Health Certificate for the Sale of Cats and Dogs

For dogs and cats that are for sale within the state of Florida, state law requires a health certificate. This will confirm that your animal has their required vaccinations and a clean bill of health.

Before scheduling your appointment, please review the requirements below: 
In order to complete the health certificate, the following requirements must be met per Florida law:

• All pets must be at least 8 weeks old at the time of sale.
• The pet must show no signs of contagious or infectious disease on physical exam.
• The pet must show no signs of parasites including intestinal worms and ear mites, but excluding fleas and ticks. *This means that all pets must have a negative fecal test before the health certificate can be completed—if possible, please bring in a stool sample from each pet prior to your exam to have checked. Even if the result is negative, the pet must be dewormed at the time of the exam
• The pet must have been dewormed, vaccinated, and had other required blood tests performed by an accredited veterinarian no more than 21 days prior to sale if the pet is less than 4 months old, and not more than 1 year before the sale if it is more than 4 months old.
• Any cat for sale must be tested for FeLV / FIV and any dog for sale over 6 months of age must have a heartworm test.
• Required vaccinations for cats are FVRCP and Rabies (if older than 3 months). The FVRCP vaccine includes: feline distemper (panleukopenia), feline viral rhinotracheitis, and calicivirus.
• Required vaccinations for dogs are DAPP, *Leptospirosis, Bordetella, and Rabies (if older than 3 months). The DAPP vaccine includes canine distemper, parvovirus, parainfluenza, and adenovirus 2 (infectious hepatitis).
• If you have a litter of animals, it is required that each individual animal have their own health. 
• Law also requires that the veterinarian retains 1 copy of the form for 1 year. The seller will also be provided with a copy and the original should be given to the purchaser at the time of sale.

*Note, exceptions can be made to the administration of the leptospirosis vaccine if it is determined by a veterinarian that the administration of this vaccine is not in the best medical interest of the pet.

For anyone selling puppies or kittens, we recommend reviewing the Florida Laws at: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/ for additional information. 

When scheduling your appointment, please alert the staff that this will be for obtaining health certificates for the sale of an animal. We’re here to help you navigate the requirements and secure a health certificate quickly!