An Interstate Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (ICVI) — often called a health certificate or simply a CVI — is the official document that must accompany most animals moved across US state lines. For a lab-animal facility, vivarium manager, or procurement office, the ICVI shows up any time live animals cross a state border on their way into or out of a research program: a shipment of purpose-bred dogs or non-human primates from an out-of-state vendor, a transfer of farm-animal species between collaborating institutions, or an animal returning from an off-site imaging or surgical facility. This guide covers what the certificate actually is, who is legally allowed to issue one, when a research facility needs it, and how it fits alongside the other paperwork — IACUC approval, USDA APHIS permits — that governs animal movement in research.
What an ICVI Is
An ICVI is a veterinarian-issued document certifying that an animal (or group of animals) has been examined, appears free of infectious or contagious disease, and meets the entry requirements of the destination state. It typically records the animal’s species, breed, sex, age, and identification (tag, tattoo, or microchip number), the premises of origin and destination, the purpose of the movement, the date of examination, and any test results or vaccinations the destination state requires as a condition of entry (for example, rabies vaccination status for dogs and cats, or a negative Coggins/EIA test for equids). The authority behind the requirement is the federal Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. § 8301 et seq.), which gives USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) jurisdiction to regulate interstate animal movement to prevent the spread of livestock and companion-animal disease — but the specific entry conditions (what tests are required, how recently the exam must have occurred, which species are covered) are set by the destination state’s animal health agency, not by a single uniform federal rule.
Who Can Issue One
Only a USDA-accredited veterinarian — a licensed veterinarian who has completed USDA APHIS’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) — may sign a certificate that regulatory officials will accept as an official ICVI. Many research institutions have this covered through their attending veterinarian or institutional veterinary staff (the same veterinarian who typically also serves on the IACUC), but out-of-state vendors and breeders issue their own ICVI at the point of shipment using their own accredited veterinarian. A facility receiving animals from a commercial vendor does not need to arrange the certificate itself — it needs to confirm the vendor will provide one that satisfies the receiving state’s requirements and build a check for it into the receiving/quarantine process.
When a Research Facility Needs One
An ICVI is generally required whenever regulated species cross a state line, including movements a research program initiates or receives:
- Vendor and breeder shipments — commercial breeders shipping dogs, cats, non-human primates, farm-animal species (pigs, sheep, goats), or rabbits into a research facility from another state.
- Inter-institutional transfers — animals moved between collaborating universities, contract research organizations, or shared core facilities for a multi-site study.
- Off-site procedures — an animal sent to an outside imaging center, specialty veterinary hospital, or collaborator’s facility and returned.
- Surplus or donation transfers — retired research animals transferred to another institution, sanctuary, or adoption program across a state line.
Purpose-bred laboratory mice and rats occupy a genuinely different regulatory position: the federal Animal Welfare Act’s definition of “animal” specifically excludes birds, and rats of the genus Rattus and mice of the genus Mus bred for research, which is why they fall outside routine USDA AWA oversight. That exclusion does not automatically mean a state waives its own CVI requirement for rodent shipments — state entry rules are set independently and vary, so a receiving facility should confirm the destination state’s current import requirements for the specific species rather than assume rodents are always exempt.
State-by-State Variability — Check the Destination, Not a National Rule
Because entry conditions are set at the state level, the same shipment can face different requirements depending on where it is going, and sometimes which states it passes through. Points that commonly differ by state:
- Validity window — most states require the ICVI to have been issued within 30 days of travel; some set a shorter window (commonly 10–14 days) for certain species or during active disease outbreaks.
- Species covered — some states require an ICVI for essentially all animal movement; others exempt specific classes, such as animals moving directly between USDA-registered research facilities or laboratory rodents.
- Ancillary testing — a negative Coggins (equine infectious anemia) test for horses, current rabies vaccination for dogs and cats, or tuberculosis/brucellosis testing for cattle and other livestock and, in some jurisdictions, for non-human primates.
The authoritative source for current requirements is always the destination state’s animal health/state veterinarian office (part of the state department of agriculture), not a general summary — requirements change, particularly during active disease events, so procurement and vivarium staff should verify current entry requirements each time a shipment is planned rather than relying on the last shipment’s paperwork as a template.
Electronic ICVI (eCVI) Systems
A growing majority of states now accept, and some require, an electronic certificate of veterinary inspection (eCVI) issued through a state-integrated platform such as USAHERDS or GlobalVetLink rather than a paper form. An eCVI is transmitted directly to the origin and destination state veterinarian’s office at the time of issuance, which speeds regulatory review, creates an automatic audit trail, and reduces the risk of a shipment arriving with paperwork that does not match what the state has on file. For a research facility, this matters operationally: if a vendor’s veterinarian issues a paper-only certificate for a state that expects an eCVI, that mismatch can itself be a source of delay at receiving.
ICVI vs. Other Animal-Movement Paperwork
The ICVI is easy to confuse with adjacent documents that serve different purposes:
- IACUC protocol approval is an internal institutional authorization confirming a specific animal use is scientifically justified and humanely designed — it has nothing to do with interstate shipment and does not substitute for an ICVI. See CASRAI’s IACUC training guide for what that internal process covers.
- USDA APHIS import/movement permits for non-animal biological materials, such as the PPQ 526 permit for soil, plant pests, and biocontrol organisms, govern a different regulatory track entirely; see CASRAI’s PPQ 526 permit guide. A shipment that includes both live animals and regulated biological materials may need both an ICVI and a separate APHIS permit.
- International health certificates apply to animals crossing a national border, not a state line, and follow the destination country’s import requirements plus USDA export certification — a materially different (and usually more involved) process than an ICVI.
- USDA Animal Welfare Act registration/licensing covers a research facility’s ongoing status as a regulated entity; it is unrelated to the paperwork required for any single shipment.
Compliance Risks of Skipping It
Moving animals interstate without a valid ICVI where one is required exposes a research program to more than a paperwork citation. A shipment lacking proper certification can be refused at a weigh station or point of entry, held pending inspection (with associated animal-welfare and cost implications), or turned back entirely — any of which can delay a study’s timeline, particularly for time-sensitive protocols. Carriers also carry their own liability exposure and may refuse to transport animals without a certificate on file, independent of what a receiving institution is willing to accept. State agriculture departments can pursue enforcement action against the shipper of record, and repeated violations can complicate a facility’s standing with its own accrediting bodies.
Building ICVI Checks Into Procurement
The practical fix is procedural, not case-by-case: build the ICVI requirement into the vendor qualification and purchase-order process for any live-animal order that will cross a state line, the same way a lab already tracks USDA registration status or health-screening documentation for a vendor. Concretely:
- Confirm with the vendor, before shipment, which destination-state entry requirements apply and that their accredited veterinarian will issue a certificate that satisfies them (including whether an eCVI is expected).
- Route the ICVI to the same receiving/quarantine checkpoint that already checks health-screening and shipping documentation, so a missing or expired certificate is caught before animals reach housing.
- Retain ICVIs with the facility’s other animal-receipt records — they are frequently part of what an IACUC program review or a USDA APHIS inspection expects to see on file.
- For recurring inter-institutional transfers (multi-site studies, shared colonies), agree on eCVI platform compatibility up front so paperwork doesn’t become a recurring bottleneck.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection?
It is an official document, issued by a USDA-accredited veterinarian, certifying that an animal has been examined and meets the destination state’s entry requirements for interstate movement. It is also commonly called a health certificate or CVI.
Who can issue a certificate of veterinary inspection?
Only a veterinarian accredited under USDA APHIS’s National Veterinary Accreditation Program (NVAP) can issue a certificate that states will accept as an official ICVI.
How long is an ICVI valid?
It varies by destination state, but 30 days from the date of examination is the most common validity window; some states set a shorter window (often 10–14 days) for particular species or during disease outbreaks. Always confirm the current requirement with the destination state’s animal health office before shipping.
Do laboratory rodents need an ICVI to move between states?
Purpose-bred mice and rats fall outside the federal Animal Welfare Act’s definition of “animal,” but that federal exclusion does not automatically override a state’s own CVI requirement. Check the specific destination state’s current entry rules for rodents rather than assuming an exemption applies everywhere.
What’s the difference between an ICVI and an IACUC-approved protocol?
They serve entirely different functions. IACUC approval is an internal institutional authorization for how an animal will be used in research; the ICVI is an external regulatory document required to move an animal across a state line. A study can have full IACUC approval and still need a valid ICVI for any interstate shipment involved.
This guide summarizes the general framework for interstate animal movement in a research-procurement context; it is not a substitute for confirming current requirements directly with the destination state’s animal health/state veterinarian office and the facility’s own attending veterinarian before a specific shipment.
