CDC Dog Import Rules: Form, Pathways, and Entry Requirements

To bring a dog into the United States, the CDC’s dog import requirements set three baselines for every animal: the dog must be at least six months old on arrival, carry an ISO-compliant microchip implanted on or before its current rabies vaccination, and travel with a completed CDC Dog Import Form receipt. Everything else, including which vaccination certificate you need, whether a blood test is required, and where the dog can legally enter the country, turns on where the dog has been during the previous six months and whether its rabies vaccine was given in the United States or abroad.¹

The Three Requirements Every Dog Must Meet

Age comes first. A dog younger than six months on the date of arrival is denied entry and sent back to the departure country, because puppies that young cannot mount a reliable response to a rabies vaccine. There is no exception for service animals or emotional support animals.²

The microchip is second, and the sequence matters. It must be ISO-compliant so CBP’s universal scanner can read it, and it must have been implanted on or before the date of the current rabies vaccination. If the vaccine went in first and the chip followed later, that vaccination does not count for import purposes. You would need to implant the chip, revaccinate, and start the waiting clock again. Confirm the chip standard with your vet before travel.¹

The third requirement is a current rabies vaccination. For a dog receiving its first rabies shot, at least 28 days must pass between the vaccination date and the arrival date. The microchip number must appear on every document that travels with the dog: the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, the vaccination certificate, and any accompanying veterinary records.²

Which Pathway Applies to Your Dog

The CDC sorts every country into either “dog rabies-free or low-risk” or “high-risk.” If a country does not appear on the CDC’s published high-risk list, it is treated as low-risk. The high-risk list runs to more than 100 countries across much of Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America.³

From there, three pathways set the paperwork:

If the dog has been only in low-risk or rabies-free countries during the past six months, you need the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, a working microchip, proof the dog is at least six months old, and a healthy-looking dog on arrival.⁴
If your dog was vaccinated in the United States and traveled with you to a high-risk country, you need the CDC Dog Import Form receipt plus a Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination form, completed by a USDA-accredited vet before departure and endorsed by USDA.⁵
If the dog was vaccinated abroad and has been in a high-risk country in the past six months, you face the full set: a foreign vaccination certificate, a rabies serology titer from a CDC-approved lab, and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility.⁶

One category has no pathway at all. An unvaccinated dog that has been in a high-risk country during the past six months cannot enter the United States.⁷

Filling Out the CDC Dog Import Form

Every dog needs its own form, completed online through the CDC website. You cannot combine dogs on a single form. It can technically be filed on the day of travel, but the CDC recommends submitting it a few days ahead, or up to six months in advance.⁸

The form asks for your full name, phone number, and the U.S. street address where the dog will live. For the dog, you enter breed, sex, age, color and markings, and microchip number. You also pick the importation purpose: “personal pet” or “commercial.” You upload a .jpg, .jpeg, or .png photo of the dog showing face and body, under 10MB. For dogs under one year old, the photo needs to be taken within 15 days of arrival.⁸

After you verify your email, the receipt arrives in about 15 minutes. Print it, save a copy to your phone, and bring both. For dogs from low-risk countries, that receipt covers one dog for multiple entries from the same departure country over six months. For dogs from high-risk countries, it is good for a single entry.⁸

Vaccination Certificates by Pathway

Dogs coming only from low-risk or rabies-free countries do not need a separate CDC vaccination certificate, though airlines and destination states may impose their own paperwork.

A U.S.-vaccinated dog returning from a high-risk country needs the Certification of U.S.-Issued Rabies Vaccination. A USDA-accredited veterinarian fills it out before the dog leaves the country, and USDA must endorse it. The form ties the microchip number to the vaccination record. Show up without it and the CDC treats your dog as foreign-vaccinated, which pushes you into the high-risk pathway with a mandatory facility reservation.⁵

A foreign-vaccinated dog needs the Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form. A licensed vet in the country of origin completes it, and an official government veterinarian in the exporting country endorses it. The form lists the ISO microchip number, breed, sex, date of birth or age, and color. The vaccine section requires product name, manufacturer, lot number, product expiration date, date of vaccination, and next-due date. Up to three recent vaccines can be listed. The vet’s license number and signature go at the bottom.⁹

Extra Steps for Foreign-Vaccinated Dogs From High-Risk Countries

Two additional requirements sit on top of the paperwork above, and both need serious lead time.

The first is a rabies serology titer test. The dog’s blood sample must be drawn at least 30 days after its first valid rabies vaccination and at least 28 days before arrival in the United States. Results must come directly from a CDC-approved laboratory; third-party lab results are not accepted. The CDC recommends starting the process at least 60 days before travel to allow for shipping and testing time.¹⁰

The second is a confirmed reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility. The reservation covers a veterinary exam and revaccination with a U.S.-licensed rabies vaccine on arrival. If the dog does not have a valid titer result before it lands, the reservation also has to include a 28-day quarantine at the facility. You pay the facility’s costs. The dog has to fly into the specific U.S. airport tied to the facility where you booked, and slots fill up, so contact the facility well in advance. No CDC-registered animal care facilities operate in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories, so foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries cannot enter through those locations.⁶²

Where You Can Enter the Country

Dogs from low-risk or rabies-free countries can enter at any U.S. airport, seaport, or land border crossing.⁴

Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries have to arrive by air at a U.S. airport that hosts both a CDC quarantine station and the CDC-registered animal care facility where the dog has a reservation. Land crossings are not permitted for these dogs, and seaports are generally off-limits as well.¹

U.S.-vaccinated dogs returning from high-risk countries have more flexibility than foreign-vaccinated dogs, but confirming the permitted entry points with the CDC before you book flights is worth the five minutes.

What Happens at the Border

You hand the CDC Dog Import Form receipt to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry. Officers scan the microchip with a handheld reader and check that the number matches the receipt and all supporting paperwork. The dog gets a visual once-over to confirm it looks healthy and matches its photo.⁸

Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries then go on to the CDC-registered facility for the exam and revaccination. Service dogs get expedited processing at the facility, but the exam and revaccination still happen.²

If anything fails, the consequences come quickly. A dog that shows up without a valid receipt, with an unreadable microchip, with a chip number that does not match the paperwork, or whose owner refuses the scan is denied entry and shipped back to the departure country at the owner’s expense.¹

If You’re Importing for Adoption, Rescue, or Resale

The commercial line has nothing to do with how many dogs you bring. Intent controls. A dog being adopted from abroad, sold to someone in the United States, or brought in by or on behalf of a rescue organization or business is a commercial import, whether it is one dog or twenty.⁸

Commercial imports meet all the CDC requirements above and also fall under USDA oversight. They need a health and rabies vaccination certificate issued in English by a licensed vet in the exporting country, and USDA recommends APHIS Form 7041. The certificate lists breed, sex, age, color, microchip or tattoo ID, vaccine product name, manufacturer, lot number, expiration date, and validity period, along with the vet’s license number and signature.¹¹

Penalties for Getting It Wrong

The financial exposure is not small. Under the Public Health Service Act, violating the dog import regulations can bring up to a year of imprisonment, a fine, or both. Federal civil penalties reach up to $100,000 per violation that does not result in death, and up to $250,000 for a violation resulting in death.¹² And even without prosecution, a denied dog still gets flown back at the owner’s cost, and last-minute return flights are not cheap.

1
eCFR. 42 CFR 71.51 – Dogs and Cats
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Frequently Asked Questions on Dog Importations
3
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High-Risk Countries for Dog Rabies
4
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Entry Requirements for Dogs from Dog-Rabies Free or Low-Risk Countries
5
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Entry Requirements for U.S.-Vaccinated Dogs from High-Risk Countries
6
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC-registered Animal Care Facilities
7
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bringing a Dog into the U.S.
8
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Dog Import Form and Instructions
9
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip
10
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approved Rabies Serology Laboratories for Testing Dogs
11
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). How To Bring Dogs into the United States for Commercial Sale or Adoption
12
Federal Register. Control of Communicable Diseases; Foreign Quarantine: Importation of Dogs and Cats