Moving Your Pets to Hawaii

Let me preface this article by saying, moving your pets to Hawaii is no simple task.  There's a seemingly endless amount of red tape involved.  But it's not impossible.  You just have to be prepared for every contingency.  If you are, you'll save yourself a ton of stress, a lot of time, and a considerable amount of money.  

One of the most frustrating things about moving your pets to Hawaii is the State's quarantine requirements.  It used to be that all animals entering Hawaii had to be quarantined for a period between 30 to 120 days.  Fortunately, that law has since changed.  The current law in Hawaii states that dogs and cats meeting specific pre and post arrival requirements may qualify for 30 days, 5 days or even direct release.  In order to qualify for direct release, very careful attention to detail is required on the pet owner's part.  Everything must be in perfect order, or your pets will be subjected to quarantine.

My first and best piece of advice is to begin the process early.  I began the process six months prior to my move to Hawaii, and that's still cutting it close.  My pets - two cats - were directly released to me at Honolulu Airport.  And that was a major relief, since this process can create a lot of anxiety for caring pet owners - not to mention their pets.  

Here are the general pre-arrival requirements for moving your cats or dogs to Hawaii: