Foreign Service pet relocation runs on a different rulebook than a military PCS move: the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) and the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR), not the Joint Travel Regulations. If you’re on military orders instead, see this site’s separate Moving Pets During a Military PCS Move guide.
The requirements described here reflect research current as of August 2026 and can change — always confirm the current policy directly with your agency’s Global Talent Management (GTM) office, the Office of Allowances (allowances.state.gov), and your destination post’s own animal-import authority before you travel.
What Makes Foreign Service Pet Relocation Different
Foreign Service pet relocation involves two things an ordinary pet relocation doesn’t: a specific reimbursement allowance for pet shipment and quarantine costs, and a narrow exception that lets you use a foreign airline when no U.S. carrier can transport your pet. Both come with real limits and documentation requirements, covered below.
The Pet Shipment and Quarantine Reimbursement
The Foreign Transfer Allowance (FTA) — the allowance that helps cover extraordinary costs of transferring to a foreign post — has a dedicated Pet Shipment and Required Quarantine Expense Portion (DSSR 242.5), added as part of a 2023 modernization of the FTA. It reimburses up to $4,000 total for shipping a family pet to a foreign post of assignment (or between two foreign posts, including a home leave stop) and any required quarantine. Covered expenses include pet transport costs, pet shipper fees, ground transport to and from airports, quarantine fees, required immunizations, blood tests, and certifications.
A few limits worth knowing: the $4,000 is a total cap across all of those categories, not a per-item allowance. If both members of a dual-Foreign-Service-employee household are eligible, only one of you can be reimbursed for the same pet’s move on the same travel leg — you can’t double-claim one animal’s expenses. And this allowance is specific to DSSR-covered employees; if your agency reimburses relocation costs under the Federal Travel Regulation instead, this particular allowance doesn’t apply to you — ask your GTM or HR office which framework covers your move.
The Foreign-Airline Pet Exception
U.S. Government-financed air travel generally has to be on a U.S.-flag carrier (the Fly America Act). But the Foreign Affairs Manual carves out a specific exception for pets: employees and their eligible family members may be ticketed on a foreign-flag carrier when no U.S. airline is available to transport their cat or dog — whether in the cabin, as accompanied excess baggage, or as checked cargo on the same flight as the traveler.
This exception has real limits. It’s capped at three cats or dogs total per employee, and it applies to both PCS and evacuation travel under the same rule — it isn’t a PCS-only benefit. If pet transport is the reason you’re using a foreign carrier, you’re personally responsible for any airfare above what the authorized U.S. carrier would have cost, plus the actual cost of moving the pet itself.
Documentation matters here: every pet moved under this exception must be registered in Pet Tracker (found in the myServices system, under the Travel, Transportation, and Shipping request tab). State Department travelers must complete and submit Form DS-3093 through MyData — including the cost comparison between the authorized U.S. carrier airfare without the pet and the requested foreign-flag carrier airfare — and it must be approved and signed by the Travel Management and Policy Division (A/GO/PST/TMP) before the foreign-flag carrier is used. In an emergency, when travel must begin within 72 hours, the management officer at post may approve the form instead. USAGM requires separate Chief Financial Officer approval to use this exception. Confirm your own agency’s specific paperwork with your transportation office before booking.
Getting Your Pet To and From Post
Beyond the reimbursement and airline pieces above, plan for the practical side of the move: register your pet in Pet Tracker if you might need the foreign-carrier exception, and coordinate crate requirements and booking timelines with your airline well before departure. Confirm your destination post’s own animal-import requirements directly with that country’s government — the process is entirely separate from anything covered here, and this site’s country guides describe entry into the United States, not entry into a foreign post, so they aren’t the right resource for an outbound move. Your post’s management office or GTM contact is the best source for post-specific practicalities.
Common Mistakes
Assuming the $4,000 Allowance Is a Flat Payment
It’s a reimbursement up to $4,000 for specific, enumerated expense categories — not an automatic lump sum you receive regardless of what you actually spent.
Assuming Any Foreign Airline Works
The foreign-carrier exception only applies when no U.S.-flag carrier can transport your pet by an accepted method, and it’s capped at three cats or dogs total per employee. It isn’t a general permission to book whichever airline is most convenient.
Confusing This With Military PCS Rules
Foreign Service moves run on the FAM and DSSR, not the Joint Travel Regulations that govern military PCS moves — the reimbursement amounts, conditions, and documentation are genuinely different frameworks, even where a dollar figure happens to look similar.
Related Resources
- Moving Pets During a Military PCS Move — the equivalent guide for military PCS moves, which run on different rules (the Joint Travel Regulations).
- Compare Pet Movers — for help coordinating a complex international pet move.
