Importing a Dog Into the US: CDC Rules Explained

Every dog entering the United States must look healthy on arrival, be at least 6 months old, have an ISO-compatible microchip, and carry a receipt from the CDC Dog Import Form submitted online 2 to 10 days before arrival. Dogs that have been in a high-risk rabies country in the last 6 months face additional steps. Rules change often, so confirm the current requirement on cdc.gov before you travel.

If you are a returning expat, a military family rotating home, or someone who adopted a rescue from abroad, the paperwork for bringing a dog into the US changed substantially on Aug 1 2024, with a further update on Aug 1 2025. This guide decodes what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now requires and where your dog's travel history changes everything. It covers only the inbound-to-US leg; for the full end-to-end move, see our guide on how to relocate a pet internationally. Treat this as education, not legal advice, and verify every detail on the official CDC page before you rely on it.

The four rules that apply to every dog

Since Aug 1 2024, the CDC applies four baseline requirements to every dog arriving in the United States, regardless of where it has been or who is bringing it. These apply whether the dog is flying, crossing a land border, or arriving by sea, and whether it is a returning US pet or entering for the first time. According to the CDC importation guidance for dogs, every dog must meet all four of the following.

• Appear healthy on arrival. A dog that looks sick may be examined further at the owner's expense, and entry can be delayed or refused.
• Be at least 6 months old. This is a firm age floor, which effectively rules out importing very young puppies.
• Have an ISO-compatible microchip. The chip must be readable by a standard scanner and is the identifier tied to all other paperwork, so it should be placed before any rabies documentation is dated.
• Have a CDC Dog Import Form receipt. The owner or importer submits this free online form and carries the confirmation receipt for arrival.

The CDC Dog Import Form is completed on the CDC website, typically 2 to 10 days before the dog arrives, and the system emails a receipt that you present at the port of entry. The CDC Dog Import Form instructions explain the exact submission window and the information you need to have on hand, including the microchip number and a clear photo of the dog. Because that window is short and the receipt is mandatory, this is a step to schedule near the end of your planning, not the start.

The big fork: where has your dog been in the last 6 months?

After the four baseline rules, the single question that decides how hard your import will be is where the dog has physically been during the 6 months before arrival. The CDC classifies countries by dog-rabies risk, and it is the dog's location history, not its nationality or your citizenship, that matters. A dog can be a lifelong US pet and still fall into the harder category if it spent recent months in a high-risk country.

• Only in dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries. The CDC Dog Import Form, plus the microchip, age, and healthy-appearance rules, is essentially all the CDC requires.
• In a high-risk rabies country at any point in the last 6 months. Several additional requirements apply, including where the dog may arrive and proof of rabies protection.

Because the country lists are updated periodically, always check the current classification for your specific country of departure and travel history on the CDC high-risk countries page before booking anything. A country that was low-risk last year may be listed differently now, and vice versa.

Dogs coming only from low-risk or rabies-free countries

This is the straightforward path, and it covers a large share of returning-home moves from places like Canada, the United Kingdom, much of Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. If your dog has been only in dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries throughout the last 6 months, the CDC does not require a rabies vaccination certificate or a titer for entry. You still complete the CDC Dog Import Form in the 2-to-10-day window, and the dog still must be microchipped, at least 6 months old, and healthy on arrival.

Two cautions matter even on the easy path. First, the CDC is only one authority. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), individual states, and airlines each set their own rules, and some destinations within the US add requirements of their own. Second, if you are also flying the dog out of a country with an export process, that country's paperwork still applies to the outbound leg. For the full paperwork inventory across both legs of a trip, see the documents needed to fly a pet internationally.

It is also worth keeping records even when the CDC does not demand them. A dated rabies certificate, the microchip registration, and any recent vet examination make border questions faster to resolve and help with the airline's own live-animal paperwork. Airlines can decline to board a dog whose crate or documentation looks off, and that decision is separate from anything the CDC requires. Having a tidy folder, printed and on your phone, is cheap insurance against a delayed or missed flight.

Dogs coming from a high-risk rabies country

This is where importing a dog into the US gets involved, and where a mistimed step can mean the dog is refused or held. If your dog has been in a high-risk rabies country at any point in the last 6 months, the CDC layers several requirements on top of the four baseline rules. As summarized by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the exact combination depends on where the dog was vaccinated and what proof it carries.

• Arrival at an approved airport. The dog must arrive at one of a limited set of airports that have a CDC-registered animal care facility.
• A reservation. You must book a reservation at that facility in advance, and reservation and related fees may apply.
• Proof of rabies protection. The dog must carry either a valid Certification of US-issued Rabies Vaccination form or an adequate rabies titer result from an approved laboratory.
• Possible revaccination. If documentation is incomplete or the titer is inadequate, revaccination and further checks at the facility may be required at the owner's expense.

A rabies titer is a blood test that measures antibody level to show the vaccine worked, and it has its own timing rules that can add months to a plan. If your route may require one, read our explainer on the rabies titer test for pets so you understand the lead time before you commit to travel dates. The table below sorts the two histories against what the CDC requires.

The Aug 1 2025 update you need to know

The CDC framework got a meaningful revision on Aug 1 2025 that changed how US-vaccinated dogs prove their rabies status. As of that date, the Certification of US-issued Rabies Vaccination form is the accepted route for dogs vaccinated in the United States that are returning from a high-risk country. A USDA-accredited veterinarian completes and endorses this form before the dog leaves the US, and it documents the microchip and the rabies vaccination.

The practical catch for anyone planning ahead: USDA-endorsed export health certificates were accepted as rabies proof only through Jul 31 2025. If you left the US before that date on older paperwork, verify what your dog now needs to come back, because the accepted document may have changed while you were away. The safest move is to confirm your dog's exact return requirements on the CDC importation pages, and, if a US-issued form applies, to line up the USDA-accredited vet appointment before you depart. When your dog's status is anything but obvious, this is the kind of detail an experienced, IPATA-member relocation company handles routinely, though you can also manage it yourself with careful reading.

Cats, Hawaii, and the rules CDC does not cover

The CDC dog import rules cover dogs. Cats are not subject to the CDC Dog Import Form, and the CDC does not currently require a general import form for cats, although USDA, state, airline, and destination rules still apply to feline travelers. If you are moving a cat instead of or alongside a dog, the process runs on a similar regulatory spine but has its own quirks, which we cover in moving overseas with a cat.

Two more layers sit outside the CDC framework and catch people off guard. First, the USDA and individual states set their own entry conditions, so clearing CDC at the port of entry is not the whole story. Second, Hawaii runs a separate animal quarantine program because it is rabies-free, with strict pre-arrival steps that can shorten or eliminate quarantine when done correctly, and a long hold when they are not. A dog can satisfy every CDC rule and still face Hawaii's quarantine if the state's requirements were not met in advance. If your final destination is a US land-border move, our guide on pet transport to and from Canada shows how a neighboring-country move compares.

The adoption angle deserves a note too. Rescuing a dog from overseas is generous, but the CDC rules apply the same way to a rescue as to a family pet, and the 6-month age floor plus the high-risk-country steps can complicate transports run by well-meaning charities. If you are adopting from abroad, ask the rescue exactly how they plan to meet the current CDC requirements, including which airport the dog will arrive at and what rabies documentation it will carry, before you commit. A vague answer is a warning sign that the paperwork may not clear on arrival.

A sensible order of operations

The mistakes that cause refusals are almost always sequencing errors, not missing effort. The safest order is to confirm your country's current risk classification first, then work forward. The veterinary association AAHA's summary of the CDC rule stresses the same point that timing and documentation, not the vaccine itself, are what trip owners up.

1. Confirm the dog's country risk category and the current rules on cdc.gov.
2. Make sure the ISO-compatible microchip is in place before any rabies paperwork is dated.
3. If the route is high-risk, arrange rabies documentation or a titer early, and book an approved-airport facility reservation.
4. If a US-issued rabies form applies, schedule the USDA-accredited vet.
5. Submit the CDC Dog Import Form 2 to 10 days before arrival and carry the receipt.
6. Check USDA, state, and Hawaii requirements separately, and confirm airline crate and booking rules.

Because these requirements are revised regularly and vary by situation, treat every figure and step here as a typical case, not a guarantee, and confirm the current rule on the official CDC importation pages before you travel. When the timing is tight or the paperwork is unfamiliar, a professional relocation service exists precisely to manage the sequence and the reservations, but a well-organized owner on an easy route can absolutely do it alone.

Frequently asked questions