CDC is updating its dog importation regulation to protect the health and safety of people and animals by making sure any dog arriving in the United States is healthy and doesn’t present a risk to our communities.

Starting on August 1, 2024, all dogs entering the United States must:

• Appear healthy upon arrival;
• Be at least six months of age;
• Be microchipped; and
• Be accompanied by a CDC Dog Import Form online submission receipt. 

Additional requirements are based on where the dog has been in the last six months and whether or not the dog was vaccinated in the United States. For dogs arriving from countries with a high risk of dog rabies, they must be protected against rabies.

The rabies virus variant carried by dogs (dog rabies) was eliminated in the United States in 2007 and CDC wants to prevent the re-introduction of dog rabies into the United States. This regulation builds on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic when a temporary suspension was enacted for the importation of dogs from countries with a high risk of rabies. This suspension will expire when the updated regulation goes into effect on August 1, 2024. The regulation also more closely aligns with the World Organisation for Animal Health’s standards for the international movement of dogs from countries with a high risk of dog rabies. Furthermore, it addresses recent challenges seen with international dog importations, such as fraudulent documentation and dogs housed in unsafe conditions if they didn’t meet requirements for entry to the United States.

CDC encourages people traveling with their dogs to use CDC’s new personalized question-and-answer tool, “DogBot,” on the CDC website to determine what rules apply to their dogs based on their travel dates, where their dog is traveling from, and where their dog was vaccinated (if required). People should plan in advance for future travel to ensure requirements for dog importations will be met at the time their dogs will enter the United States.