Hawaii Neighbor Island Pet Permit (NIIP)

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.

Moving to Maui, the Big Island or Kauai? Your dog or cat does not have to land in Honolulu first. Hawaii lets mainland pets fly straight to Kona, Kahului or Lihue and be released at the airport, but only with a Neighbor Island Inspection Permit (NIIP). Here is who qualifies, what to send and when, and where owners get caught out.

What the permit is and who needs it

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity (HDOA) requires a NIIP to fly any dog or cat directly into Kona (KOA), Kahului (OGG) or Lihue (LIH). No permit is needed for Honolulu (HNL). The permit belongs to Direct Airport Release (DAR), and the Dog & Cat Import Form AQS-279 states that the pet must be DAR qualified. Checklist 2 requires the pet to meet every 5-Day-or-Less requirement.

The permit does not relax the rabies rules. Your pet still needs:

A working microchip, implanted before the FAVN blood test.
At least two lifetime rabies vaccinations given more than 30 days apart, the latest more than 30 days before arrival and not expired on arrival.
A FAVN result of 0.5 IU/ml or more from Auburn, Kansas State, the University of Missouri or the DOD laboratory in Texas. RFFIT is not accepted.
A 30-day wait starting the day after the lab receives the sample, which must reach it no more than 36 months before arrival.
A tick treatment and an English health certificate, both within 14 days before arrival.

Our 5-Day-or-Less guide covers these steps in detail.

Book the inspecting vet before your flight

At Honolulu, state inspectors check your pet. On the neighbor islands, a private veterinary facility does it, under a contract you arrange and pay for separately. HDOA's Checklist 2 tells owners to contact a listed clinic before booking the flight. HDOA will not issue the permit until the clinic confirms the inspection date and time, and the clinic must confirm to the Animal Quarantine Station (AQS) at least 30 days before arrival.

HDOA lists two facilities for Lihue and several for Kona and Kahului. Its information page, checklist and facilities page do not match exactly, so use the current facilities page and call the clinic.

The 30-day document deadline

For Honolulu, documents must reach AQS at least 10 days before arrival. For a neighbor island, it is at least 30 days. Checklist 2 lists:

The signed AQS-279, naming the legal owner (never a shipper or handler), with "Neighbor Island Inspection Permit $165" checked in Section 4.
Original rabies certificates for the two most recent vaccinations.
The $165 fee by cashier's check or money order.
Flight details: airline, flight number, and arrival date and time.

HDOA's information page also asks for an owner's letter requesting Direct Airport Release at Kona, Kahului or Lihue, so include one. It adds that entry applications can be filed online through the Hawaii Pet Owner Portal (HIPOP), which takes Visa or Mastercard, but Checklist 2 asks for the NIIP fee by cashier's check or money order.

The AQS-279 lists a US$35 fee to change an issued permit, so fix your flight first. A passing FAVN result must be on file before the permit is issued, and HDOA warns results can take 1 to 2 months.

A sample timeline

When (before arrival)	Step
Months ahead	Microchip, two rabies vaccinations, FAVN sample to an approved lab
At least 30 days	Lab has received the sample (the wait starts the next day)
Before booking flights	Inspecting clinic reserved
At least 30 days	Documents and owner letter received by AQS; clinic confirms
After approval	NIIP emailed to the primary owner: print it
Within 14 days	Tick treatment and health certificate
Departure day	Airline checks the printed permit

Getting the permit and choosing an airline

Since 1 July 2021, AQS emails the permit only to the primary owner's address on the AQS-279. HDOA states that the airline must see it before boarding, and a printed copy travels with your pet to the inspector, who also collects the original health certificate. Some airlines want that certificate issued within 10 days, not 14.

HDOA warns that some airlines may not participate. At the time of writing:

Alaska Air Cargo's Pet Connect guide offers DAR for mainland dogs and cats on direct, non-stop flights to Kona, Kahului and Lihue. Alaska Airlines does not accept brachycephalic dogs and cats in the baggage compartment.
American Airlines states that pets cannot travel on nonstop flights to Maui, the Big Island or Kauai, and that checked pets to Hawaii must connect only via Honolulu.
Delta states that pet travel is not allowed on flights to Hawaii; Southwest, that pets are not allowed on flights to or from Hawaii.

Confirm your exact flight with the airline before filing.

If something is missing on arrival

A pet that does not meet the requirements is denied entry at the neighbor island airport. HDOA says it is then taken to Honolulu for inspection or quarantine, or flown out of state, at the owner's expense. A pet arriving before its 30-day wait ends qualifies for neither direct release nor 5-Day-or-Less, and is quarantined at US$14.30 per day plus the US$244 program fee. A pet whose microchip cannot be read faces 120 days of quarantine.

Plan it with the kit

The USA to Hawaii kit lines up the neighbor-island deadlines with the rest of the process. It includes 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.

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

Flying Your Dog or Cat Straight to Maui, Kona or Kauai: The NIIP Explained