At a glance
- Dogs entering the United States by air may need to meet CDC dog importation requirements, even if they don't leave the airport during a layover.
- Requirements depend on factors like country of departure, where the layover occurs, whether your dog clears customs during the layover, and how your dog is transported (in cabin, checked/excess baggage, cargo).
- If a dog has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies in the 6 months before travel or enters a high-risk country during a layover, it must meet stricter requirements.
- Dogs that do not meet requirements will be returned by the carrier to the last country of departure at the owner's expense.
Overview
CDC has different entry requirements for dogs entering the country based on where the dog has been in the last 6 months and where it was vaccinated.
If your dog has been in a high-risk country for dog rabies at any time in the 6 months before arriving in the United States, it must meet the stricter high-risk country requirements. This is true even if the dog was only in the high-risk country for a layover where it cleared customs and even if your current itinerary does not include a high-risk country.
Some dogs with layovers in the United States must meet CDC entry requirements before traveling on to their final destination. Foreign-vaccinated dogs from high-risk countries may need more than one day to meet CDC requirements during a U.S. layover.
If your dog is denied entry to the United States, it cannot continue onto the next flight in the itinerary. It must be returned by the carrier to the last country of departure at your expense.
U.S. Layovers
If your dog has a layover in the United States and meets all four of these conditions, it does not need to meet CDC importation requirements
- The dog travels as cargo or excess (checked) baggage, AND
- Doesn't go through U.S. customs, AND
- Stays with the airline during a layover until the next flight, AND
- Continues its journey to another country (i.e., does not have a final destination in the United States)
If the dog doesn't meet all four of the above conditions, then it will need to meet CDC importation requirements.
Dogs that do not meet CDC requirements will be denied entry and returned to the last country of departure at your expense. Dogs denied entry to the United States cannot continue onto the next flight in the itinerary and must be returned by the carrier to the last country of departure.
In addition to CDC regulations, you must comply with regulations from:
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
- Your destination state or territory
Check with your airline and all U.S. states or territories your dog will enter for additional requirements. Dogs imported for commercial (resale or adoption) purposes have additional requirements from USDA.
International layovers
If a dog enters a high-risk country during a layover, then it must meet CDC requirements for dogs from a high-risk country on arrival into the United States, regardless of where the dog's trip began.
If your dog has a layover in a high-risk country and you are unsure whether your dog will enter the country, check with your airline.
Dog rabies-free or low-risk country
Dog rabies-free or low-risk country
The layover will not affect your dog's status.
Follow requirements for dogs from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries.
Dog rabies-free or low-risk country
High-risk country
The specific requirements depend
on where your dog was vaccinated:
High-risk country
Follow requirements for dogs from high-risk countries.
The specific requirements depend on where your dog was vaccinated:
Important
Travel within the U.S., including territories
In most situations involving travel between U.S. states (including Alaska and Hawaii) and U.S. territories, dogs do not need to meet CDC importation requirements.
However, if your dog will have a layover and clear customs in another country on its way from one U.S. state or territory to another, then the dog is considered to have left the United States and will need to meet U.S. entry requirements to enter the destination state or territory.
Be aware that some U.S. states and territories may have their own requirements for dogs entering their jurisdiction.
Example scenarios
Importation requirements do not apply
A direct flight from Alaska, Guam, or another U.S. state or territory, to another U.S. state or territory.
Importation requirements apply
A flight from Guam via the Philippines to a U.S. destination.
If you have a foreign-vaccinated dog
Foreign-vaccinated dogs that have been in a high-risk country within the 6 months before travel must have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility and an itinerary that has the dog arriving by air at the U.S. airport where that CDC-registered animal care facility is located.
There are currently no CDC-registered animal care facilities in Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories; therefore, these dogs may not enter the United States through Alaska, Hawaii, or a U.S. territory.
Be aware that some U.S. states and territories may have their own requirements for dogs entering their jurisdiction. For more information on state and territory requirements, visit the USDA website.
Multi-part itineraries
CDC importation requirements depend on whether the dog has been in a high-risk country in the 6 months before arriving in the United States, not just the country of departure. If any part of your dog's itinerary involves entering a high-risk country before entering the United States, then the dog will need to meet entry requirements for dogs that have been in a high-risk country.
Example Itinerary
Outbound:
Canada, layover in the United States, El Salvador
If your dog travels from Canada (a dog rabies-free country) to El Salvador (a high-risk country) with a stop in the United States on the way to El Salvador and your dog clears U.S. customs, your dog needs to meet U.S. importation requirements for dogs from dog rabies-free or low-risk countries when it arrives to the United States from Canada.
Return:
El Salvador, layover in the United States, Canada
If your dog leaves El Salvador and stops in the United States (and does not meet all four conditions during its U.S. layover) on its way back to Canada, then your dog would have to meet the stricter U.S. importation requirements for dogs from high-risk countries.
If your dog is foreign-vaccinated, it would need to have a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility and enter the United States through the airport associated with the facility where the reservation was made (layovers at other U.S. airports would not be allowed).
In this example itinerary, you would need to get all the paperwork ahead of time as though your dog was coming from a high-risk country, but you would fill out two CDC Dog Import Forms (one for each leg of the trip since the dog would be from a low-risk country at the start and from high-risk country upon return).