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Hawaii

Hawaii's 5-Day-or-Less Pet Program, Explained

General information, not veterinary advice. Requirements are set by the destination authority and can change: confirm with the official authority, your accredited vet and your airline.

Hawaii is rabies-free and applies strict import rules to every dog and cat, including puppies and kittens. Prepare well, and your pet can skip long quarantine. Here is how the 5-Day-or-Less program (5DOL) and Direct Airport Release (DAR) work from the US mainland.

What 5DOL and Direct Airport Release mean

At the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (HDOA), a pet that meets every pre-arrival and post-arrival requirement qualifies for 5DOL, which allows Direct Airport Release at Honolulu (HNL) after inspection.

A pet that misses any requirement can be quarantined for up to 120 days, or flown out of state at your expense.

The core requirements

Microchip. Your pet needs a working microchip (US or ISO spec) implanted before, or at the same visit as, the FAVN blood draw. The chip number must appear on the lab submission form and on the health certificate. A pet that cannot be identified by scan on arrival faces 120 days of quarantine.

Two rabies vaccinations. Hawaii requires at least two rabies vaccinations in your pet's lifetime, given more than 30 days apart. A record of only the most recent vaccine does not qualify. The most recent one must be given more than 30 days before arrival and must still be within its labeled booster interval on arrival. Each certificate must be an original signed in ink by a licensed vet, with full vaccine and lot details.

FAVN rabies antibody test. Your pet needs a passing OIE/WOAH-FAVN result of 0.5 IU/ml or more. RFFIT tests are not accepted. Accepted labs are Kansas State University, Auburn University, the University of Missouri, and the Defense Food Analysis and Diagnostic Laboratory in Texas (DoD beneficiaries only). Write "HAWAII" as the destination on the submission form.

The 30-day wait. The wait is counted from the day after the approved lab receives the sample, not from the day blood is drawn. Intermediate labs can delay that receipt date. The result stays valid for 36 months from lab receipt. HDOA's online microchip search shows your pet's FAVN status and waiting period; get the result from your vet, not the lab. HDOA does not state how the arrival day itself is counted, so check the first eligible date there before you book.

Tick treatment and health certificate. Within 14 days before arrival, a vet treats your pet with a long-acting product labeled to kill ticks. Your vet checks the product against HDOA's published list of accepted active ingredients. The original health certificate, in English, must also be issued within 14 days before arrival. It shows the microchip number, rabies vaccine details, the tick treatment product and date, and the required New World Screwworm statement.

Timeline at a glance

When (before arrival) Step
Before or at the blood draw Microchip implanted and scanned
More than 30 days Most recent of two rabies vaccinations (given more than 30 days apart)
36 months to 30 days Approved lab receives the FAVN sample
Day after lab receipt 30-day waiting period begins
At least 30 days Neighbor Island permit documents received (KOA, OGG, LIH only)
At least 10 days Documents received by the Animal Quarantine Station (HNL)
Within 14 days Tick treatment and health certificate
Arrival day Pet at the HNL holding facility by 3:30 p.m.

Paperwork and fees

You complete the Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279, one per pet. It must name the legal owner, never a pet shipper. Submit it with both original rabies certificates, the FAVN result, the health certificate and payment, either online through the Hawaii Pet Owner Portal (HIPOP) or by mail to the Animal Quarantine Station in Aiea.

For Honolulu, the station must receive your documents no less than 10 days before arrival; Checklist 1 also says more than 10 days, so aim for 11 or more. HDOA's published fees are US$185 per pet for DAR when documents arrive on time, and US$244 when they arrive late or the 5DOL program applies. If the health certificate cannot be sent ahead, hand the original to the inspector on arrival.

Arriving before the 30-day wait is complete disqualifies your pet from DAR. The pet is quarantined at US$14.30 per day plus the US$244 program fee until the wait ends.

Arriving at Honolulu or a neighbor island

HDOA currently lists HNL holding facility inspection hours as 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, including weekends and holidays, subject to change. Your pet must be there by 3:30 p.m.; pets not there by 4:30 p.m. are held overnight and inspected the next morning.

To fly direct to Kona, Kahului or Lihue, you need a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit (US$165), an approved neighbor-island vet clinic paid separately, and documents received at least 30 days before arrival. Some airlines do not take part in neighbor-island release.

On airlines: at the time of writing, Delta's pet page lists Hawaii among its in-cabin exceptions and states that pet travel is not allowed on flights to Hawaii. American Airlines' page states that carry-on pets are not accepted to or from Hawaii, and its cargo page names Honolulu as the only Hawaii port of entry. Alaska Airlines' page states that only dogs and cats can be transported into Hawaii. Confirm with your airline.

Plan it with the kit

The USA to Hawaii kit organizes these rules into a user guide, a timeline workbook that computes every date from your flight date, a vet visit brief, a document and airline checklist, and letter templates. It links to each official HDOA page.

5-Day-or-Less$39

USA to Hawaii pet move kit

Hawaii's 5-Day-or-Less program from the mainland: two vaccines, the FAVN window, the 30-day wait, the 14-day certificate and the 10-day document deadline.

See the kit

Sources