Bringing a dog from the Philippines to the United States is one of the more demanding inbound pet moves, and the reason is on the US side, not the Philippine one. The Philippines is on the CDC list of high-risk countries for dog rabies, and it is also on the USDA list of regions where screwworm is considered to exist. Each of those adds its own paperwork, and together they shape which US airport your dog can land at, how far ahead you need to start, and which documents must be signed by a government veterinarian rather than your regular vet. Cats, by contrast, remain federally light. This guide walks through both, plus the Philippine export steps run by the Bureau of Animal Industry.
It is part of our inbound-to-the-US series led by the Europe to the US hub. Our guide to importing a dog into the US explains the federal framework in general terms, and this page focuses on how it plays out from the Philippines.
First question: was your dog vaccinated in the US or in the Philippines?
The CDC treats a dog from a high-risk country very differently depending on where its current rabies vaccination was given. A US-vaccinated dog, typically one that left the US with its owner and is now coming home, follows one path. A dog vaccinated in the Philippines, including any dog born or adopted there, follows a stricter one. Everything that follows depends on which group your dog is in, so settle that first, with the vaccination records in hand.
Path one: US-vaccinated dogs coming home
A dog with a current US-issued rabies vaccination returning from the Philippines needs two documents, according to the CDC page for US-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries: the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, and a Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form completed by a USDA-accredited veterinarian and endorsed by USDA before the dog left the United States. The dog must have been microchipped before vaccination, vaccinated at 12 weeks or older, and the form completed at least 28 days after the vaccine was given.
The trap is the date cutoff. As an alternative to that form, the CDC accepts a USDA-endorsed export health certificate only if it was issued no later than July 31, 2025, and it must show the dog's age, microchip number and current US rabies vaccination. Export health certificates issued after July 31, 2025 are not accepted for re-entry. That means a family who flew a dog to Manila in late 2025 using an ordinary USDA export certificate, without the separate certification form, cannot simply reuse that certificate to come home. If that is you, talk to a USDA-accredited vet and the CDC guidance before booking, because the fix may require planning that cannot be done from Manila at the last minute. The upside of the US-vaccinated path is flexibility: these dogs can arrive at any US airport, land border or seaport that matches the CDC form, with no care facility reservation. Our guide to moving back to the US with a pet covers this return path for other countries too.
Path two: dogs vaccinated in the Philippines
A dog vaccinated in the Philippines follows the CDC rules for foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries, which is the strictest US entry path. In order:
- The dog must be at least six months old on arrival, and microchipped before its rabies vaccination.
- The first valid rabies vaccination must be given at 12 weeks or older and at least 28 days before arrival.
- A blood sample for a rabies antibody test must be drawn at least 30 days after the first valid vaccination and at least 28 days before arrival, and tested at a CDC-approved laboratory.
- A veterinarian completes the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, which must be endorsed by an official government veterinarian, in practice the Bureau of Animal Industry. The form must be completed no more than 30 days before travel and can be used only once.
- The dog must have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility at the US arrival airport, where it is examined and revaccinated with a US-licensed vaccine.
A dog without a valid antibody test result must instead spend 28 days in quarantine at the animal care facility, at the owner's expense. For most families, getting the titer done in Manila well ahead is far cheaper and kinder. Our rabies titer test guide explains how the test works and why lab choice matters.
The airport restriction: where a Philippine-vaccinated dog can land
Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries must arrive at an airport with a CDC-registered animal care facility. The current CDC list covers Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington Dulles. Seattle accepts cargo-only reservations, the Los Angeles facilities prefer cargo arrivals, and New York means JFK specifically, not Newark or LaGuardia.
This matters a great deal from Manila. Honolulu and Guam are natural stopping points on transpacific routes, but the CDC states there are no registered animal care facilities in Hawaii, Alaska or US territories, so a Philippine-vaccinated dog cannot enter the US there. San Francisco is also not on the list. Build the itinerary around one of the approved gateways first, then book the human tickets around it.
The screwworm certificate: the requirement most guides leave out
The Philippines is on the USDA list of regions where screwworm is considered to exist. For dogs from those regions, USDA APHIS requires a certificate signed by a full-time salaried official government veterinarian stating that the dog was inspected for screwworm within 5 days before shipment to the US, and that it is either free of screwworm or was treated and held until free. The statements can be a standalone certificate or built into the export health certificate. Because it must be signed by a government veterinarian within 5 days of shipment, it has to be coordinated with the Bureau of Animal Industry's quarantine office close to departure. This applies to dogs, including US-vaccinated dogs coming home, not only to dogs vaccinated in the Philippines.
| Requirement | US-vaccinated dog returning | Philippine-vaccinated dog | Cat |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDC Dog Import Form receipt | Yes | Yes | No |
| Rabies form | US-issued certification, USDA-endorsed before leaving the US | Foreign certification, endorsed by a government vet within 30 days of travel | No federal form |
| Rabies antibody titer | No | Yes, or 28-day quarantine | No |
| Animal care facility reservation | No | Yes | No |
| Allowed arrival points | Any port matching the CDC form | Only airports with a registered facility | Any |
| Screwworm certificate within 5 days | Yes | Yes | No |
| BAI export clearance | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The Philippine export side: BAI and the quarantine office
On the Philippine side, pet exports run through the Bureau of Animal Industry and its National Veterinary Quarantine Services. The general sequence is a veterinary health certificate from a licensed vet close to departure, updated vaccination records, then submission to the BAI quarantine office for endorsement and the export clearance or international veterinary health certificate that travels with the pet. Owners report that the private vet certificate must be very recent when it is presented to the quarantine office, so book the vet visit and the BAI appointment together rather than days apart. Because the US-side screwworm certificate and the foreign rabies form both need a government veterinarian's signature, try to handle them in the same BAI visit where possible.
Airlines from the Philippines
Philippine Airlines flies nonstop from Manila to several US cities and accepts dogs and cats as checked baggage, with the combined weight of pet and carrier generally capped at 32 kg, and it asks you to arrange pet travel well ahead of the flight. Check its pet travel page for the current rules on your route. Larger dogs move as cargo through a shipper. Two cautions apply. Some carriers, including American Airlines, refuse dogs coming from high-risk countries altogether, so a connecting itinerary on a US carrier may not be possible. And the arrival airport must work for the care facility rule if your dog is Philippine-vaccinated, which narrows the realistic nonstop options.
Cats from the Philippines
Cats avoid almost all of this. There is no CDC form, no titer, no care facility reservation and no screwworm certificate for a cat. A cat still needs the BAI export clearance and whatever the airline asks for, and many US states require rabies vaccination once it arrives. If your household is moving both a dog and a cat, it is common for the cat's paperwork to be done in an afternoon while the dog's takes months.
Rescue and adopted dogs
Many Filipino-American families and returning expats want to bring home a dog they adopted locally. That dog is almost always Philippine-vaccinated, so it follows path two in full, including the titer and the care facility reservation. Dogs imported for adoption by a rescue or for resale also fall under USDA commercial import rules. Our guide to bringing a rescue dog from overseas covers how to tell a legitimate rescue from a scam, which is a real risk on this route.
Arrival day at the animal care facility
For a Philippine-vaccinated dog, landing is not the end of the trip. The dog is transferred to the CDC-registered animal care facility at the arrival airport, where it is examined, its documents are checked against the CDC records, and it is revaccinated against rabies with a US-licensed vaccine. If everything is in order, the dog is released to you or your agent, often the same day or the next, depending on arrival time and the facility's process. If the titer was missing or invalid, the dog stays for the 28-day quarantine instead. Arrange in advance who will collect the dog, with what vehicle and crate, and confirm the facility's hours, since a late-night arrival may mean an overnight stay at the facility before release.
The paperwork mistakes we see most on this route
- A microchip implanted after the rabies vaccination, which makes that vaccination invalid for CDC purposes and restarts the titer clock.
- A foreign rabies certification form signed more than 30 days before travel, or reused from an earlier trip.
- Booking flights into Honolulu, Guam or San Francisco for a Philippine-vaccinated dog.
- Forgetting the screwworm certificate, or getting it signed too early to fall inside the 5-day window.
- Assuming a returning dog can reuse a post-July 2025 USDA export certificate.
- Booking a connection on a carrier that refuses dogs from high-risk countries.
Every one of these can strand a dog at departure or on arrival. A careful shipper checks them as a matter of routine, which is a large part of what you pay for on this route.
Timeline: start at least three months out
For a Philippine-vaccinated dog, the clock is set by the titer: a vaccination, then a blood draw at least 30 days later, then lab processing, then at least 28 days before arrival. In practice, start three to four months before your target flight. Reserve the animal care facility and the flight as soon as the titer result is back. For a US-vaccinated dog, the timeline is shorter, but only if the US-issued rabies certification form was completed and endorsed before the dog left the US. In both cases, the screwworm certificate and the BAI clearance land in the final days.
What it typically costs
Expect the usual airline pet fee or cargo charge, an IATA-compliant crate, Philippine vet and BAI fees, and the titer test for a Philippine-vaccinated dog. The animal care facility fee is paid by you, varies by facility and length of stay, and rises sharply if the dog must quarantine for 28 days, so ask the facility for a written quote before booking flights. A full-service shipper for a large dog from Manila typically lands in the low-to-mid thousands of dollars. See our international pet shipping cost guide, and our US to Philippines guide if you will travel the other way later.