Bringing Cats and Dogs into the U.S.

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Importing Pets When Immigrating to the United States

Bringing your household pets with you into the United States is regulated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the applicable law is U.S. Regulation 42 CFR 71.51.

CDC Requirements
Dogs must be vaccinated for rabies at least 30 days prior to entry unless they are puppies under 3 months old or dogs originated or located in rabies-free countries for at least 6 months prior to importation. These rules also apply to Seeing Eye dogs. Cats do not need rabies certification. Dogs that are not accompanied by rabies certification may be admitted to the U.S. after inspection at the port of entry if the owner signs a confinement agreement and confines the animal until it has been vaccinated for rabies and it takes 30 days for the vaccine to take effect.

Department of Agriculture Requirements
Farm dogs (Collies, Shepherds) from Canada, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies that are used to handle livestock, are exempt from USDA inspection and quarantine by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Dogs that will be handling livestock from other countries must undergo an inspection and quarantined to determine that they are free of tapeworm.

Dogs that are imported into the US or returning to the US must be inspected by a veterinarian and certified to be free of screwworm within 5 days prior to departing for the US.

Cats and Dogs being imported from Hawaii are quarantined for 130 days.

All cats and dogs are inspected at their port of entry for signs of infectious diseases transmissible to humans.