The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rebuilt its dog-import rules effective August 1, 2024. CDC strives to protect America’s families, communities, and pets by preventing the reintroduction of dog rabies into the United States. The rules are organized by the dog's situation rather than a single checklist: Requirements are based on your dog's situation including whether it has been to a high-risk country for dog rabies in the last six months and where it was vaccinated.
A hard exclusion applies: Your dog will NOT be allowed to enter the U.S. if it is not vaccinated against rabies and has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the past 6 months. Importers must also satisfy other agencies: U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) and your U.S. destination's regulations.
Track 1 — Dogs from dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries only
If the dog has been only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries in the 6 months before entry, documentation is minimal: Starting on August 1, 2024, the only required documentation for dogs entering or returning to the United States that have been only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries in the past 6 months is the CDC Dog Import Form. The form logistics: The receipt is valid for 6 months from when it’s issued unless the dog visits a high-risk country or a different dog rabies-free or low-risk country during that time. Each dog must have its own form. And CDC Dog Import Form receipt can be printed or shown on a phone screen to U.S. customs officials or airlines (if applicable).
Track 2 — U.S.-vaccinated dogs returning from a high-risk country
There are 2 documents CDC requires before your dog returns to the U.S. if your dog was vaccinated against rabies in the U.S. and has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the 6 months before returning to the U.S. The rabies document: A USDA-accredited veterinarian must complete this document and submit it to the USDA for endorsement before the dog departs the United States. As a time-limited alternative, As an alternative to the Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form, CDC will accept a USDA-endorsed export health certificate issued no later than July 31, 2025. The CDC form receipt for this track is tighter: The receipt is valid for a single entry into the U.S. and is valid for entry only on the date of arrival listed on the receipt.
Track 3 — Foreign-vaccinated dogs from a high-risk country
The rabies document here must be endorsed by an official government veterinarian before it can be used to bring a dog in the U.S. A CDC-registered animal care facility (ACF) reservation is mandatory: Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country for dog rabies within the last 6 months must have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility before entering the U.S. Arrival is port-restricted: All foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country must arrive to the U.S. at the airport where a CDC-registered animal care facility is located. If the dog does not have a valid rabies serology titer, the reservation must also include a 28-day quarantine. Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country in the past 6 months are not allowed to enter the U.S. at a land border crossing.
Microchip
Across tracks, Your dog’s microchip can be any brand, but it must be detectable with a universal scanner.
Related: pet_travel_us_usda_aphis (USDA APHIS pet-travel overview) and pet_travel_us_cdc_animal_import (CDC general animal-import rules, cats/NHP/African rodents).
Source: pdf-raw/pet-travel/index.txt, pdf-raw/pet-travel/rabies-free-low-risk-countries.txt, pdf-raw/pet-travel/us-vaccinated-high-risk-countries.txt, pdf-raw/pet-travel/foreign-vaccinated-high-risk-countries.txt, pdf-raw/pet-travel/faqs.txt (CDC, landed 2026-08-18).
Claims (verified C1 substrings of source_file)
CDC strives to protect America’s families, communities, and pets by preventing the reintroduction of dog rabies into the United States.Requirements are based on your dog's situation including whether it has been to a high-risk country for dog rabies in the last six months and where it was vaccinated.Your dog will NOT be allowed to enter the U.S. if it is not vaccinated against rabies and has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the past 6 months.U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) and your U.S. destination's regulationsStarting on August 1, 2024, the only required documentation for dogs entering or returning to the United States that have been only in dog rabies-free or low-risk countries in the past 6 months is the CDC Dog Import Form.The receipt is valid for 6 months from when it’s issued unless the dog visits a high-risk country or a different dog rabies-free or low-risk country during that time.Each dog must have its own form.CDC Dog Import Form receipt can be printed or shown on a phone screen to U.S. customs officials or airlines (if applicable).There are 2 documents CDC requires before your dog returns to the U.S. if your dog was vaccinated against rabies in the U.S. and has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the 6 months before returning to the U.S.A USDA-accredited veterinarian must complete this document and submit it to the USDA for endorsement before the dog departs the United States.As an alternative to the Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form, CDC will accept a USDA-endorsed export health certificate issued no later than July 31, 2025.The receipt is valid for a single entry into the U.S. and is valid for entry only on the date of arrival listed on the receipt.The form must be endorsed by an official government veterinarian before it can be used to bring a dog in the U.S.Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country for dog rabies within the last 6 months must have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility before entering the U.S.All foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country must arrive to the U.S. at the airport where a CDC-registered animal care facility is located.If the dog does not have a valid rabies serology titer, the reservation must also include a 28-day quarantine.Your dog’s microchip can be any brand, but it must be detectable with a universal scanner.Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country in the past 6 months are not allowed to enter the U.S. at a land border crossing.