Take your pet across the border — with the rules right.
Every country's pet import rules, answered one question at a time and checked against two official government sources. Because a wrong date can mean quarantine for your pet.
✓ Double-checked against exporting + importing country sources · ✓ Date-stamped on every page · ✓ Conflicts shown, never hidden
Hardest routes, answered first
Dog: the United States → Japan
Yes — dogs can enter Japan from the US, but the 180-day antibody-test wait means you must start about 7 months before you travel. There is no shortcut: arriving early means your dog waits out the remaining days in a quarantine facility.
Strict rulesCat: the United States → Japan
Yes — cats can enter Japan from the US, but the 180-day antibody-test wait means you must start about 7 months before you travel. There is no shortcut: arriving early means your cat waits out the remaining days in a quarantine facility.
Strict rulesDog: the United States → Australia
Yes — but Australia is the most demanding route on this site. A dog from the US needs a titer test, a 180-day wait, an import permit, and mandatory quarantine on arrival: 10 days at the Mickleham facility if you complete the optional identity check first, otherwise 30 days. Start 7–8 months ahead.
Strict rulesCat: the United States → Australia
Yes — but Australia is the most demanding route on this site. A cat from the US needs a titer test, a 180-day wait, an import permit, and mandatory quarantine on arrival: 10 days at the Mickleham facility if you complete the optional identity check first, otherwise 30 days. Start 7–8 months ahead.
Strict rulesDog: the United States → New Zealand
Yes — dogs from the mainland US (a Category 3 country for NZ) can enter, with a rabies vaccination inside a strict 6–12-month window, a titer test, an MPI permit, and at least 10 days of quarantine on arrival. Plan on about 6 months of preparation. Rules change on 1 April 2027 — see the warning below.
Strict rulesCat: the United States → New Zealand
Yes — cats from the mainland US (a Category 3 country for NZ) can enter, with a rabies vaccination inside a strict 6–12-month window, a titer test, an MPI permit, and at least 10 days of quarantine on arrival. Plan on about 6 months of preparation. Rules change on 1 April 2027 — see the warning below.
Simple rulesDog: the United States → the United Kingdom
Good news: this is one of the easiest routes on the site. A dog from the US needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination (then a 21-day wait after the first one), a tapeworm treatment in the last 5 days, and a Great Britain pet health certificate. No blood test, no import permit, and no quarantine if the paperwork is right.
Simple rulesCat: the United States → the United Kingdom
Good news: this is one of the easiest routes on the site. A cat from the US needs a microchip, a rabies vaccination (then a 21-day wait after the first one) and a Great Britain pet health certificate. No blood test, no import permit, and no quarantine if the paperwork is right.
Strict rulesDog: the US mainland → Hawaii
Hawaii is rabies-free and runs its own rules — federal paperwork alone is not enough. Do the FAVN blood test and the 30-day wait properly, get your documents in 10 days ahead, and your dog can be released to you at Honolulu airport the day you land. Miss a step and the alternative is up to 120 days of quarantine.
Strict rulesCat: the US mainland → Hawaii
Hawaii is rabies-free and runs its own rules — federal paperwork alone is not enough. Do the FAVN blood test and the 30-day wait properly, get your documents in 10 days ahead, and your cat can be released to you at Honolulu airport the day you land. Miss a step and the alternative is up to 120 days of quarantine.
Moderate rulesDog: the United States → the UAE
A dog can enter the UAE from the US with a microchip, rabies vaccination, a passing rabies titer test, and a MOCCAE import permit obtained before travel. Your pet must fly as manifested cargo, and the health certificate window is tight: 10 days from issuance, with a USDA ink-signed endorsement.
Moderate rulesCat: the United States → the UAE
A cat can enter the UAE from the US with a microchip, rabies vaccination, a passing rabies titer test, and a MOCCAE import permit obtained before travel. Your pet must fly as manifested cargo, and the health certificate window is tight: 10 days from issuance, with a USDA ink-signed endorsement.
Common tasks & forms
Bringing a dog into the United States from a low-risk country
If your dog has only been in dog-rabies-free or low-risk countries for the past 6 months, the only document CDC requires is the free CDC Dog Import Form receipt. Your dog must be at least 6 months old, have a microchip a universal scanner can read, and appear healthy on arrival. The receipt lasts 6 months and covers multiple entries from the same country.
Task guideBringing a foreign-vaccinated dog into the US from a high-risk country
This is the strict route: a CDC Dog Import Form receipt (single entry, only valid on the arrival date you list), a government-endorsed Certification of Foreign Rabies Vaccination and Microchip form, a passing rabies titer from a CDC-approved lab (or a 28-day quarantine), and a reservation at a CDC-registered animal care facility at one of 8 airports — where every dog is examined and revaccinated on arrival.
Task guideReturning to the US with a US-vaccinated dog from a high-risk country
You need exactly two documents: the CDC Dog Import Form receipt, and a Certification of U.S.-issued Rabies Vaccination form — completed by a USDA-accredited vet and endorsed by USDA BEFORE your dog leaves the United States. It cannot be created after the trip. With it, there is no titer test, no facility reservation, and you can enter at any port.
Task guideBringing a cat into the United States: what is (and isn't) required
There is no CDC form for cats, no federal rabies vaccination proof, and no USDA animal-health requirement for a pet cat entering the US. Your cat must appear healthy and can be inspected at the port of entry. Check your destination state and your airline instead — and note Hawaii and Guam impose their own quarantine rules even on cats from the mainland.
Task guideHow to fill out the CDC Dog Import Form (and how long the receipt lasts)
The form is free, online, one per dog, and every dog entering the US needs one. The fact most third-party blogs get wrong: there is no 30-day deadline for this form. From a low-risk country the receipt is valid 6 months for multiple entries; from a high-risk country it is valid for a single entry on the exact arrival date you list — if your date or airport changes, you must submit a new form.
Task guideRabies titer tests (FAVN / RNATT): validity and waiting periods by country
A titer test proves the rabies vaccine worked — a result of 0.5 IU/ml or higher is the pass mark everywhere on this site. What differs by destination is the wait after the blood draw: Japan and Australia both require 180 days before arrival, New Zealand requires the sample to be 3–24 months before shipment, and for US entry a passing titer stays valid for the dog's life while vaccination never lapses.
Task guideMicrochip before or after rabies vaccination? Why the order matters
Chip first — or at the very latest, the same day. For dogs entering the US from high-risk countries, CDC is explicit: a rabies vaccination given before the microchip was implanted is invalid. Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the UAE all build their paperwork on the same sequence: chip, then vaccinate, then test.
Task guideHow many days before travel do you need a pet health certificate?
There is no single window — each destination sets its own, and they range from 2 days (New Zealand's final exam) to 14 days (Hawaii). The US itself is the exception: CDC requires no general health certificate for entry at all. Use the table for your destination, and remember the certificate is usually the last document, not the first.
Task guidePet quarantine by country: how long, where, and how to avoid it
Quarantine is not one policy. Australia (10 or 30 days) and New Zealand (at least 10 days) quarantine every arrival from the US no matter how good the paperwork is. Japan and the UK quarantine only pets whose paperwork fails. Hawaii releases compliant pets at the airport — and quarantines the rest for up to 120 days.
Task guideHow far in advance should you start preparing to move a pet abroad?
For the strict destinations, half a year is not caution — it is the arithmetic of the rules: Australia and Japan both contain a 180-day wait, and New Zealand's vaccination and titer windows force about 6 months. The UK needs only 21 days after a primary vaccination. Work backwards from your destination's longest single wait, then add a month for laboratories and permits.