anofficially endorsed certificate is decisive for export file planning according to the specific destination country.