How to Export a Cat or Dog from Azerbaijan: Documents and Steps

When a posting in Baku ends or a new job comes up abroad, the move itself gets planned months ahead: housing, schools, flights, shipping. The paperwork for the cat or dog often gets pushed to the last few weeks. For many destinations that is too late, because preparation takes months and a single mistake in the order of procedures can delay departure by a season. This guide explains how pet export from Azerbaijan works: who issues what, which documents you need and in what order to do things.

Who issues the documents: your vet and AQTA

State veterinary functions in Azerbaijan belong to AQTA, the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (sometimes called AFSA in English). AQTA issues the key document for leaving the country: the international veterinary certificate for an exported animal. Under the local rules on keeping pets, taking an animal abroad requires a veterinary certificate and a corresponding passport.

Everything before that certificate is done by a vet: microchipping, rabies vaccination, the blood draw for the titer test and the entries in the pet passport. The veterinary passport is issued by AQTA regional offices, and licensed clinics can also issue an international passport. The certificate is written on the basis of these documents, so every number and date in them has to be correct.

The document package for pet relocation from Baku

The exact list depends on the destination, but for most routes the package looks like this:

• An ISO 11784/11785 microchip. Azerbaijani law does not explicitly require one, but the EU, the UK and many other countries do.
• A rabies vaccination given after the microchip and recorded in the passport together with the chip number.
• A rabies antibody titer test at an EU-approved laboratory, with a result of at least 0.5 IU/ml. There is no such laboratory in Azerbaijan, so the blood sample has to be sent abroad.
• A pet passport: the AQTA passport or an international one, with vaccination records and the chip number.
• The AQTA international veterinary certificate, issued shortly before travel. The EU and the UK additionally require their own health certificate form.

Why the order of procedures matters

These documents depend on each other. If the sequence is broken, some steps have to be repeated, and that costs time. The correct order is:

1. Microchip first. Under EU rules a rabies vaccine given before the chip does not count and has to be repeated.
2. Then the rabies vaccination. The date, vaccine name, batch number and chip number are recorded in the passport.
3. At least 30 days after vaccination, blood is drawn for the titer test and sent to an approved laboratory.
4. For the EU and the UK, the pet can enter no earlier than 3 months after the date the blood sample was taken.
5. Shortly before departure, the AQTA certificate and, where needed, the destination health certificate are issued.

Keeping boosters on time matters just as much. If a rabies booster is given late, it counts as a new primary vaccination, and for some destinations the titer test may need to be repeated.

Destination rules: EU, UK and elsewhere

Azerbaijan is not on the EU list of countries exempt from the titer test (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/636, in force since 22 April 2026; a new EU certificate format applies from 1 October 2026). So taking a pet from Azerbaijan to the EU means a microchip, rabies vaccination, a titer test and a 3-month wait after the blood sample. At the border you present an EU animal health certificate, which has to be used within 10 days of being issued. Moving a dog from Baku to the UK follows similar logic: a blood test and the same 3-month wait.

Routes such as Russia or Georgia are usually simpler and often do not require a titer test, but the rabies vaccine must still be done in advance and the certificate must be error-free. Turkey, the UAE and the USA each have their own rules, which may include a titer test, import permits or extra forms. Requirements change, so check each destination separately.

Common mistakes

Most problems come not from complicated rules but from small details:

• A wrong chip number in the passport: a single digit is enough for the documents to no longer match the animal.
• The rabies vaccine was given before the microchip, so the vaccination and titer test have to be redone.
• Late planning: for the EU, the UK or Turkey, starting a few weeks before the flight is usually too late.
• An expired certificate: the flight was rescheduled, but the certificate still carries the old date.
• The blood sample was prepared incorrectly or sent to a laboratory without the right approval.
• The pet's name, breed, colour or date of birth differs between the passport and the certificate.

How to plan your timeline

The simplest approach is to count backwards from your flight date. If you are starting from scratch and heading to the EU or the UK, add up 30 days after vaccination, the time it takes to get the lab result and the 3-month wait: realistically that is at least four months. So the moment a move starts to look likely is the moment to look at your pet's documents.

If your pet already has a microchip and rabies boosters kept up to date, preparation can be shorter. Gaps in vaccination dates or passport entries, on the other hand, can reset some steps. The certificate itself cannot be obtained too early: it is issued shortly before travel and is valid only for a limited period.

How PetMapa handles it for you, turnkey

PetMapa prepares export documents for cats and dogs turnkey, from start to finish. We do everything for you: no trips to government offices, no queues, no working out which form goes where.

• Microchip, rabies vaccination and pet passport, in the right order.
• We draw the blood for the titer test ourselves, send it to an accredited laboratory and receive the result.
• We obtain the official AQTA veterinary certificate on your behalf.
• We double-check every date and every number: chip, vaccine batch, your pet's details.
• Free document check by photo via WhatsApp or Telegram. A detailed consultation is paid.

Not sure what your pet already has and what is missing? Send a photo of the passport or vaccination records on WhatsApp or Telegram. We will tell you what is in order, what still needs doing and in which sequence to proceed.