Sending Third Country Certificate with Aphis 7001 or separately

Is there any cost benefit to sending these forms to the USDA vet at the same time?

I still question where the Health Certificate needs to be endorsed by the USDA vet, as DEFRA never mentions it. It seems to be an airline specific condition.

an article found here http://www.globalhrnews.com/b4/b4home.asp?sid=597 seems to confirm this point:
The International Health certificate (form 7001), is available from the USDA. However, the health certificate need not be endorsed by the USDA as it is not a UK requirement.

However, I would trust the opinion of those who have actually gone through PETS.

Also, I remember once stumbling across a page that lists the USDA endorsement services and costs. Does anyone have a link for that?

OK I found my answer to if the health certificate is required.

Even though DEFRA states:

Private veterinary health statements

While veterinary health statements are not required by Defra for the movement of pet animals, you may find that approved transport companies require veterinary evidence that your pet is healthy and fit to travel before they will allow it to board their aircraft or ship.

You are advised to verify if the transport company requires a private veterinary statement and the form which it should take. This veterinary statement may be provided in one of the following two ways:

1) completion of section IX of the EU Pet Passport by a practising veterinarian confirming that 'the animal is in good health and able to withstand carriage to its destination.' or

(2) a private statement from a practising veterinarian stating that:
'On [date], I examined the animal described in EU Pet Passport/third country official veterinary certificate numbered [enter serial number] and found it to be free from clinical signs of infectious or contagious disease, including external parasites, and in my opinion, is fit to travel.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/support-info/documents.htm


If traveling from the US the USDA stills requires the APHIS 7001 endorsed by your USDA vet for animal exports

International health certificates for the export of animals from the United States are completed by the APHIS accredited veterinarian who certifies animal health status, conducts tests, and records test results for the individual animals being exported. Completed and signed international health certificates for the export of animals from the United States must be endorsed by a Veterinary Services area office in order to be valid. To obtain the USDA endorsement of an international health certificate or any other documents relating to traveling with your pet, the documents must be completed by an APHIS Accredited Veterinarian.
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/NCIE/exp-pets.html

I know everyone already knows the APHIS form is required, but this is for those who, like me, want to know exactly what the rules are and who they are coming from. I will contact USDA vet and will find out how much they charge to get all the documents endorsed together, rather than sending them separately.

the international health certificate I got said that it needed to be endorsed by the USDA *if* your vet is not accredited (not all of them are). The one I had was so I didn't need it accredited. Note that they are only valid for 10 days I think so you don't have a lot of time in advance to send it off.

the international health certificate I got said that it needed to be endorsed by the USDA *if* your vet is not accredited (not all of them are). The one I had was so I didn't need it accredited. Note that they are only valid for 10 days I think so you don't have a lot of time in advance to send it off.

As far as I'm aware, your vet must be USDA accredited in all cases.

A USDA vet stamped and signed both the Aphis 7001 form and the EC 998/2003 forms for my dog. 

If you carefully read the wording of the USDA statement they use the terms "Veterinary Services area office" and "APHIS Accredited Veterinarian".

They say it must be endorsed by a Veterinary Services area office AND in order to obtain the USDA endorsement...the documents must be completed by an APHIS Accredited Veterinarian.

julia_atlanta, I assume you have already made the move? And the airline didn't need the APHIS 7001 endorsed, or was it a different form? Could International health certificates be referring to more than one type of form? Might they be referring to the Third Country Certificate? I thought I had this all figured out.
In terms of the 10 days validity, he said we have to work to get the timing just right, and send the forms overnight to get endorsed.

OK, got my answer and hopefully this will clear any conclusion. I received an attachment from the Texas USDA vet in Austin and it says the the APHIS 7001 is OPTIONAL

The documents needed by the Export desk:

1. We must have the original, “Veterinary Certificate for Domestic Dogs, Cats and Ferrets entering the European community for non-commercial movements (Regulation (EC) No 998-2003”.  It must be signed and dated by a USDA Accredited Vet.  The signature must be in a color other than the printed color; blue is acceptable.

2.  A signed Rabies Vaccination certificate. (The rabies vaccine used must be an inactivated vaccine produced in accordance with OIE standards). State if it is a recombinant vaccination.  The microchip number must be on all rabies certificates submitted.

3.  The original, if available, of the FAVN.

4.  A signed APHIS Form 7001. (Optional- possibly required by the airline).

     It is recommended that you contact your airline and ask the following questions:

What paperwork do they want from you in order to get your pet on the plane?
From the date your veterinarian issued the certificate, how long is it good for?  (The EU certificate is valid for 4 months after signature by your veterinarian, or until the date of expiry of the vaccination shown in Part IV, whichever is earlier).  The airline may have time restrictions on the required document (for example 8-10 days from the date your vet signed).[/b]

So there you go. Check with your airline and ask if they need the APHIS 7001 or if your vet can just send along a note with the Third Country Certificate saying that your pet is fit to travel. This would save us around $150 and the unneeded headache of worrying about the 10 day validity.

My health certificate form (not the defra stuff) specifically said a usda accredited vet could sign it and I didn't need the USDA vet him/herself to endorse it.

I did make the  move and everything went fine