Paperwork for pets from the USA

by Jake
(Chicago)

I am in the process of bringing my dog to Bolivia and Bella has been super helpful. Unfortunately after spending many hours on the phone with various consulates I have found that the information on the site is incorrect. Here is what you need to do in order to import a dog.

Bring your dog to a USDA certified vet no more than 10 days before your flight. I would recommend being as close to the 10th day as possible to give yourself enough time to have the paperwork returned. Call ahead to make sure the vet has the USDA APHIS-7001 form, otherwise known simply as the 7001. They need to fill this out, with the parts about rabies and the dogs identification being particularly important.

Once this form is filled out you need to bring it to a notary and have them notarize it. I asked the consulate if I needed to have the notary come to the vets office and they assured me I did not.

You may or may not need to bring the form to a USDA APHIS office to have them stamp it. I am going to do this just to be safe since there is an office not too far from my house. I do not believe this is necessary however.

Once you have this form notarized, you need to send it to

4420 Connecticut Ave NW Suite #2
Washington DC
20008
ATTN: Departamento Legalization

You need to include an $85 dollar money order made out to the Bolivian Consulate. Personal checks are not accepted. You also need to include a prepaid return envelope. I am going to send it via Fedex both ways since with the short amount of time available I do not trust the mail service.

Theoretically, that is it. I will make another post once I have either made it in or failed miserably. Now all I have to do is obtain a residency visa for myself which should be fun :) It takes a lot of work to travel down there in order to donate your time and money!