CDC Dog Import Form: How to Bring Your Dog Into the U.S. (2026)

Which rules apply to your dog

It depends on where your dog has been in the 6 months before it arrives in the U.S., and, if that includes a high-risk country, where it got its rabies vaccine.

CDC lists only the high-risk countries: if a country isn't on CDC's high-risk list, it counts as dog rabies-free or low-risk. Mexico and Canada aren't on the list. Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Peru, India, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) are. Not sure? CDC's Dog Importation Navigator walks you through it.

Sources: Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), CDC-registered Animal Care Facilities (CDC), High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies (CDC)

What every dog needs

• A CDC Dog Import Form receipt (one per dog)
• To appear healthy when it arrives
• To be at least 6 months old when it enters or returns to the U.S.
• A microchip that a universal scanner can read

Coming from a high-risk country? The microchip must have been implanted before the rabies vaccine, or the vaccine doesn't count, and the microchip number must be on every form.

Sources: Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC)

How to fill in the form

1. Open the CDC Dog Import Form. It's free, available in English and Spanish, and takes a few minutes if you have your details ready.
2. Say whether your dog has been in a high-risk country in the last 6 months. Your answer decides what else the form asks for.
3. Enter your details as the person bringing the dog: your date of birth plus a passport number, driver's license number or the dog's air waybill number, and your email and phone number. You can add one co-owner who can also travel with the dog.
4. Enter your dog's details: name, age, sex, breed, color and the purpose. Choose "Personal Pet" for a pet or an emotional support animal; "Service animal" is only for trained service dogs traveling with the person they assist.
5. Upload a recent photo showing your dog's face and body, and enter the microchip number exactly as it appears in the vet records. For a dog under one year old, take the photo within 15 days before travel.
6. Submit, then confirm your email address. CDC then emails you the receipt, which you can print or show on your phone.

Sources: CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions (CDC), Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries (CDC)

When to fill it in, and how long the receipt lasts

You can fill in the form on the day you travel, but CDC recommends doing it a few days ahead.

• Rabies-free or low-risk countries: one receipt covers multiple entries from the same country for 6 months. Coming from a different country, even another low-risk one, needs a new form with that country as the country of departure.
• High-risk countries: the receipt is good for one entry, on the arrival date it lists. If anything changes, such as your travel date or arrival airport, submit a new form.

If you fly, show the receipt to the airline before boarding, and keep it to show U.S. Customs and Border Protection when you arrive.

Sources: Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries (CDC), Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions (CDC)

High-risk country, vaccinated in the U.S.

Before your dog leaves the U.S., a USDA-accredited vet has to fill in CDC's Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form, and USDA has to endorse it (see our USDA health certificate guide for how endorsement works). It isn't the regular rabies certificate from your vet: it's a specific CDC form.

A USDA-endorsed export health certificate issued no later than July 31, 2025 can be used instead, if it's in USDA's database and shows your dog's age, microchip number and a current U.S. rabies vaccination given after the microchip. Certificates issued after July 31, 2025 aren't accepted for re-entry.

Left without either document? Your dog then has to follow the rules for dogs vaccinated abroad, including a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility.

Source: Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC)

High-risk country, vaccinated abroad

• A Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, filled in by your vet and endorsed by an official government vet in the country the dog is leaving. It must be completed no more than 30 days before travel and can be used once.
• A passing rabies titer (blood test) from a CDC-approved lab. The blood is drawn at least 30 days after the first valid rabies vaccine and at least 28 days before entry. Without a valid titer, your dog is quarantined for 28 days at the animal care facility.
• A reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility for an exam and a U.S. rabies revaccination (plus quarantine if needed). You pay all facility costs.
• A flight arriving at the airport where that facility is. Your dog can't take a domestic connection or travel on until the facility is done.
• A first rabies vaccine given at 12 weeks (84 days) old or later, at least 28 days before entry, and documents in English or with a certified translation.

CDC-registered animal care facilities are at Atlanta (ATL), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York JFK (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), Seattle (SEA) and Washington Dulles (IAD). For New York, the dog must land at JFK, not Newark or LaGuardia. Book through the facility well before you travel.

Sources: Entry Requirements for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries (CDC), CDC-registered Animal Care Facilities (CDC)

Layovers and connections

A dog connecting through the U.S. can skip CDC's requirements only if all four of these are true: it flies as cargo or checked baggage, it doesn't go through U.S. customs, it stays with the airline until the next flight, and it's continuing to another country. Otherwise it has to meet the requirements.

If your dog enters a high-risk country during a layover, for example by clearing customs there, it has to meet the high-risk rules when it arrives in the U.S., wherever the trip began. If you're not sure whether your dog will enter the country, ask your airline.

A dog that doesn't meet the requirements is refused entry and flown back to the last country it left, at your expense.

Source: Layovers (CDC)