Dog and cat vaccines in Mexico: schedule and vaccine record

What the cartilla (vaccine record) is

It's the booklet where the vet records each vaccine and deworming: the date, the product (with its label stuck on), the vet's signature and the date of the next dose. Dogs and cats each have their own.

You'll be asked for it at free spay and neuter drives, to board your pet at a hotel or daycare, to travel and to prove it's vaccinated against rabies if it bites someone. If you bring a US vaccine record, ask your new vet in Mexico to transfer the history to a local cartilla.

How to get one

1. 1. Take it to its first visit. At the first vaccine, the vet opens the cartilla. If you adopted it, ask for the one the shelter gave you: many pets arrive already vaccinated.
2. 2. Bring it to every visit. Each vaccine goes in the same cartilla. If you change vets, bring it: it tells the vet what's missing.
3. 3. If you lost it. Ask the clinic that vaccinated it for a copy: they have its history. If you don't know which vaccines it has, your vet will tell you how to restart the schedule.

Vaccine schedule for dogs

• 6 weeks: first parvovirus shot (or a combination vaccine, depending on the vet).
• 8 to 9 weeks: combination vaccine (distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, parainfluenza and leptospira).
• 12 weeks: combination vaccine booster.
• 16 weeks: last puppy booster.
• Rabies: mandatory; from the first month of life, again at three months and then every year.
• Kennel cough (Bordetella): your vet will tell you from what age and how often. It's often required to travel, to enter some dog parks and to board your dog at hotels, daycares or kennels.
• Adults: a vaccine check-up every year, for life: rabies plus the boosters your vet recommends. Being an adult doesn't mean your dog no longer needs vaccines.

This is the most common schedule in Mexico; your vet may adjust the dates to your dog's age, health and lifestyle, but the vaccine check-up is every year, for life.

Vaccine schedule for cats

• 6 to 8 weeks: first dose of the feline triple (panleukopenia, rhinotracheitis and calicivirus) or the quintuple, which also protects against feline leukemia and chlamydia. Your vet will tell you which one fits.
• 10 to 12 weeks: second dose of the triple or quintuple.
• 14 to 16 weeks: third dose.
• Feline leukemia: it's included in the quintuple. Your vet will tell you if it needs it, especially if it goes outside or lives with other cats.
• Rabies: also mandatory for cats; from the first month, again at three months and then every year.
• Adults: a vaccine check-up every year, for life: rabies plus the feline triple or quintuple boosters your vet recommends.

Indoor cats need their vaccines too: you can carry viruses on your clothes and shoes.

So you don't miss a dose

• Have vaccines given only by a veterinarian or at an official vaccination drive, and make sure they're recorded in the cartilla.
• Take a photo of each page of the cartilla after every visit.
• Put the next date on your calendar with an alarm a week before.
• Until its vaccines are complete, keep your puppy off parks and away from dogs you don't know.
• Deworm it on the dates your vet gives you: that goes in the cartilla too.

Frequently asked questions

How often does a dog need the rabies vaccine in Mexico?

Mexico's standard says to vaccinate from the first month of life, revaccinate at three months and then every year, for life. It's free at the vaccination drives and at Mexico City's health clinics.

Does my adult dog or cat still need vaccines?

Yes. Every pet, at any age, needs a yearly vaccine check-up: rabies plus the boosters your vet recommends.

Do dogs in Mexico have rabies?

In 2019 the World Health Organization validated Mexico as the first country to eliminate human rabies transmitted by dogs, thanks to decades of mass dog vaccination. Rabies still exists in wildlife like bats, which is why the yearly shot stays mandatory.

Do cats have a vaccine record too?

Yes. The vet opens it at the first vaccine, just like with a dog. It records the feline triple or quintuple vaccine, rabies and deworming.

Can I download and print a vaccine record?

A record printed at home doesn't count as proof: what counts is the vet's entry, with the signature and the vaccine label. Ask your vet for the cartilla.

My adult dog was never vaccinated. What do I do?

Take it to the vet: they'll examine it and set a starter schedule for adults, which is usually shorter than a puppy's. After that, a vaccine check-up every year.

Related guides

• Free rabies vaccine and spay or neuter in Mexico City (2026)2026 rabies vaccination dates, free rabies shots year-round and requirements for free spay and neuter in Mexico City.
• How often to deworm a dog or a catHow often to deworm a dog or cat by age, and signs that it has parasites.
• Bringing a dog to Mexico: requirements in 2026Requirements to bring a dog or cat to Mexico from the US or Canada in 2026, and to take it back to the US.

Wagori: everything for your pet, in one app

Keep its vaccine record, find vets and trusted services, and see events near you. It's free. The app is in Spanish for now.

Sources

Information from:

• NOM-011-SSA2-2011, rabies prevention and control in dogs and cats (in Spanish)
• WSAVA: vaccination guidelines for dogs and cats (2024)
• Purina: puppy vaccination schedule (in Spanish)
• WHO: Mexico is free from human rabies transmitted by dogs (2019)