The USDA-accredited vet, and how VEHCS actually moves your paperwork

Last verified: 2026-08-25

The answer

Every consequential document in the US-to-Australia pathway is issued, endorsed or requested by the same two things: a USDA-accredited veterinarian, and VEHCS, the system that connects that veterinarian to USDA. Neither is optional, and neither is interchangeable with your regular vet or a paper form.

USDA’s own advice is to start here, before anything else:

As soon as you decide to travel, contact a USDA-accredited veterinarian to determine the destination country’s requirements … We recommend creating a schedule to make sure all requirements are met within the specified timeframe.

Why “accredited” is not the same as “your vet”

The veterinarian(s) who prepares the pet for export to Australia — includes scanning the microchip, drawing blood, completing the laboratory submission forms — must be a USDA-accredited veterinarian in the State where they perform work.

Accreditation is a specific USDA status, granted state by state, and it is what makes a signature on your paperwork mean something to a foreign government. A vet without it can treat your animal perfectly well and still be the wrong person for this document chain:

A USDA-accredited veterinarian must issue all live animal export certificates (including pet health certificates) that are required to be endorsed (co-signed) by USDA.

Ask directly, early, whether the practice you use holds this accreditation — it is not something every small-animal vet keeps current, because most of their work never needs it.

What VEHCS actually is

VEHCS is not a portal you use — it is the system your accredited vet uses on your behalf, at every stage:

• The health certificate. “USDA-accredited veterinarians can electronically issue health certificates and use VEHCS … to submit them to USDA for digital endorsement. The endorsed health certificate can be printed out directly from VEHCS and does not have to be mailed back to you.” No physical document changes hands between your vet and USDA — it happens inside VEHCS, and what comes back is what you print.

• The identity declaration. “Take your pet to a USDA-accredited veterinarian and have them complete the identity declaration. … The accredited veterinarian must take a color photo(s) of the pet and the microchip scanner with the microchip number visible.” One vet does this, then a second, independent one does it again — the same two-vet structure this site describes on the general identity verification page, run through VEHCS on the US side.

• The RNATT declaration. “Once you receive the RNATT laboratory report, you need to obtain an endorsed RNATT Declaration from USDA. We strongly recommend that the pet’s USDA-accredited veterinarian use VEHCS to request the RNATT Declaration.” A laboratory result on its own is not the document Australia wants — it has to become an endorsed declaration first, and VEHCS is the requesting route.

The order the blood work actually happens in

A USDA-accredited veterinarian must scan the pet’s microchip and collect the blood sample for the RNATT. The USDA-accredited veterinarian that drew the blood must complete the laboratory submission form, including the animal’s microchip number and the blood sampling date.

Same appointment, same vet, in that order: chip scanned, then blood drawn, then the submission form completed with both on it. This is the appointment that starts your 180-day clock, so it is worth confirming your vet is accredited before this visit, not discovering otherwise afterward.

The certificate mix-up this corridor is known for

This is the mistake this site’s other pages already warn about, and here is the exact reason it happens:

USDA must endorse the export health certificate. … The USDA-accredited veterinarian must use the health certificate available in VEHCS … The health certificate provided in the Australian-issued import permit is not specific for pets from the United States.

Your Australian import permit arrives with a certificate template attached. It is not the one your vet should use. The correct one lives inside VEHCS, and only a USDA-accredited vet can issue it there. See the official health certificate for how this plays out across all three corridors.

What travels with your pet, and what doesn’t

The original USDA-endorsed hard copy health certificate must accompany your pet to the destination country. … The accredited veterinarian should submit the certificate to the USDA Endorsement Office.

The endorsed printout from VEHCS is the physical document your animal flies with. Nothing about this step is emailed to Australia directly on your behalf — your vet obtains it through VEHCS, and you are responsible for it travelling with the animal, the same as every other endorsed paper in the pathway.

What this page does not tell you

• How to find a USDA-accredited veterinarian near you. No verified source for a public directory is recorded here; ask a vet directly whether they hold current accreditation.
• VEHCS account setup or login mechanics — that is between your vet and USDA.
• Appointment costs or USDA endorsement turnaround times.
• What happens if a vet’s accreditation lapses mid-preparation — contact USDA directly.