AVS Licence: Bringing Your Pet into Singapore

Ask a Malaysian owner what stands between their dog and a flat in Singapore, and the answer is usually “the permit”. Singular. In practice the licence is one document in a sequence, and it sits deliberately near the end of it.

This guide covers what the licence authorises, what must be true before you apply, what each service tier costs, and how the rules changed at Changi in April 2026. If you have not settled on road or air yet, our Malaysia to Singapore pet transport service compares both. The video below follows one family through the corridor.

The formal name is longer than the thing it does. Per the GoBusiness licence directory, one licence type covers imports, exports and transhipments of non-food animals, and pet owners apply for the personal variant of it.

Three things separate this licence from the other approvals in a Singapore move:

• It is animal-specific, not owner-specific. The licence is tied to the pet being brought in, so two dogs need two licences.
• It has a hard expiry. Ninety days from issue, whether or not the pet has travelled.
• It is the document the border asks for. The licence number is quoted in the inspection booking and presented at clearance.

Personal and commercial licences are not interchangeable either. The commercial route carries different quarantine consequences for pets from some countries, which matters if someone offers to bring your pet in under a business account. Owners moving the other way should start with our pet export from Malaysia page.

The tier choice looks like a service question and is really a deadline question. The table sets both tiers against the same clock, including the cut-off rule that quietly adds a day.

Note what the fee does not buy. Express shortens the wait for the licence, not for anything upstream of it. If the serology result is three weeks away, S$100 changes nothing. The AVS import steps for dogs and cats count both tiers from a complete submission, so a missing document resets the clock either way. The same licence applies whether the pet flies in or travels to Singapore by road across the Causeway.

Owners often research Singapore’s rules using a guide written for someone flying in from London or Tokyo, then discover none of the timings match. The reason is the Schedule, and the difference between the three is not a matter of degree.

The serology rule is where Schedule III bites hardest. Blood must be drawn at least 28 days after a valid rabies vaccination, then at least 90 days and no more than 12 months before the date of export, at a WOAH reference laboratory or an approved laboratory in a Schedule I or II country. That is a three-month floor before the pet may leave, which is why an import licence applied for in month one would expire unused.

Schedule III is not a stricter version of Schedule II. It is a different timeline.

AVS notes the categorisation can change, so re-check it close to the import date rather than trusting an older guide. Other long-lead corridors behave the same way, as our note on why Malaysia to Australia pet moves take months shows.

The grid below splits the chain at the licence. Everything above the divider comes first; everything below happens inside the licence’s ninety days. Our Malaysia to Singapore pet transport desk works to the same order.

The breed row ends moves before they start. Pit bull types, Akita, Boerboel, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro, Neapolitan Mastiff, Tosa, Perro de Presa Canario and their crosses are barred, as are Bengal and Savannah cat crosses below the fifth generation. Separately, HDB’s rules on keeping pets limit a flat to one non-specified dog or two cats, which catches owners of two dogs.

This is the cheapest decision in the whole move and the one with the widest spread. Bar lengths below are relative to the largest fee.

Two details reward reading twice. A 10% rebate applies when the fee is paid by GIRO, online or through AXS, so the figures above are the pre-rebate ceiling. And a sterilised animal can hold a one-time lifetime licence for S$35, against S$230 for three years unsterilised.

Cat owners have a further step: microchipping plus a free one-off online pet ownership course before the cat licence can be applied for. Set against the Malaysian side of the ledger on our pet relocation pricing page these are small numbers, but they gate the import licence entirely.

Steps in order, from vaccination to licence in hand

1. Microchip and vaccinate. An ISO 11784 or 11785 Annex A microchip, with the number recorded on every vaccination and treatment record, plus a rabies vaccine AVS accepts and the core vaccinations for the species.
2. Draw the serology sample. At least 28 days after a valid rabies vaccination, at a WOAH reference laboratory or an approved laboratory in a Schedule I or II country.
3. Count 90 days forward. The sample must sit at least 90 days and no more than 12 months before the date of export, so this wait sets the earliest possible travel date.
4. Reserve the quarantine space. Through the Quarantine Management System, uploading the rabies and general vaccination records. Spaces are limited, so book early.
5. Obtain the Singapore dog or cat licence. Through the Pet Animal Licensing System. This must be held before the import licence application is submitted.
6. Apply for the AVS pet import licence. Through the GoBusiness Licensing Portal, choosing normal or express service. Mixed and cross-breed dogs need a colour photo showing the face and body.
7. Line up the remaining approvals. The Customs GST permit through a forwarding agent, the border inspection booked at least five days out, and the health certificate signed two to seven days before export.

Step 6 is where the pieces meet. Owners bringing a pet in by road should also read our guide to the Tuas Checkpoint pet crossing, which covers the border morning in detail, and our answer on driving a dog to Singapore via the Causeway.

Most older guides have not caught up with this. Per the AVS page for CAPQ, owners must engage an AVS-recognised pet agent before the pet arrives, and all import clearance for personal pets now goes through that agent.

What it means in practice:

• The agent is appointed before departure, not on arrival. AVS expects the arrangement to be in place prior to the pet reaching Singapore.
• The agent presents the documents. Import licence, original health certificate, original vaccination records, original serology result, and the airway bill for cargo shipments.
• Hours are narrower than a passenger terminal. CAPQ closes on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, and transfers to the quarantine centre run only on weekday mornings.

Animals landing outside CAPQ’s opening hours wait at the ground handler’s holding area until the next working day, which matters when choosing a flight. Road arrivals are still inspected at Tuas Checkpoint. This is the layer My Pet Mover absorbs, on both sides of the Causeway.

The early-application trap is the most expensive because it feels responsible. A licence issued four months before the move has expired by departure, and the fee is paid again on a second application.

The mixed-breed photo is the quiet one. AVS wants a colour image showing the dog’s face and body to confirm the animal is not a prohibited breed, and owners of obviously gentle crossbreeds skip it, then wait through a second round.

Then the boring failure: a microchip number missing from one vaccination card. The chip links every record to the animal in front of the officer, so one inconsistent document stops clearance. Entry the other way works on the same principle, as our pet import into Malaysia page sets out.

Almost everything that decides whether a Singapore move works happens before this licence is applied for. The vaccination date sets the blood test date, the blood test sets the earliest departure, and the departure sets the week to apply.

Next, read our guide to the Tuas Checkpoint pet crossing, and the corridor overview of pet transport between Malaysia and Singapore.

1. How much does an AVS pet import licence cost?

A personal import licence costs S$50 on normal service, with the licence issued two working days after a complete submission. Express service costs S$100 and issues in one working day. Both licences are identical once granted and both stay valid for 90 days from the date of issue.

2. How long is the AVS import licence valid?

Ninety days from the date of issue. AVS also directs owners to apply within 90 days of arrival. Because the licence must still be valid on the day the pet actually lands, applying months in advance risks paying the fee twice.

3. Do I need a Singapore dog or cat licence as well?

Yes, and it must come first. AVS requires the pet to hold a dog or cat licence through the Pet Animal Licensing System before the import licence application can be made. Cat licences are free until 31 August 2026, after which cats follow the same fee ladder as dogs.

4. How long will my pet be quarantined coming from Malaysia?

Malaysia falls under Schedule III, which carries post-arrival quarantine of at least 30 days at the Animal Quarantine Centre. Pets arriving from Schedule III countries are also vaccinated against rabies on arrival, and the quarantine space must be reserved in advance through the Quarantine Management System.

5. Can I clear my own pet at Changi Airport?

No. From 1 April 2026, import clearance for personal pets at Changi Animal & Plant Quarantine Station must be handled by an AVS-recognised pet agent, appointed before the pet arrives in Singapore. Pets entering by road are inspected at Tuas Checkpoint instead.