Moving to Beijing with a pet adds a second arrival to plan: the animal has its own border procedure, and a dog has a local registration procedure after that. This guide collects what the official Beijing pages say, in the order you need them. It is general orientation, not legal or veterinary advice. Where an official page gives no rule, this guide says to ask locally rather than filling the gap.
One caution: the customs announcement states its Chinese version is authentic and the English version is for reference only. If a detail matters for your move, check the Chinese text or confirm it with customs before you travel.
Entering China with a pet: the default rule
The customs announcement on pets entering China, Announcement [2019] No. 5 of GACC, sets the frame. Live animals brought into China are limited to one dog or one cat per person per entry. The carrier must provide customs with valid quarantine and rabies vaccination certificates from the exiting country or region’s official animal quarantine authorities, and the pet must have an electronic chip.
The default is a 30-day quarantine in a customs-designated area, including the withholding period, entered through a port with quarantine facilities — so the port is not a free choice if quarantine applies.
Carry originals plus copies. If certificates are missing or invalid, the count exceeds the quota, a quarantine pet arrives at a port without facilities, or the pet fails on-site quarantine, customs will return or dispose of the pet. A pet ordered returned must be collected within the prescribed period on the retention voucher, or it is treated as abandoned.
The three ways to skip quarantine
Most pets with complete paperwork do not serve the 30 days: the announcement exempts three cases. The lists of designated countries and regions, designated laboratories, and quarantine ports are set by GACC announcements, so check the current lists for your departure country.
The three exemptions are:
- A pet from a designated country or region, with a valid electronic chip, that passes on-site quarantine.
- A pet from a non-designated country or region, with an effective electronic chip and a rabies antibody test report from a GACC-designated laboratory showing an antibody titer or immune antibody level above 0.5 IU/ml, that passes on-site quarantine.
- A guide dog, hearing dog, or search and rescue dog, with a valid electronic chip, whose carrier provides the relevant user certificates and professional training certificates, that passes on-site quarantine. Service dogs without vaccination certificates may be vaccinated against rabies in qualified institutions on the carrier’s application.
The exemptions waive only the 30 days, not the chip, the certificates, or on-site quarantine. Settle your country’s category and your laboratory’s designation before booking flights: the answer determines both the documents and the port.
After arrival: registering a dog in Beijing
Entry is a customs matter; keeping a dog in Beijing is a public security matter. Beijing’s official Tips for Canine Keeping Registration and Annual Check describes the local procedure. Within 30 days after obtaining a dog, take valid identity certificates and your dog to the appropriate local public security organ, sign the “Commitment Letter for Individual Keeping Dogs” on site, and complete registration; the organ issues the certificate for keeping dogs.
Registration is not the last step. After registration, take the dog to a district veterinary-recognised rabies immunity facility for free vaccination, and get an immunity certificate and sign. Keep the registration certificate, the immunity certificate, and your identity documents together: the annual check asks for them again.
This section covers dogs because the official page is written for dogs. The entry rules above cover dogs and cats, but for a cat, confirm local requirements with the public security organ and a veterinary clinic rather than assuming the dog procedure applies.
Every year: the annual check and the fees
Dog registration is renewed, not filed once. Take the registration certificate to the local public security organ for the annual check and pay the administration service fee. The organ verifies the dog and certificates, then puts a verification sticker on the certificate.
The annual check is usually available from May 1 to December 31, but watch your local organ’s notices for exact times and venues. In key administrative districts the fee is CNY 1,000 for the first year and CNY 500 annually after that; in general administrative districts the district people’s government sets it. A sterilised dog gets up to half off the first year. Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang, Haidian, Fengtai, and Shijingshan are key districts; the rest are general, with rural and dense urban areas assigned by the district government.
The official page also lists FAQs for address changes, lost certificates, and ownership transfers — take those to the organ that issued your certificate.
Before you sign a lease
Paperwork is only half of keeping a pet in Beijing; the other half is the building. The first-month guide already flags this: before bringing or adopting a pet, confirm building rules, landlord permission, walking areas, and nearby veterinary clinics. A dog that is properly registered but not allowed in your compound is still a problem, so confirm in writing before paying a deposit, and again if you move.
Checklist
- Confirm GACC designation of your departure country and rabies laboratory before booking flights.
- Prepare valid quarantine and rabies certificates from your home country’s official authorities, and confirm the chip is readable.
- If quarantine applies, route through a port with quarantine facilities and plan for 30 days.
- Within 30 days of obtaining the dog in Beijing, register with the local public security organ and sign the commitment letter.
- After registration, get the free rabies vaccination at a district-recognised facility and keep the immunity certificate.
- Diary the annual check: usually May 1 to December 31, per your local organ’s notice.
- Before signing a lease, confirm compound rules and landlord permission in writing, and locate a nearby veterinary clinic.