Extra fees flying into Heathrow

It often isn't the airline that needs to see it but customs officials.  You are moving a live animal from one country to the next.  The APHIS form is more for customs and for them to see that the animals are safe and prepared for travel.

I was required to present the form when checking my dogs in and again at Heathrow to take my dogs home.  Thankfully, my vet knew what was needed and the people on this site helped me a lot.  In the end, it is your call.  However, if you don't have it and it is needed, you pet won't be able to leave the country.

BTW, I was told by Virgin over the phone that it wasn't needed and it was.  It is isn't up to the airlines to tell you all this.  They are concerned with the paperwork required for them and that is it.  However, when I received my paperwork from Virgin, the APHIS form was listed as being required by customs upon check-in of the animal.  For Virgin, I had to do a separate health form.  So, no, the APHIS form was not for the airline.  I moved over November 2007.

I don't think there's any question that the health certificate is needed. Did you need to get yours signed by your state's USDA vet or was your local vet (assuming he's certified/registered/whatever the right term is by the USDA) good enough?

I don't think there's any question that the health certificate is needed. Did you need to get yours signed by your state's USDA vet or was your local vet (assuming he's certified/registered/whatever the right term is by the USDA) good enough?

If you are referring to the Third Country Certificate (the health certificate that details the rabies vaccines, blood draws, and testing), then no, I didn't have to have that signed by the USDA vet because my vet was accredited.  The Virgin Health Certificate wasn't signed by the USDA vet either.  The APHIS form was signed by the USDA vet and also had the offical endorsement stamp because it is the export health certificate.  The USDA vet explained to me that he would not sign the APHIS form unless he saw the Third Country Certificate (he was explaining procedure) and verified that the vet who completed them was accredited (against a list that they hold in the office).

If you are referring to the Third Country Certificate (the health certificate that details the rabies vaccines, blood draws, and testing), then no, I didn't have to have that signed by the USDA vet because my vet was accredited.  The Virgin Health Certificate wasn't signed by the USDA vet either.  The APHIS form was signed by the USDA vet and also had the offical endorsement stamp because it is the export health certificate.  The USDA vet explained to me that he would not sign the APHIS form unless he saw the Third Country Certificate (he was explaining procedure) and verified that the vet who completed them was accredited (against a list that they hold in the office).

My experience was exactly the same as Dar's - with the addendum that the USDA vet also endorsed the rabies titre results and the 998/2003 certificate.  In fact, there was an error on the 998/2003 certificate and she made me go back to my vet, have them fix the error, and bring the paperwork back before she'd endorse any of my paperwork, so I assume she believed her endorsements were necessary!   And I know for a fact that BA required the 998/2003 form to be endorsed by the USDA vet, because there was a minor incident when I was checking my guys in and handed over the wrong version of the 998/2003 form (the one with the mistake that hadn't been endorsed by the USDA vet, only my local (accredited) vet).  Luckily I had the endorsed form and was allowed to complete check-in!

I just got off the phone with the USDA vet to again try to clear up when the endorsement is required on APHIS. She said that in the instance of flying to the UK the 998 form must be endorsed, and that any other health certificates are only needed by the airline in order to confirm the animals are fit to fly. She said that it's completely up to the airline as to whether this form is needed or not, and that customs has nothing to do with it.

I also spoke to customs in Heathrow, and they just referred me to Defra. They said that whatever Defra requires is what you need, and the only other document they require is the customs C-5 form.

I find Dar's and julia_atlanta's experiences very interesting, and makes me wonder if as long as one of the forms endorsed by the USDA vet then you are ok?

makes me wonder if as long as one of the forms endorsed by the USDA vet then you are ok?

Could be! 

Of course, if you're going to get anything endorsed by the USDA vet (and pay the $72 to do so, at least in Georgia) then you might as well have anything and everything endorsed at the same time!  If only there was a USDA endorsement entry field in the micro-chip information.... 

It's true, but as julia points out, why pay to visit your vet twice in 10 days, when you could just visit once. It also is $4.50 more (though that is not what I'm worried about!)

We are also worried about our cats not getting on the flight because of the temperature. So we will be watching the weather the week of our flight, and may have to stick them on a flight earlier than us. If this is the case, then it makes it a lot easier to just go to the vet the day before, instead of paying to have the forms sent off, and risk then having to redo them. The 10 day window really sucks when things have to be sent off to be endorsed.

Hopefully the USDA, DEFRA, and the airlines are all getting more on the same page. They definitely seem to all be telling me the same things (where as 6 months ago, I would get a different answer every time I called someone). Could be because of the new "Open Skies" deal?

If you are referring to the Third Country Certificate (the health certificate that details the rabies vaccines, blood draws, and testing), then no, I didn't have to have that signed by the USDA vet because my vet was accredited.  The Virgin Health Certificate wasn't signed by the USDA vet either.  The APHIS form was signed by the USDA vet and also had the offical endorsement stamp because it is the export health certificate.  The USDA vet explained to me that he would not sign the APHIS form unless he saw the Third Country Certificate (he was explaining procedure) and verified that the vet who completed them was accredited (against a list that they hold in the office).

It seems like you've got this backwards? The PETS form (the third country health certificate) is the one that MUST be stamped and signed by the USDA vet as well as your accredited vet and the APHIS health certificate is the one that can just be signed by your accredited vet. The former is the one for the UK/Defra and the latter is the one just showing the pet is healthy to travel. If you are saying what you really mean then its totally opposite to what I have always heard and I've been up to speed on this pets program since the day it started. I literally started the process on day one even though I didn't actually move until last year (years later than when I started the process). Weird.

across, I hope you get things worked out to your satisfaction! when do you fly?

It seems like you've got this backwards? The PETS form (the third country health certificate) is the one that MUST be stamped and signed by the USDA vet as well as your accredited vet and the APHIS health certificate is the one that can just be signed by your accredited vet. The former is the one for the UK/Defra and the latter is the one just showing the pet is healthy to travel. If you are saying what you really mean then its totally opposite to what I have always heard and I've been up to speed on this pets program since the day it started. I literally started the process on day one even though I didn't actually move until last year (years later than when I started the process). Weird.

Actually, I'm not so sure WE'VE got it right. If you read the 998 form, it does say that if it is filled out by a non-government approved vet, then it needs to be an endorsed by one. Of course, it can be argued if it means USDA accredited or actual USDA vet, but I would be inclined to think it means USDA accredited.
However, I called the Texas USDA vet, and she said that to endorse the form, it must be a USDA accredited.

My theory is that in order for a pet to be exported from the US, the APHIS/USDA wants to see a health certificate that has been endorsed by the USDA. This can either be the APHIS 7001 health certificate, or the Third County 998 health certificate.
In order for a pet to be imported into the UK, Defra want to see the Third Country 998 health certificate which has been signed by a government accredited vet (again not clear whether actual USDA vet, or merely an accredited one).

This would explain how both Dar and julia_atlanta have gotten in without problems.
Just my little theory.

Perhaps someone on here has spoken with Defra to clear up the USDA vet thing???

Thanks, julia-atlanta. I had my vet sign off on our forms, and sent them to the USDA vet today. She will be doing the health certificates on the 20th of May. The day before we fly out! I sort of freaked when she asked me to fill out the forms. I didn't know if I should put my current US address or my future UK one. I was also unsure if I should write the date mm/dd/yyyy or dd/mm/yyyy. I was afraid of confusion when compared to the Rabies/FAVN certificates. I'm sure they can figure it all out, but hope I didn't screw anything up.

I just looked at my paperwork, again.  Both forms, Third Country (998) and the APHIS Form, are signed and stamped by the official USDA vet.  Although, the conversation that I mentioned earlier did happen.

It was different for me because I drove out to the USDA vet and had them endorse everything in person.  I only made one trip the two days before I left.  I then went back to my usual accredited vet and she did the flea treatment and the like.  I think they may have endorsed the Third Country certificate accidentally (or maybe just in case).  When I spoke to DEFRA before I moved in November, I was told that the APHIS form was non-negotiable.  It seems we are getting conflicting information from the government (big shock, right?  ).

Well, the cats are all booked for the their flights on the 21st. We had their 998 forms sent off to the USDA vet, and they have an appointment on the 20th to get their health certificates and flea and tick treatments.
BA again confirmed that the health certificate did not need to be endorsed, and they said most people just get them the same day as the flea and tick treatments.

Now, our main concern is that it isn't over 85F on the 21st, so they can fly out!

good luck! we'll be going the opposite way in July! I'm just glad we don't have to worry about heat restrictions in that direction.

Good luck!

Well, seems like Texas heat wanted to get one last "ha-ha" in. Supposed to be 97F on Wednesday! BA won't budge, and insist that nobody will fly them out either. They said it's an airport policy!
But of course Continental will fly them out. BA tried to convince us that Continental just didn't have as high standards, but Continental will say BA just doesn't go to the extra effort.

Lucky, Continental still says the same thing about not needing the APHIS form endorsed, and we will fly them into Gatwick and save ourselves an extra $500. Hopefully the kitties will be OK with the layover.

Well, after a very long journey, we and the kitties are now safely in the UK. No problems at all with that paperwork. They flew to Gatwick via Continental and we flew to Heathrow via BA. My mother-in-law and I then drove to Gatwick to pick them up. They seem to be adjusting well, and are definitely glad to be on solid ground.

Dropping them off in DFW was great. Steve Horn was the rep we worked with, and he was very funny, friendly, and knowledgeable. However, Gatwick was a bit different. It would appear that there have been some changes in the buildings, and we were sent back and forth on a one-way road trying to convince one set of people that we didn't need a release form. So anyone else flying their pets into Gatwick, the ARC is to the left of the Royal Mail offices. You don't have to check in at the first building anymore.