PetFlightCheck

Bringing Your Dog to Costa Rica From the U.S. (2026)

To take a pet dog from the U.S. to Costa Rica, it needs a health certificate from a USDA-accredited vet, endorsed by USDA. The vet must examine your dog within 2 weeks of departure, and it must be treated for internal and external parasites within the 15 days before it leaves. Dogs over 3 months need a rabies vaccination that's still valid on arrival, and dogs need distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis vaccines. A dog flying with you in the cabin or as checked baggage doesn't need an import permit. Coming back, it needs a screwworm certificate from an official vet in Costa Rica.

Last verified against official sources

Step by step

  1. Vaccinations. Dogs over 3 months need a rabies vaccination that will still be valid on the day your dog arrives. Dogs also need distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus and leptospirosis vaccines. Puppies under 3 months shouldn't get a rabies vaccine; instead, the certificate lists the vaccines they've had for their age.
  2. Parasite treatment within 15 days of leaving. Your vet treats your dog for internal and external parasites and records the date, brand, lot number and active ingredient on the certificate.
  3. Vet exam within 2 weeks of departure. A USDA-accredited vet examines your dog, which must be healthy, free of ticks and other external parasites and have no tumors or fresh or healing wounds, and completes APHIS's health certificate for Costa Rica.
  4. USDA endorsement. The vet submits the certificate to USDA for endorsement. Costa Rica accepts APHIS's digital endorsement.
  5. Bring the original certificate and a copy. You show both at the airport inspection when you arrive.

The certificate doesn't need a notary's signature or a stamp from a Costa Rican consulate. How USDA endorsement works is in our USDA health certificate guide. Our trip checker works out the date for each step from your flight.

Sources: Requirements for importing dogs and cats from the United States (SENASA, Costa Rica), Pet Travel From the United States to Costa Rica (USDA APHIS)

In the cabin, checked, or as cargo

If your dog flies with you, in the cabin or as checked baggage, the USDA-endorsed health certificate is all you show on arrival.

If your dog flies as declared cargo or travels without you, you need an import permit issued by Costa Rica before it arrives. SENASA says to hire a customs broker in Costa Rica to request it; SENASA decides within 24 working hours of receiving the original document.

Sources: Requirements for importing dogs and cats from the United States (SENASA, Costa Rica), Pet Travel From the United States to Costa Rica (USDA APHIS)

When you arrive

Your dog is inspected at the airport. A dog with tumors, fresh or healing wounds, or ticks and other external parasites is refused entry, so the parasite treatment and a close look before you fly matter.

Bringing medicine for your dog? If it's prescription medicine, bring the prescription.

Source: Requirements for importing dogs and cats from the United States (SENASA, Costa Rica)

Coming back to the U.S.

APHIS lists Costa Rica as not free of screwworm. To come back into the U.S., your dog needs a certificate signed by an official government vet in Costa Rica saying it was inspected for screwworm within 5 days before the trip and is free of it. APHIS has no set form for this: it can be its own document or part of an export health certificate.

Your dog also needs a CDC Dog Import Form receipt, like every dog entering the U.S. See our CDC Dog Import Form guide.

Plan the screwworm certificate before you book the flight home: without it, your dog can't re-enter the U.S.

Sources: Dog Imports: Check Country Disease Status (USDA APHIS), Bring a Pet Dog into the United States (USDA APHIS), CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions (CDC)

How current these rules are

APHIS's Costa Rica page was last updated February 6, 2026, and SENASA's requirements for dogs from the U.S. have applied since July 19, 2024. SENASA says its requirements can change without notice, so check both before you travel.

Sources: Pet Travel From the United States to Costa Rica (USDA APHIS), Requirements for importing dogs and cats from the United States (SENASA, Costa Rica)

Before you go

Entry rules change, sometimes with little notice. This page summarizes the official pages below as of September 28, 2026. Confirm the current requirements with your vet, USDA APHIS and your airline before you travel.

Want these steps with dates? Enter your flight in our trip checker for a checklist worked back from your travel date, and whether your dog fits your airline's cabin rules.

Flying there? Compare airline pet policies. For how USDA endorsement works, see ourUSDA health certificate guide.